In Honour's Cause, by George Manville Fenn. 

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This book is set in the Court of George the First, a Hanoverian King whowas not very popular. To make himself feel more comfortable he hadintroduced into his Court a number of German people, and also Dutchones. The hero of the story is 17-year old Frank Gowan, who is a pagein the ante-room of the Prince of Wales, the King's eldest son. Hisfather is an officer in the King's Guard. Another page is Andrew, whosefather is pro-Jacobite, as Andrew is himself. 

One evening a German Baron deliberately insults Frank's father, and aduel ensues, in which the German is very badly wounded, but eventuallyrecovers. However, Frank's father, who is very loyal to the King, issentenced to be kicked out of his Regiment, and to leave the country. 

The rest of the book is a series of searches for Frank's father, SirRobert Gowan, roof-top escapes, working out who are the spies, and whothe heroes in disguise. Most of the action takes place in the Palace, in the Park which is still adjacent (and a very pretty part of London), and in a house in a street just the other side of the Park from SaintJames's Palace. As always with this author there are a number of closeshaves. NH

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IN HONOUR'S CAUSE, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. 

CHAPTER ONE. 

TWO YOUNG COURTIERS. 

"Ha--ha--ha--ha!"

A regular ringing, hearty, merry laugh--just such an outburst of mirthas a strong, healthy boy of sixteen, in the full, bright, happy time ofyouth, and without a trouble on his mind, can give vent to when he seessomething that thoroughly tickles his fancy. 

Just at the same time the heavy London clouds which had been hanging allthe morning over the Park opened a little to show the blue sky, and abroad ray of sunshine struck in through the anteroom window and lit upthe gloomy, handsome chamber. 

Between them--the laugh and the sunshine--they completely transformedthe place, as the lad who laughed threw himself into a chair, and thenjumped up again in a hurry to make sure that he had not snapped in twothe sword he wore in awkward fashion behind him. 

The lad's companion, who seemed to be about a couple of years older, faced round suddenly from the other end of the room, glanced sharply atone of the doors, and then said hurriedly:

"I say, you mustn't laugh like that here. "

"It isn't broken, " said he who had helped to make the solemn place lookmore cheerful. 

"What, your sword? Lucky for you. I told you to take care how youcarried it. Easy enough when you are used to one. "

The speaker laid his left hand lightly on the hilt of his own, pressedit down a little, and stood in a stiff, deportment-taught attitude, asif asking the other to study him as a model. 

"But you mustn't burst out into guffaws like that in the Palace. "

"Seems as if you mustn't do anything you like here, " said the youngerlad. "Wish I was back at Winchester. "

"Pooh, schoolboy! I shall have enough to do before I make anything ofyou. "

"You never will. I'm sick of it already: no games, no runs down by theriver or over the fields; nothing to do but dress up in these things, and stand like an image all day. I feel just like a pet monkey in acage. "

"And look it, " said the other contemptuously. 

"What!" said the boy, flushing up to the temples, as he took a steptoward the speaker, and with flashing eyes looked him up and down. "Well, if you come to that, so do you, with your broad skirts, salt-boxpockets, lace, and tied-up hair. See what thin legs you've got too!"

"You insolent--No, I didn't mean that;" and an angry look gave place toa smile. "Lay your feathers down, Master Frank Gowan, and don't drawMaster Frank Gowan, and don't draw your skewer; that's high treason inthe King's Palace. You mustn't laugh here when you're on duty. Ifthere's any fighting to be done, they call in the guard; and if any onewants to quarrel, he must go somewhere else. "

"I don't want to quarrel, " said the boy, rather sulkily. "You did amoment ago, for all your hackles were sticking up like a gamecock's. "

"Well, I don't now, Drew, " said the boy, smiling frankly; "but the placeis all so stiff and formal and dull, and I can't help wanting to be backin the country. I used to think one was tied down there at the school, but that was free liberty to this. "

"Oh, you young barbarian! School and the country! Right enough forboys. "

"Well, we're boys. "

The other coughed slightly, took a measured pace or two right and left, and gave a furtive glance at his handsome, effeminate face and slightform in the glass. Then he said, rather haughtily:

"You are, of course; but I should have thought that you might have begunto look upon me as a man. "

"Oh, I will, if you like, " said the other, smiling, --"a very young one, though. Of course you're ever so much older than I am. But there, I'mgoing to try and like it; and I like you, Forbes, for being so good tome. I'm not such a fool as not to know that I'm a sort of un-lickedcub, and you will go on telling me what I ought, to do and what Ioughtn't. I can play games as well as most fellows my age; but all thisstiff, starchy court etiquette sickens me. "

"Yes, " said his companion, with a look of disgust on his face;"miserable, clumsy Dutch etiquette. As different from the grand, graceful style of the old _regime_ and of Saint Germains as chalk isfrom cheese. "

"I say, " said the younger of the pair merrily, after imitating hiscompanion's glances at the doors, "you must not talk like that here. "

"Talk like what?" said the elder haughtily. 

"Calling things Dutch, and about Saint Germains. I say, isn't that hightreason?"

"Pooh!--Well, yes, I suppose you're right. Your turn now. But we won'tquarrel, Franky. "

"Then, don't call me that, " said the boy sharply; "Frank, if you like. I did begin calling you Drew. It's shorter and better than Andrew. Isay, I am ever so much obliged to you. "

"Don't mention it. I promised Sir Robert I would look after you. "

"Yes, my father told me. "

"And I like Lady Gowan. She's as nice as she is handsome. My motherwas something like her. "

"Then she must have been one of the dearest, sweetest, and best ladiesthat ever lived, " cried the boy warmly. 

"Thank ye, Frank, " said the youth, smiling and laying his arm in ratheran affected manner upon the speaker's shoulder, as he crossed his legsand again posed himself with his left hand upon his sword hilt. Butthere was no affectation in the tone of the thanks expressed; in fact, there was a peculiar quiver in his voice and a slight huskiness of whichhe was self-conscious, and he hurriedly continued:

"Oh yes, I like you. I did at first; you seemed so fresh and daisy-likeamongst all this heavy Dutch formality. I'll tell you everything; andif you can't have the country, I'll see that you do have some fun. We'll go out together, and you must see my father. He's a fine, dashingofficer; he ought to have had a good command given him. I say, Frank, he's great friends with Sir Robert. "

"Is he? My father never said so. "

"Mine did; but--er--I think there are reasons just now why they don'twant it to be known. You see your father's in the King's Guards. "

"Yes. "

"Well, and mine isn't. He is not very fond of the House of Brunswick. "

"I say, mind what you are saying. "

"Of course. I shouldn't say it to any one else. But, I say, what madeyou burst put into that roar of laughter about nothing?"

"It wasn't about nothing, " said Frank, with a mirthful look in his eyes. 

"What was it then? See anything out of the window?"

"Oh no; it was in this room. "

"Well, what was it?"

"Oh, never mind. "

"Here, I thought we were going to be great friends. "

"Of course. "

"Then friends must confide in one another. Why don't you speak?"

"I don't want to offend you. "

"Come, out with it. "

"Well, I was laughing at you. "

"Why?"

"To see you admiring yourself in the glass there. "

Andrew Forbes made an angry gesture, but laughed it off. 

"Well, the Prince's pages are expected to look well, " he said. 

"You always look well without. But I wish you wouldn't do that sort ofthing; it makes you seem so girlish. "

There was another angry gesture. 

"I can't help my looks. "

"There, now, you're put out again. "

"No, not a bit, " said the youth hastily. "I say, though, you don'tthink much of the King, do you?"

"Oh yes, " said Frank thoughtfully; "of course. "

"Why?"

"Why? Well, because he's the King, of course. Don't you?"

"No! I don't think anything of him. He's only a poor German prince, brought over by the Whigs. I always feel ready to laugh in his face. "

"I say, " cried Frank, looking at his companion in horror, "do you knowwhat you are saying?"

"Oh yes; and I don't think a great deal of the Prince. My father got mehere; but I don't feel in my place, and I'm not going to sacrificemyself, even if I am one of the pages. I believe in the Stuarts, and Ialways shall. "

"This is more treasonable than what you said before. "

"Well, it's the truth. "

"Perhaps it is. I say, you're a head taller than I am. "

"Yes, I know that. "

"But you don't seem to know that if you talk like that you'll soon bethe same height. "

"What, you think my principles will keep me standing still, while yoursmake you grow tall?"

"No. I think if it gets known you'll grow short all in a moment. "

"They'll chop my head off? Pooh! I'm not afraid. You won't blab. "

"But you've no business to be here. "

"Oh yes, I have. Plenty think as I do. You will one of these days. "

"Never! What, go against the King!"

"This German usurper you mean. Oh, you'll come over to our side. "

"What, with my father in the King's Guards, and my mother one of thePrincess's ladies of the bed-chamber! Nice thing for a man to have ason who turned traitor. "

"What a red-hot Whig you are, Frank! You're too young and too fresh toLondon and the court to understand these things. He's King because afew Whigs brought him over here. If you were to go about London, you'dfind every one nearly on the other side. "

"I don't believe it. "

"Come for a few walks with me, and I'll take you where you can hearpeople talking about it. "

"I don't want to hear people talk treason, and I can't get away. "

"Oh yes, you can; I'll manage it. Don't you want to go out?"

"Yes; but not to hear people talk as you say. They must be only thescum who say such things. "

"Better be the scum which rises than the dregs which sink to the bottom. Come, I know you'd like a run. "

"I'll go with you in the evening, and try and catch some of the fish inthat lake. "

"What, the King's carp! Ha--ha! You want old Bigwig to give you fivepounds. "

"Old Bigwig--who's he?"

"You know; the King. "

"Sh!"

"Pooh! no one can hear. "

"But what do you mean about the five pounds?"

"Didn't you hear? They say he wrote to some one in Hanover saying thathe could not understand the English, for when he came to the Palace theytold him it was his, and when he looked out of the window he saw a parkwith a long canal in it, and they told him that was his too. Then nextday the ranger sent him a big brace of carp out of it, and when theytold him he was to behave like a prince and give the messenger fiveguineas, he was astonished. Oh, he isn't a bit like a king. "

"I say, do be quiet. I don't want you to get into trouble. "

"Of course you don't, " said the lad merrily. "But you mustn't think ofgoing fishing now. Hark! there are the Guards. "

He hurried to the window, through which the trampling of horses andjingling of spurs could be heard, and directly after the leaders of along line of horse came along between the rows of trees, the men gay intheir scarlet and gold, their accoutrements glittering in the sunshine. 

"Look well, don't they?" said Andrew Forbes. "They ought to have givenmy father a command like that. If he had a few regiments of horse, andas many of foot, he'd soon make things different for old England. "

"I say, do be quiet, Drew. You'll be getting in trouble, I know youwill. Why can't you let things rest. "

"Because I'm a Royalist. "

"No, you're not; you're a Jacobite. I say, why do they call themJacobites? What Jacob is it who leads them?"

"And you just fresh from Winchester! Where's your Latin?"

"Oh, I see, " cried the boy: "Jacobus--James. "

"That's right; you may go up. I wish I was an officer in the Guards. "

"Behave yourself then, and some day the Prince may get you acommission. "

"Not he. Perhaps I shall have one without. Well, you'll go with methis evening?"

"Oh, I don't know. "

"That means you would if you could. Well, I'll manage it. And I'llsoon show you what the people in London think about the King. "

"Sh! some one coming. "

The two lads darted from the window as one of the doors was thrown open, and an attendant made an announcement which resulted in the pages goingto the other end to open the farther door and draw back to allow thePrince and Princess with a little following of ladies to pass through, one of the last of the group turning to smile at Frank Gowan and kissher hand. 

The boy turned to his companion, looking flushed and proud as the doorwas closed after the retiring party. 

"How handsome the Princess looked!" he said. "Hush!" said Forbes. "Pretty well. Not half so nice as your mother; you ought to be proud ofher, Frank. "

"I am, " said the boy. 

"But what a pity!"

"What's a pity?"

"That she should be in the Princess's train. "

"A pity! Why the Princess makes her quite a friend. "

"More pity still. Well, we shall be off duty soon, and then I'll getleave for us to go. "

"I don't think I want to now. "

"Well I do, and you'd better come and take care of me, or perhaps Ishall get into a scrape. "

"No, you will not. You only talk as you do to banter me. "

"Think so?" said Andrew, with a peculiar smile. "Well, we shall see. But you'll come?"

"Yes, " said Frank readily, "to keep you from getting into a scrape. "

CHAPTER TWO. 

SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 

The water in the canal looked ruddy golden in the light glowing in thewest, as the two pages passed through the courtyard along beneath thearches, where the soldiers on guard saluted them, and reached the longmall planted with trees. 

"Halt! One can breathe here, " said Frank, with his eyes brightening. "Come along; let's have a run. "

"Quiet, quiet! What a wild young colt you are!--This isn't thecountry. "

"No; but it looks like a good makeshift!" cried Frank. 

"Who's disloyal now? Nice way to speak of his Majesty's Park! I say, you're short enough as it is. "

"No, I'm not. I'm a very fair height for my age. It's you who are toolong. "

"Never mind that; but it's my turn to talk. Suppose you get cut shorterfor saying disloyal things under the window of the Palace. "

"Stuff! Rubbish!"

"Is it? They give it to the people they call rebels pretty hard for astrifling things, " said Andrew, flushing a little. "They flogged threesoldiers to death the other day for wearing oak apples in their caps. "

"What? Why did they wear oak apples in their caps?"

"Because it was King Charles's day; and they've fined and imprisoned andhung people for all kinds of what they call rebellious practices. "

"Then you'd better be careful, Master Drew, " said Frank merrily. "Isay, my legs feel as if they were full of pins and needles, withstanding about so much doing nothing. It's glorious out here. Comealong; I'll race you to the end of this row of trees. "

"With the people who may be at the windows watching us! Where's yourdignity?"

"Have none. They wouldn't know it was us. We're not dressed up now, and we look like any one else. "

"I hope not, " said Andrew, drawing himself up. 

Frank laughed, and his companion looked nettled. 

"It is nothing to laugh at. Do you suppose I want to be taken for oneof the mob?"

"Of course I don't. But, I say, look. I saw a fish rise with a regularflop. That must be a carp. They are fond of leaping out of the waterwith a splash. I say, this isn't a lake, is it? Looks like a river. "

"Oh, I don't know--yes, I do. Some one said it's part of a stream thatcomes down from out beyond Tyburn way, where they hang the people. "

"Ugh! Horrid! But look here, the water seems beautifully clear. Let'sget up to-morrow morning and have a bathe. I'll swim you across thereand back. "

"Tchah! I say, Frank, what a little savage you are!"

"Didn't know there was anything savage in being fond of swimming. "

"Well, I did. A man isn't a fish. "

"No, " said Frank, laughing; "he's flesh. "

"You know, now you belong to the Prince's household, and live in theKing's Palace, you must forget all these boyish follies. "

"Oh dear!" sighed Frank. 

"We've got to support the dignity of the establishment as gentlemen inthe Prince's train. It wants it badly enough, with all thesesausage-eating Vans and Vons and Herrs. We must do it while things arein this state for the sake of old England. "

"I wish I had never come here, " said Frank dismally. "No, I don't, " headded cheerfully. "I am close to my mother, and I see father sometimes. I say, didn't he look well at the head of his company yesterday?"

"Splendid!" cried Andrew warmly. "Here, cheer up, young one; you'llsoon get to like it; and one of these days we'll both be marching at theheads of our companies. "

"Think so?" cried Frank eagerly. 

"I'm sure of it. Of course I like our uniform, and thousands of fellowswould give their ears to be pages at the Palace; but you don't suppose Imean to keep on being a sort of lapdog in the anteroom. No. Wait abit. There'll be grand times by-and-by. We must be like the rest ofthe best people, looking forward to the turn of the tide. "

Frank glanced quickly at the tall, handsome lad at his side, andquickened his pace and lengthened his stride to keep up with him, for hehad drawn himself up and held his head back as if influenced by thoughtsbeyond the present. But he slackened down directly. 

"No need to make ourselves hot, " he said. "You'd like to run, youlittle savage; but it won't do now. Let the mob do that. Look! that'sLord Ronald's carriage. Quick! do as I do. "

He doffed his hat to the occupant of the clumsy vehicle, Frank followinghis example; and they were responded to by a handsome, portly man with abow and smile. 

"I say, " said Frank, "how stupid a man looks in a great wig like that. "

"Bah! It is ridiculous. Pretty fashion these Dutchmen have broughtin. "

"Dutchmen! What Dutchmen?"

"Oh, never mind, innocence, " said Andrew, with a half laugh. "Justthink of how handsome the gentlemen of the Stuart time looked in theirdoublets, buff boots, long natural hair, and lace. This fashion isdisgusting. Here's old Granthill coming now, " he continued, as thetrampling of horses made him glance back. "Don't turn round; don't seehim. "

"Very well, " said Frank with a laugh; "but whoever he is, I don'tsuppose he'll mind whether I bow or not. "

"Whoever he is!" cried Andrew contemptuously. "I say, don't you knowthat he is one of the King's Ministers?"

"No, " said Frank thoughtfully. "Oh yes, I do; I remember now. Ofcourse. But I've never thought about these things. He's the gentleman, isn't he, that they say is unpopular?"

"Well, you are partly right. He is unpopular; but I don't look upon himas a gentleman. Hark! hear that?" he shouted excitedly, as he lookedeagerly toward where the first carriage had passed round the curve aheadof him on its way toward Westminster. 

"Yes, there's something to see. I know; it must be the soldiers. Comealong; I want to see them. "

"No, it isn't the soldiers; it's the people cheering Lord Ronald on hisway to the Parliament House. They like him. Every one does. He knowsmy father, and yours too. He knows me. Didn't you see him smile? I'llintroduce you to him first time there's a levee. "

"No, I say, don't, " said Frank, flushing. "He'd laugh at me. "

"So do I now. But this won't do, Frank; you mustn't be so modest. "

The second carriage which had passed them rolled on round the curve inthe track of the first and disappeared, Frank noticing that many of thepromenaders turned their heads to look after it. Then his attention wastaken up by his companion's words. 

"Look here, " he cried; "I want to show you Fleet Street. "

"Fleet Street, " said Frank, --"Fleet Street. Isn't that where Temple Baris?"

"Well done, countryman! Quite right. "

"Then I don't want to see it. "

"Why?" said Andrew, turning to him in surprise at the change which hadcome over his companion, who spoke in a sharp, decided way. 

"Because I read about the two traitors' heads being stuck up there onTemple Bar, and it seems so horrible and barbarous. "

"So it is, Frank, " whispered Andrew, grasping his companion's arm. "It's horrible and cowardly. It's brutal; and--and--I can't find wordsbad enough for the act of insulting the dead bodies of brave men afterthey've executed them. But never mind; it will be different some day. There, I always knew I should like you, young one. You've got the rightstuff in you for making a brave, true gentleman; and--and I hope Ihave. "

"I'm sure you have, " cried Frank warmly. 

"Then we will not pass under the old city gate, with its horrible, grinning heads: but I must take you to Fleet Street; so we'll go toWestminster Stairs and have a boat--it will be nice on the river. "

"Yes, glorious on an evening like this, " cried Frank excitedly; "and, Isay, we can go round by Queen Anne Street. "

"What for? It's out of the way. "

"Well, only along by the Park side; I want to look up at our windows. "

"But your mother's at the Palace. "

"Father might be at home; he often sits at one of the windows lookingover the Park. "

"Come along then, " cried Andrew mockingly; "the good little boy shall betaken where he can see his father and mother, and--hark! listen! hearthat?" he cried excitedly. 

"Yes. What can it be?"

"The people hooting and yelling at Granthill. They're mobbing hiscarriage. Run, run! I must see that. "

Andrew Forbes trotted off, forgetting all his dignity as one of thePrincess's pages, and heedless now in his excitement of what any of thewell-dressed promenaders might think; while, laughing to himself thewhile, Frank kept step with him, running easily and looking quite coolwhen the tall, overgrown lad at his side, who was unused to outdoorexercise, dropped into a walk panting heavily. 

"Too late!" he said, in a tone of vexation. "There the carriage goes, through Storey's Gate. Look at the crowd after it. They'll hoot himtill the soldiers stop them. Come along, Frank; we shall see a fight, and perhaps some one will be killed. "

CHAPTER THREE. 

GETTING INTO HOT WATER. 

The excitement of his companion was now communicated to Frank Gowan, andas fast as they could walk they hurried on toward the gate at the cornerof the Park, passing knot after knot of people talking about the scenewhich had taken place. But the boy did not forget to look eagerly inthe direction of the row of goodly houses standing back behind thetrees, and facing on to the Park, before they turned out through thegate and found themselves in the tail of the crowd hurrying on towardPalace Ward. 

The crowd grew more dense till they reached the end of the street withthe open space in front, where it was impossible to go farther. 

"Let's try and get round, " whispered Andrew. "Do you hear? They'refighting!"

Being young and active, they soon managed to get round to where theyanticipated obtaining a view of the proceedings; but there was nothingto see but a surging crowd, for the most part well-dressed, but leavenedby the mob, and this was broken up from time to time by the passing ofcarriages whose horses were forced to walk. 

"Oh, if we could only get close up!" said Andrew impatiently. "Hark atthe shouting and yelling. They are fighting with the soldiers now. "

"No, no, not yet, youngster, " said a well-dressed man close by them;"it's only men's canes and fists. The Whigs are getting the worst ofit; so you two boys had better go while your heads are whole. "

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I know a Whig when I see one, my lad. "

"Do you mean that as an insult, sir?" said Andrew haughtily. 

"No, " said the gentleman, smiling; "only as a bit of advice. "

"Because if you did--" said Andrew, laying his hand upon his sword. 

"You would send your friends to me, boy, and then I should not fight. Nonsense, my lad. There, off with your friend while your shoes aregood, and don't raise your voice, or some one will find out that you arefrom the Palace. Then the news would run like wild fire, and you oughtto know by this time what a cowardly London mob will do. They nearlytore Sir Marland Granthill out of his carriage just now. There, if I amnot on your side, I speak as a friend. "

Before Andrew could make any retort, and just as Frank was tugging athis arm to get him away, they were separated from the stranger by a rushin the crowd, which forced them up into a doorway, from whose step theysaw, one after the other, no less than six men borne along insensibleand bleeding from wounds upon the head, while their clothes were nearlytorn from their backs. 

Then the shouting and yelling began to subside, and the two lads wereforced to go with the stream, till an opportunity came for them to divedown a side street and reach the river stairs, where they took a wherryand were rowed east. 

"I should like to know who that man was, " said Andrew, after a longsilence, during which they went gliding along with the falling tide. 

"He spoke very well, " said Frank. 

"Yes; but he took me for a Whig, " said the youth indignantly. 

"But, I say, what was it all about?"

"Oh, you'll soon learn that, " replied Andrew. 

"Is there often fighting like this going on in the streets?"

"Every day somewhere. "

"But why?" said Frank anxiously. 

"Surely you know! Because the Whigs have brought in a king that thepeople do not like. There, don't talk about it any more now. I want tosit still and think. "

Frank respected his companion's silence, and thankful at having escapedfrom the heat and pressure of the crowd, he sat gazing at the movingpanorama on either side, enjoying the novelty of his position. 

His musings upon what he saw were interrupted by his companion, whorepeated his former words suddenly in a low, thoughtful voice, but onefull of annoyance, as if the words were rankling in his memory. 

"He took me for a Whig. "

Then, catching sight of his companion's eyes watching him wonderingly:

"What say?" he cried. "Did you speak?"

"No; you did. "

"No, I said nothing. "

Frank smiled. 

"Yes, you said again that the man in the crowd took you for a Whig. "

"Did I? Well, I was thinking aloud then. "

"Where to, sir?" asked the waterman, as he sent the boat gliding alongpast the gardens of the Temple, "London Bridge?"

"No; Blackfriars. "

A few minutes later they landed at the stairs, and, apparently quite athome in the place, Andrew led his companion in and out among thegloomy-looking streets and lanes of the old Alsatian district, and outinto the continuation of what might very well be called High Street, London. 

"Here we are, " he said, as he directed their steps toward one of thenarrow courts which ran north from the main thoroughfare; but uponreaching the end, where a knot of excitable-looking men were talkingloudly upon some subject which evidently interested them deeply, one ofthe loudest speakers suddenly ceased his harangue and directed theattention of his companions to the two lads. The result was that allfaced round and stared at them offensively, bringing the colour intoAndrew's cheeks and making Frank feel uncomfortable. 

"Let's go straight on, " said the former; and drawing himself up, hewalked straight toward the group, which extended right across the roughpavement and into the road, so that any one who wanted to pass alongwould be compelled to make a circuit by stepping down first into thedirty gutter. 

"Keep close to me; don't give way, " whispered Andrew; and he kept onright in the face of the staring little crowd, till he was brought to astandstill, not a man offering to budge. 

"Will you allow us to pass?" said Andrew haughtily. 

"Plenty o' room in the road, " shouted the man who had been speaking. "Aren't you going up the court?"

"I do not choose to go into the muddy road, sir, because you and yourparty take upon yourselves to block up the public way, " retorted Andrew, giving the man so fierce a look that for a moment or two he was somewhatabashed, and his companions, influenced by the stronger will of one whowas in the right, began to make way for the well-dressed pair. 

But the first man found his tongue directly. 

"Here, clear the road!" he cried banteringly. "Make way, you dirtyblackguards, for my lords. Lie down, some of you, and let 'em walk overyou. Lost your way, my lords? Why didn't you come in your carriages, with horse soldiers before and behind? But it's no use to-day; the LordMayor's gone out to dinner with his wife. "

A roar of coarse laughter followed this sally, which increased asanother man shouted in imitation of military commands:

"Heads up; draw skewers; right forward; ma-rr-rr-ch!"

"Scum!" said Andrew contemptuously, as they left the little crowdbehind. 

"Is the city always like this?" said Frank, whose face now was as red ashis companion's. 

"Yes, now, " said Andrew bitterly. "That's a specimen of a Whig mob. "

"Nonsense!" cried Frank, rather warmly; "don't be so prejudiced. Howcan you tell that they are Whigs?"

"By the way in which they jumped at a chance to insult gentlemen. Horsesoldiers indeed! Draw swords! Oh! I should like to be at the head ofa troop, to give the order and chase the dirty ruffians out of thestreet, and make my men thrash them with the flats of their blades tillthey went down on their knees in the mud and howled for mercy. "

"What a furious fire-eater you are, Drew, " cried Frank, recovering hisequanimity. "We ought to have stepped out into the road. "

"For a set of jeering ruffians like that!" cried Andrew. "No. Theyhate to see a gentleman go by. London is getting disgraceful now. "

"Never mind. There, I've seen enough of it. Let's get down to theriver again, and take a boat; it's much pleasanter than being in thisnoisy, crowded place. "

"Not yet. We've a better right here than a mob like that. It would berunning away. "

"Why, how would they know?" said Frank merrily. 

"I should know, and feel as if I had disgraced myself, " replied Andrewhaughtily. "Besides, I wanted to see a gentleman. "

"What, up that court?" said Frank, looking curiously at his companion. 

"Yes, a gentleman up that court. There are plenty of gentlemen, andnoblemen, too, driven nowadays to live in worse places than that, andhide about in holes and corners. "

"Oh, I say, don't be so cross because a lot of idlers would not makeway. "

"It isn't that, " said the youth. "It half maddens me sometimes. "

"Then don't think about it. You are always talking about politics. Idon't understand much about them, but it seems to me that if people obeythe laws they can live happily enough. "

"Poor Frank!" said Andrew mockingly. "But never mind. You have goteverything to learn. This way. "

The boy was thinking that he did not want to learn "everything" if thestudies were to make him as irritable and peppery as his companion, whenthe imperative order to turn came upon him by surprise, and he followedAndrew, who had suddenly turned into a narrower court than the one forwhich he had first made, and out of the roaring street into comparativesilence. 

"Where are you going?"

"This way. We can get round by the back. I want to see my friend. "

The court was only a few feet wide, and the occupants of the opposinghouses could easily have carried on a conversation from the openwindows; but these occupants seemed to be too busy, for in the glimpseshe obtained as they passed, Frank caught sight of workmen in paper capsand dirty white aprons, and boys hurrying to and fro, carrying packetsof paper. 

But he had not much opportunity for noticing what business was beingcarried on, for they soon reached the end of the court, where a freshgroup of men were standing listening to a speaker holding forth from anopen window, and the lad fully expected a similar scene to that whichhad taken place in the main street. 

But people made way here, and Andrew, apparently quite at home, turnedto the left along a very dirty lane, plunged into another court, and inand out two or three times in silence, along what seemed to the boyfresh from quaint old Winchester a perfect maze. 

"I say, Drew, " he said at last, "you must have been here before. "

"I? Oh yes! I know London pretty well. Now down here. "

He plunged sharply now round a corner and into the wide court he had atfirst made for, but now from its northern end. So quick and sudden wasthe movement made that the two lads, before they could realise the fact, found themselves in another crowd, which filled this court from end toend. The people composing it were principally of the rough class theyhad seen grouped at the lower part, but fully half were workmen in theirshirt sleeves, many of them with faces blackened by their occupation, while a smaller portion was well-dressed, and kept on moving about andtalking earnestly to the people around. 

"Too late, " said Andrew, half to himself. 

"Yes; we shall have to go round and reach the street farther along, "said Frank quietly. "We don't want to push through there. "

"But it's here I want to see my friend. "

"Does he live in this place?"

"No; but he is sure to be there--in that house. "

The lad nodded at a goodly sized mansion about half-way down the court;and even from where they stood they could make out that the place wascrowded, and that something exciting was going on, the crowd in thecourt outside being evidently listeners, trying to catch what was saidwithin, the murmurs of which reached the two lads' ears. 

All at once there was a loud outburst of cheering, shouting, andclapping of hands, as if at the conclusion of a speech; and this wasresponded to by a roar of yells, hoots, and derisive cries from thecourt. 

"Oh! too late--too late, " muttered Andrew. "Silence, you miserablecrew!"

But where heard his words passed unnoticed, those around evidentlytaking them as being addressed to the people in the great tavern. 

"Let's get away--quickly, while we can, " said Frank, with his lips closeto his companion's ear; but the lad shook him off angrily, and thenuttered a cry of rage, for at that moment there was a loud crash andsplintering of glass, the mob in the court, evidently under thedirection of the well-dressed men, hurling stones, decayed vegetables, and rubbish of all kinds in at the windows of the tavern. 

This was responded to by shouts of defiance and a rain of pots, glasses, and pails of water; and even the pails themselves were hurled down uponthe heads of the people in the court, while a long oaken settle whichcame clattering down fell crosswise, the end coming within a few inchesof a man's head. 

"Oh, do let's go!" Frank very naturally said, gripping Andrew's armhard. 

But the lad seemed to have suddenly gone crazy with excitement, shoutingand gesticulating with the rest, directing his words, which sounded likemenaces, at the people crowding at the window of the house. 

At this the mob cheered, and, as if in answer to his orders, made a rushfor the door, surging in, armed for the most part with sticks, and as ifto carry the place by assault. 

"I can't go and leave him, " thought Frank; and directly after--as helooked up the court toward the end by which they had entered, and downfrom which they had been borne until they were nearly opposite thehouse--"if I wanted to, " he muttered, as he saw how they were wedged inand swayed here and there by the crowd. 

The noise increased, the crowd beginning to cheer loudly, as crowds willwhen excited by the chance to commit mischief, and Frank remainedignorant of the reasons which impelled them on, as he watched theexciting scene. The sound of blows, yells of defiance, and the angry, increasing roar of those contending within the house, set his heartbeating wildly. For a few minutes, when he found himself shut in by thepeople around, a feeling of dread came over him, mingled with despair athis helplessness, and he would have given anything to be able to escapefrom his position; but as he saw man after man come stumbling outbruised and bleeding, and heard the cries of rage uttered by those whohemmed him in, the feeling of fear gave place to indignation, and thiswas soon followed by an angry desire to help those who, amidst thecheers of their fellows, pressed forward to take the place of those whowere beaten back. 

It was at this moment that he saw two well-dressed men waving swordsabove their heads, and, white now with rage, Andrew turned to him. 

"The cowards--the dogs!" he whispered. "Frank lad, you will be manenough to help?"

"Yes, yes, " panted the boy huskily, with a sensation akin to that whichhe had felt when hurt in his last school fight, when, reckless frompain, he had dashed at a tyrannical fellow-pupil who was planting blowafter blow upon him almost as he pleased. 

"Draw your sword then, and follow me. "

Frank made a struggle to wrench himself free, but it was in vain. 

"I can't!" he panted. "My arms are pinned down to my side. "

"So are mine, " groaned Andrew. "I can hardly breathe. "

A furious yell of rage arose from fifty throats, and the two lads sawthe attacking party come tumbling one over the other out of the tavern, driven back by the defenders, who charged bravely out after them, armedwith stick and sword; and almost before the two lads could realise theirposition they found themselves being carried along in the human streamwell out of reach of the blows being showered down by the rallying partyfrom the house, who literally drove their enemies before them, at firststep by step, striking back in their own defence, rendered desperate bytheir position, then giving up and seeking refuge in flight, when with arush their companions gave way more and more in front. 

For a few minutes the heat and pressure were suffocating, and as Frankand his companion were twisted round and borne backward, the former felta peculiar sensation of giddy faintness, the walls swam round, theshouting sounded distant, and he was only half-conscious when, incompany with those around, he was shot out of the narrow entrance of thecourt; and then the terrible pressure ceased. 

CHAPTER FOUR. 

FRANK'S EYES BEGIN TO OPEN. 

Everything else seemed to the boy to cease at the same time, till hebecame conscious of feeling cold and wet, and heard a voice speaking:

"And him quite a boy too. I wonder what his mother would say. --Here, drink this, my dear; and don't you never go amongst the crazy, quarrelsome wretches again. I don't know what we're coming to withtheir fighting in the streets. It isn't safe to go out, that it isn't. Drink it all, my dear; you'll feel better then. I always feel faintmyself if I get in a crowd. "

Frank had heard every word, with a peculiar dreamy feeling that he oughtto listen and know who the boy was so addressed. Then he becameconscious that it was he who was drinking from a mug of water held tohis lips; and, opening his eyes, he looked up into a pleasant, homelyface bending over him in an open doorway, upon whose step he wassitting, half leaning against the doorpost, half against the woman whowas kneeling at his side. 

"Ah, that's better, " said the woman. "Now you take my advice; you gostraight home. You're not a man yet, and don't want to mix yourself upwith people fighting about who ought to be king. Just as if it mattersto such as us. As I often tell my husband, he'd a deal better attend togetting his living, and not go listening to people argifying whetherit's to be the king on the other side of the water or on this. I say, give me peace and--You feel better, don't you?"

"Yes, thank you, " said Frank, making an effort to rise; but the momenthe tried the ground seemed to heave up beneath him. 

"You're not quite right yet, my dear; sit still a little longer. Andyou too with a sword by your side, just as if you wanted to fight. Icall it shocking, that I do. "

"But I am much better, " said Frank, ignoring the woman's remarks. "Ican walk now. But did you see my friend?"

"Your friend? Was it one of those rough-looking fellows who camerunning down with you between 'em, and half a dozen more hunting them, and they pushed you in here and ran on?"

"Oh no. My friend is a--Ah! there he is. Drew! Drew!"

Looking white and strange, Andrew Forbes was coming hurriedly down thenarrow lane, when he heard his name pronounced, and looking round hecaught sight of his companion, and hurried to his side. 

"Oh, here you are!" he panted. "I've been looking for you everywhere. I was afraid they had taken you to the watch-house. I couldn't keep byyou; I was regularly dragged away. "

"Were you hurt?" cried Frank excitedly. 

"Felt as if my ribs were all crushed in. But what about you?"

"I suppose I turned faint, " said Frank. "I didn't know anything till Ifound myself here, and this lady giving me water. "

"Oh, I'm not a lady, my dear, " said the woman, smiling, --"only alaundress as does for some of the gentlemen in the Temple. There now, you both go home; for I can see that you don't belong to this part ofthe town. I dare say, if the truth was known, he brought you here. "

Frank was silent, but he glanced up at Andrew, who was carefullyrearranging his dress and brushing his cocked hat. 

"I thought as much, " said the woman. "He's bigger, and he ought to haveknown better than to get into such a shameful disturbance. --What'sthat?--Lor' bless me, no, my dear! Why should I take a mark for a mugof cold water? Put it in your pocket, my dear; you'll want it to buycakes and apples. I don't want to be paid for doing a Christian act. "

"Then thank you very much, " said Frank warmly, offering his hand. 

"Oh! if you will, " said the woman, "I don't mind. It isn't the firsttime I've shook hands with a gentleman. "

The woman turned, smiling with pleasure, as if to repeat the performancewith Andrew Forbes; but as she caught sight of his frowning countenanceher hand fell to her side, and she dropped the youth a formal curtsey. 

"Thank you for helping my friend, " he said. 

"You're quite welkum, young man, " said the woman tartly. "And if you'lltake my advice, you won't bring him into these parts again, wherethey're doing nothing else but swash-buckling from morning to night. The broken heads I've seen this year is quite awful, and--"

Andrew Forbes did not wait to hear the rest, but passed his arm throughthat of Frank, and walked with him swiftly down the narrow lane towardthe water-side. 

"You're not much hurt, are you?"

"Oh no. It was the heat and being squeezed so. "

"Don't say you were frightened, lad!" cried Andrew. 

"I was at first; but when I saw the people being knocked about so, Ifelt as if I wanted to help. "

"That's right. You've got the right stuff in you. But wasn't itglorious?"

"Glorious?"

"Yes!" cried Andrew excitedly. "It was brave and gallant to a degree. The cowardly brutes were three times as many as the others. "

"Oh no; the other side was the stronger, and they ought to havewhipped. "

"Nonsense! You don't know what you are talking about, " said Andrewwarmly. "The miserable brutes were five or six times as strong, and thebrave fellows drove them like a flock of sheep right out of the court, and scattered them in the street like chaff. Oh, it made up foreverything!"

Frank put his hand to his head. 

"I don't quite understand it, " he said. "My head feels swimming andqueer yet. I thought the people in the house were the weaker--I meanthose who dashed out shouting, `Down with the Dutchmen!'"

"Of course, " cried Andrew; "that's what I'm saying. It was veryhorrible to be situated as we were. "

"Yes, horrible, " said Frank quietly. 

"Not able to so much as draw one's sword. "

"Too much squeezed together. "

"Yes, " said Andrew, with his face flushed warmly. "I did cry out andshout to them to come on; but one was so helpless and mixed-up-like thatpeople could hardly tell which side they belonged to. "

"No, " said Frank drily; "it was hard. "

He looked meaningly at his companion as he spoke; but Andrew's eyes weregazing straight before him, and he was seeing right into the future. 

"Did you see your friend you wanted to speak to?" said Frank, as theyreached the river-side. 

"See him? Yes, fighting like a hero; but I couldn't get near him. Never mind; another time will do. I little thought I should come to thecity to-day to see such a victory. It all shows how things areworking. "

"Going to ride back by boat?" said Frank, as if to change theconversation. 

"Oh yes; we can't go along Fleet Street and the Strand. The streetswill be full of constables, and soldiers out too I dare say. They'rebusy making arrests I know; and if we were to go along there, as likelyas not there'd be some spy or one of the beaten side ready to point usout as having been in it. "

They reached the stairs, took their place in a wherry, and as theyleaned back and the waterman tugged at his oars, against tide now, Franksaid thoughtfully:

"I say, what would have happened if somebody had pointed us out?"

"We should have been locked up of course, and been taken before themagistrate to-morrow. Then it would all have come out about our beingthere, and--ha--ha--ha!--the Prince would have had vacancies for twomore pages. --I shouldn't have cared. "

"I should, " said Frank quickly, as he saw in imagination the painedfaces of father and mother. 

"Well, of course, so should I. Don't take any notice of what I said. Besides, we can be so useful as we are. "

"How?" said Frank thoughtfully. "It always seems to me that we are buta couple of ornaments, and of no use at all. "

"Ah! wait, " said Andrew quietly. Then, as if feeling that he had beenin his excitement letting his tongue run far too fast, he turned to hiscompanion, and said gently:

"You are the son of a gallant officer and a beautiful lady, and I knowyou would not say a word that would injure a friend. "

"I hope not, " said Frank, rather huskily. 

"I'm sure you would not, or I should not have spoken out as I have. Butdon't take any notice; you see, a man can't help talking politics at atime like this. Well, when will you come to the city again?"

"Never, if I can help it, " said Frank shortly; and that night in bed helay sleepless for hours, thinking of his companion's words, and graspingpretty clearly that King George the First had a personage in his palacewho was utterly unworthy of trust. 

"And it's such a pity, " said the boy, with a sigh. "I like AndrewForbes, though he is a bit conceited and a dandy; but it seems as if Iought to speak to somebody about what I know. My father--my mother?There is no one else I should like to trust with such a secret. But hehas left it to my honour, and I feel pulled both ways. What ought I todo?"

He fell asleep at last with that question unanswered, and when he awokethe next morning the thought repeated itself with stronger force thanbefore, "Why, he must be at heart a traitor to the King!" and once morein dire perplexity Frank Gowan asked himself that question, "What shallI do?"

CHAPTER FIVE. 

THE OFFICER OF THE GUARDS. 

It would not take much guessing to arrive at the course taken by FrankGowan. He cudgelled his brains well, being in a kind of mental balance, which one day went down in favour of making a clean breast of all heknew to his mother; the next day up went that side, for he felt quiteindignant with himself. 

Here, he argued, was he, Frank Gowan, freshly appointed one of thePrince's pages, a most honourable position for a youth of his years, andwith splendid prospects before him, cut off from his old schoolfriendships, and enjoying a new one with a handsome, well-born lad, whom, in spite of many little failings at which he laughed, hethoroughly admired for his dash, courage, and knowledge of the worldembraced by the court. This lad had completely taken him under hiswing, made him proud by the preference he showed for his companionship, and ready to display his warm admiration for his new friend by makinghim the confidant of his secret desires; and what was he, the trustedfriend, about to do? Play traitor, and betray his confidence. But, then, was not Andrew Forbes seeking to play traitor to the King?

"That's only talk and vanity, " said the boy to himself. "He has donenothing traitorous; but if I go and talk to any one, I shall have donesomething--something cruelly treacherous, which must end in the poorfellow being sent away from the court in disgrace, perhaps to a severepunishment. "

He turned cold at the thought. 

"They hang or behead people for high treason, " he thought; "and supposeDrew were to be punished like that, how should I feel afterward? Ishould never forgive myself. Besides, how could I go and worry mymother about such a business as this? It is not women's work, and itwould only make her unhappy. "

But he felt that he might go to his father, and confide the matter tohim, asking him on his honour not to do anything likely to injure Drew. 

But he could not go and confide in his father, who was generally withhis regiment, and they only met on rare occasions. By chance he caughtsight of him on duty at the Palace with the guard, but he could notspeak to him then. At other times he was at his barrack quarters, andrarely at his town house across the Park in Queen Anne Street. Thisplace was generally only occupied by the servants, Lady Gowan havingapartments in the Palace. 

Hence Frank felt that it would be very difficult to see his father andconfide in him, and he grew more at ease in consequence. It was the wayout of a difficulty most dear to many of us--to wit, letting thingsdrift to settle themselves. 

And so matters went on for some days. Frank had been constantly incompany with Andrew Forbes, and his admiration for the handsome lad grewinto a hearty friendship, which was as warmly returned. 

"He can't help knowing he is good-looking, " thought Frank, "and thatmakes him a bit conceited; but it will soon wear off. I shall joke himout of it. And he knows so much. He is so manly. He makes me feellike an awkward schoolboy beside him. "

Frank knitted his brow a little over these thoughts, but he brightenedup with a laugh directly. 

"I think I could startle him, though, " he said half aloud, "if I had himdown at Winchester. "

It was one bright morning at the Palace, where he was standing at theanteroom window just after the regular morning military display, and hehad hardly thought this when a couple of hands were passed over hiseyes, and he was held fast. 

"I know who it is, " he said, "though you don't think it. It's you, Drew. "

"How did you know?" said that individual merrily. 

"Because you have hands like a girl's, and no lady here would have doneit. "

"Bah! hands like a girl's indeed! I shall have to lick you into abetter shape, bear. You grow too insolent. "

"Very well; why don't you begin?" said Frank merrily. 

"Because I don't choose. Look here, young one; I want you to come outwith me for a bit this afternoon. "

"No, thank you, " replied the boy, shaking his head. "I don't want to goand see mad politicians quarrel and fight in the city, and get nearlysqueezed to death. "

"Who wants you to? It's only to go for a walk. "

"That was going for a walk. "

"Afraid of getting your long hair taken out of curl?" said Andrewbanteringly. 

"No; that would curl up again; but I don't want to have my clothes tornoff my back. "

"You won't get them torn off this afternoon. I want you to come in thePark there, down by the water-side. You'll like that, savage. "

"Yes, of course. Can we fish?"

"No, that wouldn't do; but I tell you what: you can take some bread withyou and feed the ducks. "

"Take some bread with me and feed the ducks!" cried the boycontemptuously. 

"Well, that's what I'm going to do. Then you won't come?"

"Yes, I will, Drew, if I can get away. Of course I will. Oh, mother, you there?"

Lady Gowan had just entered the room, and came up toward the window, smiling, and looking proud, happy, and almost too young to be the motherof the stout, manly-looking boy who hurried to meet her; and courtetiquette did not hinder a loving exchange of kisses. She shook handsdirectly after with Andrew Forbes. 

"I am afraid that you two find it very dull here sometimes, " she said. 

"Well, yes, Lady Gowan, " said the youth, "I often do. I'm not likeFrank here, with his friends at court. "

"But I have so few opportunities for seeing him, Mr Forbes. After afew weeks, though, I shall be at home yonder, and then you must come andspend as much time there as you can with Frank. "

Andrew bowed and smiled, and said something about being glad. 

"Frank dear, " said Lady Gowan, "I have had a letter from your fatherthis morning, and I have written an answer. He wants to see you for alittle while. He is at home for a couple of days. You can take thenote across. "

"Yes, " cried Frank, flushing with pleasure; but the next moment heturned to Andrew with an apologetic look. 

"What is the matter?" said Lady Gowan. "Am I interrupting some plans?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing, Lady Gowan, " said Andrew, warmly. 

"I was going out with Drew, mother; but we can go another time. He willnot mind. "

"But it was only this afternoon. "

"Oh!" cried Lady Gowan, "he will be back in an hour or so. I am gladthat you were going out, my boy; it will make a little change for you. And I am very glad, Mr Forbes, that he has found so kind a companion. "

Andrew played the courtier to such perfection, that as soon as she hadpassed out of the room with her son Lady Gowan laughed merrily. 

"In confidence, Frank, " she said, "and not to hurt Mr Forbes'sfeelings, do not imitate his little bits of courtly etiquette. Theypartake too much of the dancing-master. I like to see my boy naturaland manly. There, quick to your father, with my dear love, and tell himI am longing for his leave, when we can have, I hope, a couple of monthsin Hampshire. "

"Hah!" ejaculated Frank, as he hurried across the Park; "a couple ofmonths in Hampshire. I wonder how long it will be?"

Ten minutes later he was going up two steps at a time to the roomaffected by his father in the spacious house in Queen Anne Street, where, as soon as he threw open the door, he caught sight of the lightlybuilt but vigorous and active-looking officer in scarlet, seated at thewindow overlooking the Park, deep in a formidable-looking letter. 

"Ah, Frank, my dear boy, " he cried, hurriedly thrusting the letter intohis breast, "this is good. What, an answer already? You lucky youngdog, to have the best woman in the world for a mother. Bless her!" hecried, kissing the letter and placing it with the other; "I'll read thatwhen you are gone. Not come to stay, I suppose?"

"No, father, " cried the boy, whose eyes flashed with excitement as theytook in every portion of the officer in turn. "I've only come to bringthe note; mother said you wished to see me. "

"Of course, my boy, so as to have a few words. I just catch a glimpseof you now and then, but it's only a nod. "

"And I do often long so to come to you, " cried Frank, with his arm uponhis father's shoulder. 

"That's right, boy, " said Sir Robert, smiling and taking his hands; "butit wouldn't do for the captain of the guard to be hugging his boy beforeeverybody, eh? We men must be men, and do all that sort of thing with anod or a look. As long as we understand each other, my boy, that'senough, eh?"

"Yes, father, of course. "

"But bravo, Frank; you're growing and putting on muscle. By George, yes! Arms are getting hard, and--good--fine depth of chest for yourage. Don't, because you are the Prince's page, grow into a dandymacaroni milk-sop, all scent, silk, long curls, and pomatum. I want youto grow into a man, fit for a soldier to fight for his king. "

"And that's what I want to do, father, " said the lad proudly. 

"Of course you do; and so you will. You are altering wonderfully, boy. Why, hallo! I say, " cried the captain, with mock seriousness, as heheld his son sidewise and gazed at his profile against the light. 

"What's the matter, father?" cried Frank, startled. 

"Keep your head still, sir; I want to look. Yes, it's a fact--veryyoung and tender, but there it is; it's coming up fast. Why, Frank boy, you'll soon have to shave. "

"What nonsense!" cried the boy, reddening partly at being laughed at, but quite as much with satisfaction. 

"It's no nonsense, you young dog. There's your moustache coming, and nomistake. Why, if I had a magnifying-glass, I could see it quiteplainly. "

"I say, father, don't; I can't stop long, and--and--that teases one. "

"Then I won't banter you, boy, " cried Sir Robert, clapping him heartilyon the shoulder; "but, I say, you know: it's too bad of you, sir. Idon't like it. "

"What is, father? What have I done?"

"Oh I suppose you can't help it; but it's too bad of you to grow sofast, and make your mother look an old woman. "

"That she doesn't, father, " cried the boy. "Why, she's theyoungest-looking and most beautiful lady at court. "

"So she is, my boy--so she is. Heaven bless her!"

"And as for you, father, you talk about looking old, and about megrowing big and manly; I shall never grow into such a fine, handsomeofficer as you. "

"Why, you wicked, parasitical, young court flatterer!" cried Sir Robert;"you're getting spoiled and sycophantish already. "

"I'm not, father!" cried the boy, flushing; "it's quite true, every wordof it. Everybody says what a noble-looking couple you are. "

"Do they, my boy?" said the father more gently, and there was a trace ofemotion in his tone. "But there's not much couple in it, living apartlike this. Ah, well, we have our duty to do, and mine is cut out forme. But never mind the looks, Frank, my boy, and the gay uniform; it'sthe man I want you to grow into. But all the same, sir, nature isnature. Look there. "

"What, at grandfather's portrait?"

"Yes, boy. You will not need to have yours painted, and I have not hadmine taken for the same reason. Is it like me?"

"Yes, father. If you were dressed the same, it would be exactly likeyou. "

"In twenty years' time it will do for you. "

Frank laughed. 

"But I say yes, sir, " cried Sir Robert. "Why, in sixteen years' time, if I could have stood still, we two would be as much alike as a coupleof peas. But in sixteen years perhaps I shall be in my grave. "

"Father!"

"Well, I'm a soldier, my boy; and soldiers have to run risks more thanother men. "

"Oh, but you won't; you're too big and brave. "

"Ha--ha--ha! Flattering again. Why, Frank, I sometimes think I'm acoward. "

"You! A coward! I should like to hear any one say so. "

"A good many will perhaps, boy. But there, never mind that; and perhapsafter all you had better not follow my profession. "

"What! not be a soldier!"

"Yes. Do you really wish to be?"

"Why of course, father; I don't want to be a palace lapdog all my life. "

"Bravo, Frank! well said!" cried the father heartily. "Well, you comeof a military family, and I dare say I can get you a commission when thebeard really does grow so that it can be seen without an optic glass. "

"Oh, I say, father, you're beginning to tease again. I say, do get upand walk across the room. "

"Eh? What for?"

"I want to look at you. "

Sir Robert smiled and shook his head. Then, slowly rising, he drewhimself up in military fashion, and marched slowly across the room andback, with his broad-skirted scarlet and gold uniform coat, whitebreeches, and high boots, and hand resting upon his sword hilt, andlooking the beau ideal of an officer of the King's Guards. 

"There, have I been weak enough, Frank?" he said, stopping in front ofhis son, and laying his hands affectionately upon his shoulders. "Allshow, my boy. When you've worn it as long as I have, you will think aslittle of it; but it is quite natural for it to attract a boy like you. But now sit down and tell me a little about how you spend your time. Ifind that you have quite taken up with Andrew Forbes. His fatherpromised me that the lad should try and be companionable to you. Forbesis an old friend of mine still, though he is in disgrace at court. Howdo you get on with Andrew? Like him?"

"Oh, very much, father. "

"Well, don't like him too much, my boy. Lads of your age are rather tooready to make idols of showy fellows a year or two older, and look up tothem and imitate them, when too often the idol is not of such good stuffas the worshipper. So you like him?"

"Yes, father. "

"Kind and helpful to you?"

"Oh, very. "

"Well, what is it?"

"What is what, father?"

"That cloudy look on your face. Why, Frank, I've looked at you so oftenthat I can read it quite plainly. Why, you've been quarrelling withAndrew Forbes!"

"Oh no, father; we're the best of friends. "

"Then what is it, Frank? You are keeping something back. "

Sir Robert spoke almost sternly, and the son shrank from gazing in thefine, bold, questioning eyes. 

"I knew it, " said Sir Robert. "What is it, boy? Speak out. "

It was the firm officer talking now, and Frank felt his breath comeshorter as his heart increased the speed of its pulsations. 

"Well, sir, I am waiting. Why don't you answer?"

"I can't, father. "

"Can't? I thought my boy always trusted his father, as he trusts hisson. There, out with it, Frank. The old saying, my lad. The truth maybe blamed, but can never be shamed. What is it--some scrape? There, let's have it, and get it over. Always come to me, my boy. We are noneof us perfect, so let there be no false shame. If you have done wrong, come to me and tell me like a man. If it means punishment, that willnot be one hundredth part as painful to you as keeping it back andforfeiting my confidence in my dear wife's boy. "

"Oh, I would come. I have wanted to come to you about this, but I feltthat I could not. "

"Why?"

"Because it would be dishonourable. "

"Perhaps that is only your opinion, Frank. Would it not be better forme to give you my opinion?"

The boy hesitated for a moment. Then quickly:

"I gave my word, father. "

"To whom?"

"Andrew Forbes. "

"Not to speak of whatever it is?"

"Yes, father. "

Sir Robert Gowan sat looking stern and silent for a few moments as ifthinking deeply. 

"Frank boy, " he said at last. "I am a man of some experience; you are amere boy fresh from a country school, and now holding a post which mayexpose you to many temptations. I, then, as your father, whose desireis to watch over you and help you to grow into a brave and good man, hold that it would not be dishonourable for you to confide in me inevery way. It can be no dishonour for you to trust me. "

"Then I will tell you, father;" and the boy hastily laid bare hisbreast, telling of his adventures with Andrew Forbes, and how great asource of anxiety they had proved to be. 

"Hah!" said Sir Robert, after sitting with knitted brows lookingcuriously at his son and hearing him to the end. "Well, I am very gladthat you have spoken, my boy, and I think it will be right for you tostand your ground, and be ready to laugh at Master Andrew and hispolitical associations. It is what people call disloyal and treasonableon one side; on the other, it is considered noble and right. But youneed not trouble your head about that. Andrew Forbes is after all amere boy, very enthusiastic, and led away perhaps by thoughts of thePrince living in exile instead of sitting on the throne of England. Butyou don't want to touch politics for the next ten years. It would bebetter for many if they never touched them at all. There, I am glad youhave told me. "

"So am I now, father. But you will not speak about it all, so as to getDrew in disgrace?"

"I give you my word I will not, Frank. Oh, nonsense! It is froth--fluff; a chivalrous boy's fancy and sympathy for one he thinks isoppressed. No, Frank, no words of mine will do Drew Forbes any harm;but as for you--"

"Yes, father. "

"Do all you can to help him and hold him back. It would be a pity forhim to suffer through being rash. They might treat it all as a boy'snonsense--No, it would mean disgrace. Keep him from it if you can. "

"I, father! He is so much older than I am, and I looked up to him. "

"Proof of what I said, Frank, " cried Sir Robert, clapping his son uponthe shoulder. "He is a bright, showy lad; but you carry more ballastthan he. Brag's a good dog, you know, but Holdfast's a better. Now, then, I think you ought to be going back. Good-bye, my boy. I look toyou to be your mother's protector more and more. Perhaps in the futureI may be absent. But you must go now, for I have an important letter towrite. My dear love to your mother, and come to me again whenever youhave a chance. "

Sir Robert went down to the garden door with his son, and let him outthat way into the Park. 

"Mind, " he said at parting. "Keep away from political mobs. "

"I will, " said Frank to himself, as he turned back. "Well, it will beall right going with Drew this afternoon, as it is only to feed theducks. "

CHAPTER SIX. 

FRANK FEEDS THE DUCKS. 

Something very nearly akin to a guilty feeling troubled Frank uponmeeting his fellow-page that afternoon; but his father's promise, inconjunction with his words respecting Andrew's actions being merelythose of an enthusiastic boy, helped to modify the trouble he felt, andin a few minutes it passed off. For Andrew began by asking how hisfriend's father was, and praising him. 

"I always liked your father, Frank, " he said; "but he's far too good forwhere he is. Well, we're off duty till the evening. Ready for ourrun?"

"Oh yes, I'm ready, " said Frank, laughing; "but you won't run unlesssomebody's carriage is being mobbed. You could go fast enough then. "

"Well, of course I can run if I like. Come along. "

"Where's the bread?" asked Frank. 

"Bread? What bread? Are you hungry already?"

"No, no; the bread you talked about. "

"The bread I talked about? What nonsense! I never said anything aboutbread that I can remember. "

"Well, you said we were going to feed the ducks. "

"Oh-h-oh!" ejaculated Andrew; and he then burst into a hearty fit oflaughter. "Of course: so I did. I didn't think of it. Well, perhapswe had better take some. Ring the bell, and ask one of the footmen tobring you some. "

Frank thought it strange that his companion, after proposing that theyshould go and feed the ducks, had forgotten all about the bread. However, he said no more, but rang, and asked the servant to get him acouple of slices. 

The man stared, but withdrew, and came back directly. 

"I beg your pardon, sir, " he said; "but did you wish me to bring thebread here?"

"Certainly. Be quick, please. We are waiting to go out. "

The man withdrew for the second time, and the lads waited chattingtogether till Andrew grew impatient. 

"Ring again, " he cried. "Have they sent to have a loaf baked? It'sgetting late. Let's start. Never mind the bread. "

"Oh, let's have it now it's ordered. How are we to feed the duckswithout?"

"Throw them some stones, " said Andrew mockingly. "Come along. We'lllook at other people feeding them--if there are any. Look here; it'stwenty minutes by that clock since you gave the order. "

At that moment another footman opened the door, and held it back for oneof his fellows to enter bearing a tray covered with a cloth, on whichwere a loaf, a butter-dish, knives, plates, glasses, and a decanter ofwater. 

"Oh, what nonsense!" cried Andrew impatiently. "There, cut a slice, Frank, put it in your pocket, and come along, or we shall be late. "

"I did not know that ducks had particular hours for being fed, " thoughtthe boy, as he cut into the loaf, and then hacked off two slices insteadof one, the two men-servants standing respectfully back and looking on, both being too well-trained to smile, as Frank thrust one slice into hispocket and offered the other to Andrew. "Oh, I don't want it, " he saidimpatiently. "Better take it, " cried Frank. "I shan't give you any ofmine. "

Andrew hesitated for a moment, and then snatched a handkerchief from hispocket, wrapped the slice in it, and thrust the handkerchief back. 

"Perhaps I had better take one too, " he said aloud; and then to hiscompanion as they went out: "Makes one look so ridiculous and childishbefore the servants. They'll go chattering about it all over theplace. "

"Let them, " said Frank coolly. "I don't see anything to be ashamed of. "

"No, " said Andrew, with something like a sneer, "you don't; but you willsome day. There, let's make haste. "

It did not strike the lad that his companion's manner was peculiar, onlythat he felt it to be rather an undignified proceeding; but he saidnothing, and accommodating his stride to Andrew's long one, they crossedthe courtyard, went out into the Park, and came in sight of the waterglittering in the sun. 

"There's a good place, " said Frank. "Plenty of ducks close in. "

"Oh, there's a better place round on the other side, " said Andrewhastily. "Let's go there. "

"Anywhere you like, " said Frank, "so long as we're out here on the freshgrass again. What a treat it is to be among the green trees!"

"Much better than the country, eh?"

"Oh no; but it does very well. I say, I wish we might fish. "

"Oh, we'll go fishing some day. Walk faster; we're late. "

"Fast as you like. What do you say to a run? You can run, you say, when you like. "

"Oh no, we needn't run; only walk fast. "

"Or the ducks will be impatient, " said Frank, laughing. 

"Yes, or the ducks may be impatient, " said Andrew to himself, as he ledon toward the end of the ornamental water nearest to where BuckinghamPalace now stands, and bore off to the left; and when some distance backalong the farther shore of the lake and nearly opposite to Saint James'sPalace, he said suddenly:

"Look, Frank, there is some one beforehand;" and he pointed to where agentleman stood by the edge of the water shooting bits of biscuit withhis thumb and finger some distance out, apparently for the sake ofseeing the ducks race after them, some aiding themselves with theirwings, and then paddling back for more. 

The two lads walked up to where the gentleman was standing, and as heheard them approach he turned quickly, and Frank saw that he was a pale, slight, thin-faced, youngish-looking man who might be forty. 

"Ah, Andrew, " he said, "you here; how are you? You have not come tofeed the ducks?"

"Oh yes, I have, " said Andrew, giving the stranger a peculiar look; "andI've brought a friend with me. Let me introduce him. Mr Frank Gowan, Captain Sir Robert Gowan's son, and my fellow-servant with his RoyalHighness. Frank, this happens to be a friend of mine--Mr GeorgeSelby. "

"I am very glad to meet any friend of Andrew Forbes, " said the stranger, raising his hat with a most formal bow. "I know Sir Robert slightly. "

As he replaced his hat and smiled pleasantly to the salute Frank gave inreturn, he took a biscuit from his pocket, and began to break it in verysmall pieces, when, apparently without any idea of its looking childish, Andrew took out his piece of bread, and after a moment's hesitationFrank did the same, the ducks in his Majesty's "canal, " as he termed it, benefiting largely by the result. 

"Any news?" said Andrew, after this had been going on for some minutes, and as he spoke he turned his head and looked fixedly at Mr Selby. 

"No, nothing whatever; everything is as dull as can be, " was the reply, and the fixed look was returned. 

There seemed to be nothing in these words of an exciting nature, andFrank was intent upon a race between two green-headed drakes for a pieceof crust which he had jerked out to a considerable distance; but all thesame Andrew Forbes drew a deep breath, and his face flushed up. Then heglanced sharply at Frank, and looked relieved to find how his attentionwas diverted. 

"Er--er--it is strange what a little news there is stirring nowadays, "he said, huskily. 

"Yes, very, is it not?" replied their new companion; "but I should havethought that you gentlemen, living as you do in the very centre ofLondon life, would have had plenty to amuse you. "

"Oh no, " said Andrew, with a forced laugh. "Ours is a terrible humdrumlife at the Palace, so bad that Gowan there is always wanting to go outinto the country to find sport, and as he cannot and I cannot, we areglad to come out here and feed the ducks. "

"Well, " said the stranger gravely, jerking out a fresh piece of biscuit, "it is a nice, calm, and agreeable diversion. I like to come here forthe purpose on Wednesday and Friday afternoons about this time. It isharmless, Forbes. "

"Very, " said the youth, with another glance at Frank; but he wasbreaking a piece of crust for another throw, and another meaning lookpassed between the two, Forbes seeming to question the stranger with hiseyes, and to receive for answer an almost imperceptible nod. 

"Yes, I like feeding the ducks, " said Selby. "One acquires a good dealof natural history knowledge thereby, and also enjoys the pleasure ofmaking new and pleasant friends. "

This was directed at Frank, who felt uncomfortable, and made anotherbow, it being the proper thing to do, as his new acquaintance--he didnot mentally call him friend--dropped a piece of biscuit, to be seizedby a very fat duck, which had found racing a failure, and succeeded bestby coming out of the water, to snap up the fragments which dropped atthe distributors' feet. 

As the piece of biscuit fell, the stranger formally and in a very Frenchfashion raised his cocked hat again. 

"And so you find the court life dull, Mr Gowan, " he said. 

"Yes, " said the boy, colouring. "You see, I have not long leftWinchester and my school friends. Miss the ga--sports; but AndrewForbes has been very friendly to me, " he added heartily. 

"Of course you feel dull coming among strangers; but never fear, MrGowan, you will have many and valuable friends I hope, your humbleservant among the number. It must be dull, though, at this court. Nowat Saint--"

"That's my last piece of bread, Selby, " said Andrew hastily. "Give me abit of biscuit. "

"Certainly, if I have one left, " was the smiling reply, with anotheralmost imperceptible nod. "Yes, here is the last. Of course you mustfind it dull, and we have not seen you lately at the club, my dearfellow. By the way, why not bring Mr Gowan with you next time?"

"Oh, he would hardly care to come. He does not care for politics, eh, Frank?"

"I don't understand them, " said the boy quietly. 

"You soon will now you are resident in town, Mr Gowan; and I hope youwill favour us by accompanying your friend Forbes. Only a littlegathering of gentlemen, young, clever, and I hope enthusiastic. Youwill come?"

"I--that is--"

"Say yes, Frank, and don't be so precious modest. He will bring up abit of country now and then. But he is fast growing into a man oftown. "

"What nonsense, Drew!" cried the boy quickly. 

"Yes, what nonsense!" said the new acquaintance, smiling. "Believe me, Mr Gowan, we do not talk of town at our little social club. I shalllook forward to seeing you there as my guest. What do you say toMonday?"

"I say yes for both of us, " said Andrew quickly. 

"I am very glad. There, my last biscuit has gone, so till Mondayevening I will say good-bye--_au revoir_. "

"Stick to the English, Selby, " said Andrew sharply. "French is notfashionable at Saint James's. "

"You are quite right, my dear Forbes. Good-bye, Mr Gowan. It is apleasure to shake your father's son by the hand. Till Monday then, mydear Forbes;" and with a more courtly bow than ever, the gentlemanstalked slowly away, with one hand raising a laced handkerchief to hisface, the other resting upon his sword hilt. 

"Glad we met him, " said Andrew quickly, and he looked unusually excited. "One of the best of men. You will like him, Frank. "

"But you should not have been so ready to accept a stranger's invitationfor me. "

"Pooh! he isn't a stranger. He'll be grateful to you for going. Bigfamily the Selbys, and he'll be very rich some day. Wonderful how fondhe is, though, of feeding the ducks. "

"Yes, he seems to be, " said Frank; and he accompanied his companion asthe latter strolled on now along the bank after finishing thedistribution of bread to the feathered fowl by sending nearly a wholebiscuit skimming and making ducks and drakes on the surface of thewater; but the living ducks and drakes soon ended that performance andfollowed the pair in vain. For Andrew Forbes had suddenly become verythoughtful; while his companion also had his fit of musing, which endedin his saying to himself:

"I wish I was as clever as they are. It almost seemed as if they meantsomething more than they said. It comes from living in London Isuppose, and perhaps some day I shall get to be as sharp and quick asthey are. Perhaps, though, it is all nonsense, and they meant nothing. But I wish Drew had not said we'd go. I'm not a man, and what do I wantat a club? I don't know anything that they'd want to know, living as Ido shut up in the Palace. " But there Frank Gowan was wrong, for whatwent on at Saint James's Palace in the early days of the eighteenthcentury was of a great deal of interest to some people outside, and henever forgot the feeding of the ducks. 

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

HOW FRANK GOWAN GREW ONE YEAR OLDER IN ONE DAY. 

"I Seem to have so many things to worry me, " thought Frank. "Any onewould think that in a place like this without lessons or studies therewould be no unpleasantries; but as soon as I've got the better of one, another comes to worry me. "

This was in consequence of the invitation for the following Monday. Hismind was pretty well at ease about his confidential talk with hisfather; but he was nervous and uncomfortable about the visit to theclub, and several times over he was on the point of getting leave to goacross to Sir Robert to ask his opinion as to whether he ought to go. 

"I can't go and bother my mother about such a thing as that, " he mused. "I ought to be old enough now to be able to decide which is right andwhich is wrong. Drew thinks and talks like a man, while it seems to methat I'm almost a child compared to him. 

"Well, let's try. Ought I to go, or ought I not? There can't be anyharm to me in going. There may be some friends of Drew's whom I shan'tlike; but if there are I needn't go again. It's childish, when I wantto become more manly, to shrink from going into society, like a greatgirl. --I'll go. If there's any harm in it, the harm is likely to be toDrew, and--yes, of course; I could save him from getting into trouble. 

"Then I ought to go, " he said to himself decisively, and he felt atease, troubling himself little more about the matter, but going throughhis extremely easy duties of waiting in the anteroom, bearing lettersand messages from one part of the Palace to the other, and generallylooking courtly as a royal page. 

Then the Monday came, with Andrew Forbes in the highest of spirits, andready to chat about the country, his friend's life at Winchester, and tomake plans for running down to see them when his father and mother wentout of town. 

"I don't believe you'd like it if you did come, " said Frank. 

"Oh yes, I should. Why not?"

"Because you'd find some of the lanes muddy, and the edges of the roadsfull of brambles. You wouldn't care to see the bird's and squirrels andhedgehogs, nor the fish in the river, nor the rabbits and hares. "

"Why, those are all things that I am dying to see in their naturalplaces. I wish you would not think I am such a macaroni. Why, afterthe way in which you have gone on about the country, isn't it naturalthat I should want to see more of it?"

He kept on in this strain to such an extent that, instead of convincinghis companion, he overdid it, and set him wondering. 

"I don't understand him a bit, " he said to himself; "and I wish hewouldn't keep on calling me my dear fellow and slapping me on the back. I never saw him so wild and excitable before. "

The lad's musings were interrupted to his great disgust by Andrew comingbehind him with the very act and words which had annoyed him. For hestarted and turned angrily upon receiving a sounding slap between theshoulders. 

"Why, Frank, my dear fellow, " cried Andrew, "what ails you? Hallo! eyesflashing lightning and brow heavy with thunder. Has the gentle, shepherd-like swain from the country got a temper of his own?"

"Of course I have, " cried the boy angrily. "Why don't you let it liequiet, and not wake it up by doing that!"

"Is the temper like a surly dog, then?" cried Andrew, laughingmockingly. "Will it bite?"

"Yes, if you tease it too much, " snapped out Frank. 

"Oh, horrible! You alarm me!" cried Andrew, bounding away in mockdread. 

"Don't be a fool!" cried Frank angrily; and the tone and gesture whichaccompanied the request sobered Andrew in a moment, though his eyeslooked his surprise that the boy whom he patronised with something verymuch like contempt could be roused up into showing so much strength ofmind. 

"What's the matter, Frank boy?" he said quietly; "eaten something thathasn't agreed with you?"

"No, " said the boy sharply. "I haven't eaten it--I can't swallow it. "

"Eh? What do you mean? What is it?"

"You, " said Frank shortly. 

"Oh!" said Andrew, raising his eyebrows a little and staring at himhard; "and pray how is it you can't swallow me?"

"Because you will keep going on in this wild, stupid way, and treatingme as if I were some stupid boy whom you meant to make your butt. "

"What, to-day?"

"Yes, and yesterday, and the day before that, and last week, and--andever since I've been here. "

"Then why didn't you tell me of it if I did, like a gentleman should, and not call me a fool?"

"I didn't; I said don't be a fool. "

"Same thing. You insulted me. "

"Well, you've insulted me dozens of times. "

"And amongst gentlemen, sir, " continued Andrew haughtily, and ignoringthe other's words, "these things mean a meeting. Gentlemen don't wearswords for nothing. They have their honour to defend. Do youunderstand?"

"Oh yes, I understand, " said Frank warmly. "I haven't been behind thetrees in the big field at Winchester a dozen times perhaps withoutknowing what that means. "

"Pish!" said Andrew contemptuously; "schoolboys' squabbles settled withfists. Black eyes, bruised knuckles, and cut lips. "

"Well, schoolboys don't wear swords, " cried Frank, who was by no meansquelled. "I learned fencing, and I dare say I could use mine properly. I've fenced with my father in the holidays many a time. "

"Then I shall send a friend to you, sir, " said Andrew fiercely. 

"You mean an enemy, " said Frank grimly. 

"A friend, sir--a friend, " said Andrew haughtily; "and you can name yourown. "

"No, I can't, and I shouldn't make such a fool of myself, " cried Frankdefiantly. 

"You are very free, sir, with your fools, " cried Andrew. "Such languageas this is not fitted for the anteroom in the Palace. "

"I suppose I may call myself a fool if I like. "

"When you are alone, sir, if you think proper, but not in my presence. Perhaps you will have the goodness to name your friend now; it will savetime and trouble. "

Frank looked at his companion sharply. 

"Then you mean to fight?"

"Yes, sir, I mean to chastise this insolence. "

"They wouldn't let us cross swords within the Palace grounds. "

"Pooh! No paltry excuses and evasions, sir, " cried Andrew, in whosethin cheeks a couple of red spots appeared. "Of course we could nothold a meeting here. But there is the Park. I see, though. Big words, and now the dog that was going to bite is putting his tail between hislegs, and is ready to run away. "

"Is he?" said Frank sharply, and a curiously stubborn look came into hisface. "Don't you be too sure of that. But, anyhow, I'm not going tocross swords with you in real earnest. "

"I thought so. You are afraid that I should pink you. "

"Who's afraid?"

"Bah!" cried Andrew contemptuously. "You are. "

"Oh, am I?" growled Frank. "Look here; I'm sure my father wouldn't likeme to fight you with swords, whether you pinked me as you call it, or Iwounded you. "

"Pish! Frank Gowan, you are a poltroon. "

"Perhaps so; but look here, Andrew Forbes, you've often made me want tohit you when you've been so bounceable and patronising. Now, we weregoing to see your friend to-night--"

"We are going to see my friend to-night, sir. Even if gentlemen have anaffair, they keep their words. "

"If they can, and are fit to show themselves. I'm not going to thatplace with you this evening, though I had got leave to go out. You cango afterwards if you like; but if you'll come anywhere you like, wherewe shan't be stopped, I'll try and show you, big as you are, that I'mnot a coward. "

"Very well. I dare say we can find a place. But your sword is shorterthan mine. You must wear my other one. "

"Rubbish! I'm not going to fight with swords!" cried Frank. 

"What! you mean pistols?"

"I mean fists. "

In Honour's Cause. 

"Pah! like schoolboys or people in the mob. "

"I shan't fight with anything else, " said Frank stubbornly. 

"You shall, sir. Now, then, name your friend. "

"Can't; he wouldn't go. He's such a hot, peppery fellow too. "

"Then he is as big a coward as you are. "

"Look here, " said Frank, almost in a whisper. "I don't know so much asyou do about what we ought to do here, but I suppose it means a lot oftrouble; and if it does I can't help it, but if you call me a cowardagain I'll hit you straight in the face. "

"Coward then!" cried Andrew, in a sharp whisper. "Now hit me, if youdare. "

As he spoke he drew himself up to his full height, threw out his chest, and folded his arms behind him. 

Quick as thought Frank doubled his fist, and as he drew back his armraised his firm white knuckles to a level with his shoulder, and thenreason checked him, and he stood looking darkly into his fellow-page'seyes. 

"I knew it, " cried the latter--"a coward; and your friend is worse thanyou, or you wouldn't have chosen him. "

"Oh! don't you abuse him, " said Frank, with his face brightening; andhis eyes shone with the mirth which had suddenly taken the place of hisanger. 

"What! do you dare to mock me?" cried Andrew. 

"No; only it seemed so comic. You know, I've only had one friend sinceI've been here. How could I ask you?"

For a _few_ moments Andrew stood gazing at him, as if hardly knowing howto parry this verbal thrust, and then the look which had accompanied itdid its work. 

"I say, " he said, in an altered tone, "this is very absurd. "

"Yes, isn't it?" said Frank. "I never thought we two were going to havesuch a row. "

"But you called me a fool. "

"Didn't! But you did call me a coward. Ha--ha! and yourself too. But, I say, Drew, you don't think I'm a coward, do you?"

Andrew made no reply. 

"Because I don't think I am, " continued Frank. "I always hated to haveto fight down yonder. And as soon as we began I always felt afraid ofhurting the boy I fought with; but directly he hit out and hurt me Iforgot everything, and I used to go on hammering away till I dropped, and had to give in because he was too much for me, and I hadn't strengthto go on hammering any more. But somehow, " he added thoughtfully, andwith simple sincerity in his tones, "I never even then felt as if I wasbeaten, though of course I was. "

"But you used to beat sometimes?" said Andrew quietly. 

"Oh yes, often; I generally used to win. I've got such a hard head andsuch bony knuckles. But, I say, you don't think I should be afraid tofight, do you?"

"I'm sure you wouldn't be, " cried Andrew, with animation, "and--and, there I beg your pardon for treating you as I have and for calling you acoward. It was a lie, Frank, and--will you shake hands?"

There was a rapid movement, and this time the boy's fist flew out, butopened as it went and grasped the thin white hand extended toward him. 

"I say, don't please; you hurt, " said Andrew, screwing up his face. 

"Oh, I beg your pardon, " cried the boy. "I didn't mean to grip so hard. I say, though, is it as the officers say to the soldiers?"

"What do you mean?" said Andrew wonderingly. 

"As you were?"

"Of course. I'm sure our fathers never quarrelled and fought, and Iswear we never will. "

"That's right, " cried Frank. 

"And I never felt as if I liked you half so much as I do now. Why, Frank, old fellow, you seem as if you had suddenly grown a year oldersince we began to quarrel. "

"Do I?" said the boy, laughing. "I am glad. No, I don't think I am. But, I say, we mustn't quarrel often then, for I shall grow old toosoon. "

"I said we'd never quarrel again, " said Andrew seriously; "and somehowyou are really a good deal older than I have thought. But, I say, wemust go and meet Mr Selby to-night. "

"Oh yes, of course; and I shall always stand by and stop you in case youturn peppery to any one else, and stop you from righting him. "

"If it was in a right cause you would not. "

"I shouldn't?"

"No; I believe you would help me, and be ready to draw on my behalf. "

Frank turned to the speaker with a thoughtful, far-off look in his eyes, as if he were gazing along the vista of the future at somethinghappening far away. 

"I hope that will never come, " he said quietly, "for when I used tofight with my fists, as I said, I always forgot what I was about. Howwould it be if I held a drawn sword?"

"You would use it as a gentleman, a soldier, and a man of honourshould, " said Andrew warmly. 

"Should I?" said Frank sadly. 

"Yes, I am sure you would. "

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

THE TRAITORS' HEADS. 

"Where is Mr Selby's club?" asked Frank, as they started that afternoonto keep their appointment. 

"You be patient, and I'll show you, " replied Andrew. 

"But we are not going by water, are we?"

"To be sure we are. It's the pleasantest way, and we avoid the crowdedstreets. I am to introduce you, so I must be guide. "

This silenced Frank, who sank back in his seat when they stepped into awherry without hearing the order given to the waterman; and once morehis attention was taken up by the busy river scene, which so engrossedhis thoughts that he started in surprise on finding that they wereapproaching the stairs where they had landed upon their last visit, buthe made no remark aloud. 

"I did not know it was in the city, " he said, however, to himself; andwhen they landed, and Andrew began to make his way toward Fleet Street, his suspicion was aroused. 

"Is the club anywhere near that court where there was the fight?" hesaid suddenly. 

"Eh? Oh yes, very near! This is the part of London where all the wits, beaux, and clever men meet for conversation. You learn more in onenight listening than you do in a month's reading. You'll like it, Ipromise you. "

Frank was silent, and in spite of his companion's promise felt a littledoubtful. 

"Have you known Mr Selby very long?" he asked. 

"Depends upon what you call long. "

"Do you like him?"

"Oh yes, he's a splendid fellow. So are his friends splendid fellows. You'll like them too. Thorough gentlemen. Most of them of good birth. "

Frank was silent again; but he was becoming very observant now, as henoticed that, though they were going by a different way, they weretending toward the scene of their adventure, and the fight rose vividlybefore his imagination. But all was perfectly quiet and orderly around. There were plenty of people about, but all apparently engaged inbusiness matters, though all disposed to turn and look after thewell-dressed youths, who seemed foreign to their surroundings. 

It was a relief to Frank to find that there were no signs of an idlingcrowd, and he was congratulating himself upon that fact when, afterincreasing his pace as if annoyed at being noticed, Andrew said sharply:

"Walk a bit faster. How the oafs do stare!"

"Why, Drew!" cried Frank, suddenly checking himself, as his companion, who had led him to the spot from the opposite side, suddenly turned intothe court where they had been wedged in the crowd. 

"What is it?" said his companion impatiently. "Come along, quick!"

"But this is the place where they were fighting. "

"Of course; I know it is. What of it? They're not fighting now. "

As he spoke he was glancing rapidly up and down the court, and with hisarm well through that of Frank he urged him on toward the door of thelarge house. 

Frank was annoyed at having, as he felt, been deceived as to theirdestination, and ready to hang back. But he felt that it would seemcowardly, and that Andrew's silence had been from a feeling that if hehad said where they were coming he would have met with a refusal, whilethe next moment the boy found himself in the passage of the house. 

A burly man, in a big snuff-coloured coat, confronted them, arranging avery curly wig as he came, but smiled, bowed, and drew back to allow thevisitors to pass; and with a supercilious nod Andrew led on, apparentlyquite familiar with the place, and turned up a broad, well-wornstaircase, quite half of whose balusters were perfectly new andunpainted, evidently replacing those broken out for weapons during thefight. 

The sight of these and their suggestions did not increase Frank's desireto be there, but he went on up. 

"For this time only, " he said to himself; "but I'm not going to let himcheat me again. "

A buzz of voices issued from a partly opened door on the first floor, and Andrew walked straight in without hesitation, Frank finding himselfin the presence of about twenty gentlemen, standing at one end of a longroom, along whose sides were arranged small tables laid for dinner. 

The conversation stopped on the instant, and every eye was turned towardthe new-comers, who doffed their hats with the customary formal bows, when, to the great relief of Frank, one gentleman detached himself fromthe group and came to meet them. 

"How are you, Mr Selby?" said Andrew loudly. 

"The happier for seeing you keep your engagement, " said their friend thefeeder of ducks, smiling. "Mr Gowan, I am delighted to find my prayerhas not been vain. Let me introduce you to our friends here of theclub. We look upon this as a home, where we are all perfectly at ourease; and we wish our visitors--our neophytes--to feel the same. Gentlemen, let me introduce my guest, Mr Frank Gowan. I think some ofyou have heard his father's--Sir Robert Gowan's--name. "

There was a warm murmur of assent, and to a man the party assembledpressed forward to bid the visitors welcome. So pleasantly warm was thereception given to him, and so genuine the efforts made to set him athis ease, that the lad's feeling of diffidence and confusion soon beganto pass away, and with it the feeling of uneasiness; for the boy feltthat these gentlemen could not have been of the party engaged in theriot, and he had nearly persuaded himself that, as this was evidently apublic tavern, quite another class of people had occupied the room onhis previous visit to the place, only he could not make this explanationfit with Andrew's excitement and desire to join in the fight. 

But he had little time for thought. His bland and pleasant-spoken hosttook up too much of his attention, chatting fluently about the mostmatter-of-fact occurrences, political business being entirely excluded, and cleverly drawing the lads out in turn to talk about themselves andtheir aspirations, so ably, indeed, that before the agreeable littledinner served to these three at a table close to the window was halfover, Frank found that he was relating some of his country life andschool adventures to his host, and that the gentlemen at the tables oneither side were listening. 

The knowledge that he was being overheard acted as an extinguisher tothe light of the boy's oratory, and he stopped short. 

"Well?" said his host, with a pleasant smile; while Andrew leaned back, apparently quite satisfied with the impression his companion was making. "Pray go on. You drew the great trout close to the river-bank. Don'tsay you lost it after all. "

"Oh no, I caught it, " said Frank, colouring; "but I am talking toomuch. "

"My dear boy, " said Mr Selby, "believe me, your fresh, youngexperiences are delightful to us weary men of the town. Cannot you feelhow they revive our recollections of our own boyish days? There, praydon't think we are tired of anecdotes like this. Forbes here used to befond of the country; but he has grown such a lover of town life and thecourt that he hardly mentions it now. "

He went on playfully bantering Andrew, till quite a little passage ofgive-and-take ensued, which made Frank think of what a strange mixtureof clever, vain boy and thoughtful man his fellow-page seemed to be, while his own heart sank as he began to make comparisons, and he felthow thoroughly young he seemed to be amongst the clever men by whom hewas surrounded. 

But all the time his ears were active, and he listened for remarks thatwould endorse his suspicions of the principles of the members. Still, not a word reached him save such as strengthened Andrew's assurance thatMr Selby was one of a party of clever men who liked to meet for socialintercourse. The fight must have been with other people who occupiedthe room, he thought, and in all probability had nothing to do with thisclub at all. 

The evening passed rapidly away, and before Frank realised that it wasnear the time when they ought to be back at Saint James's Mr Selbyturned to him. 

"We are early birds here, " he said; "so pray excuse what I am about tosay, and believe that I am delighted to have made your acquaintance, onewhich is the beginning, I feel, of a life friendship. Gentlemen, " hesaid, rising, "it is time to part till our next meeting. Hands round, please, and then adieu. "

He turned to Frank, and held out his hand with a smile. 

"Our little parting ceremony, " he said. 

The boy involuntarily held out his, ready to say good-bye; but it wasclasped warmly by Selby in his left and retained, while Andrew with aquick, eager look took his other. 

Frank stared, for the rest, who had increased by degrees to nearlyforty, all joined hands till they had formed a ring facing inward. 

What did it mean? For a moment the boy felt ready to snatch his handsaway; but as he thought of so doing, he felt the clasp on either sidegrow firmer, and in a clear, low voice their host said:

"Across the water. "

"Across the water, " was echoed in a low, deep murmur by every one butFrank. 

Then hand ceased to clasp hand, people began to leave, and Mr Selbywent quickly to the other end of the room. 

"All over, " said Andrew, in a quick whisper. "Now then off, or we shallget into trouble for being late. "

"Yes, let's go, " said Frank, in a bewildered way; and he went downstairswith his companion, and out into the cool, pleasant night air of thestreet. 

"We shall have to walk, " said Andrew, "so step out. "

Frank obeyed in silence, and nothing more was said till, withoutthinking of where they were, they saw Temple Bar before them. 

"What did they mean by that?" said Frank suddenly. 

"By what?"

"Joining hands together and saying `Across the water. '"

"Oh, nothing. A way of saying good-bye if you live in Surrey. "

"Don't treat me as if I were a child, " cried Frank passionately. "I'msure it meant more than that. "

"Well, suppose it does, what then?"

"What then? Why, you have been tricking and deceiving me. Just too asit seemed that we were going to be the best of friends. "

"Nonsense! We are the best of friends, tied more tightly than ever tostand by each other to the end. "

"Then there is something in all this?"

"Of course there is. You knew there was when we agreed to come. "

"I did not!" cried Frank indignantly; "or if I thought that there mightbe, I felt that it was only a little foolish enthusiasm on your part, and that Mr Selby was only a casual friend. "

"Oh no; he is one of my best friends. "

"Drew, I shall never forgive you. It was mean and cruel to take methere in ignorance of what these men were. "

"Very nice gentlemanly fellows, and you looked as if you enjoyed theirsociety. "

"I see it all clearly enough now, " continued Frank excitedly, andwithout heeding; "they are Jacobites. "

"Not the only ones in London, if they are. "

"And `Across the water' means that man--the Pretender. "

"Hush! Don't call people names, " said Andrew, in a warning whisper. "You never know who is next you in the street. "

"I don't care who hears me. It is the truth. "

"Don't you be peppery now. Why, you were all amiability till we cameaway. "

"Because I could not think that there was anything in it. I could notbelieve you would play me such a trick. "

"All things are fair in love and war, " said Andrew. 

"It is a base piece of deception, and I'll never trust you again. "

"Oh yes, you will, always. You'll like them more and more every timeyou go. "

"I go there again? Never!"

"Oh yes, you will, often, because we all like you, and you are just theboy to grow into the man we want. I had no sooner mentioned your nameto Mr Selby than he said, `Yes, he must join us, of course. '"

"Join you? Why, you are a band of conspirators. "

"Silence, I tell you! That man in front heard you and turned his head. "

"I don't care. "

"Then I must make you. Look here, Frank, whatever we are, you are thesame. "

"I!" cried the boy in horror. 

"Of course. This is twice you have come to our club, and there is not aman there to-night who does not look upon you as our new brother. "

"Then they must be undeceived. "

"Impossible! You have joined hands with us, and breathed our prayer forhim across the water. "

"I did not; I never opened my lips. "

"You seemed to; anyhow, you clasped hands with us, and that is enough. "

"I refuse to have any dealings with your club, and for your sake as wellas mine I shall acquaint my father with everything that has takenplace. "

"That would not matter, " said Andrew coolly. "But you will not. Iintroduced you to Mr Selby, who had come on purpose to see you. "

"Then that feeding ducks was a design?"

"Of course it was; the spies and the guard might interfere with astranger hanging about at the water-side, but they can have nothing tosay to a man feeding the ducks. "

"Oh, what base treachery and deception! But I will not be tricked likethis. It was the act of a traitor. "

"It was the act of a friend to save you in the troubles that are tocome. "

"I don't care what you say. I will clear myself from even a suspicionof being an enemy of the King. "

"You are a friend of the King, " said Andrew, tightening his hold of hiscompanion's arm; "and you cannot draw back now. "

"I can, and will. Why can I not? Who is to prevent me?"

"Every man you saw there to-night--every man of the thousand who was notthere. Frank boy, ours is a great and just cause, and the sentence onthe man who has joined us and then turns traitor--"

"I have not joined. "

"You have, and I am your voucher. You are one of us now. "

"And if I go back, what then?" cried Frank contemptuously. 

"The sentence is death. "

"Bah! nonsense! But let me tell you this, that the sentence really isdeath for him who, being the King's servant, turns traitor. Who standsworse to-night, you or I?--Oh!" ejaculated the boy quickly, and with asharp ring of horror in his tones; "look there!"

The moon was shining brightly now, full upon the grim-looking old citygateway, and Frank Gowan stood where he had stopped short, as ifparalysed by the sight before him. 

"Yes, I know, " said Andrew coolly, as he looked up; "I have seen thembefore. Traitors' heads. "

CHAPTER NINE. 

FRANK HAS A BAD NIGHT. 

"I wish I had a better head, " sighed Frank, as he lay in bed that night;"it seems to get thicker and thicker, and as if every time I tried tothink out what is the best thing to do it got everything in a knot. "

He turned over, and lay hot and uncomfortable for a few minutes, andthen perhaps for the hundredth time he turned over again, found hispillow comfortless, and jumped up into a sitting position, to punch andbang it about for some minutes, before returning it to its place, lyingdown, and finding it as bad as ever. 

"It's of no use, " he groaned; "I shall never get a wink of sleepto-night. I wish I could get up and dress, and go for a walk out therein the cool by the side of the water; but as soon as I got outside Ishould be challenged by the guard. I don't know the password, and Ishould be arrested and marched off to the guardroom. Even if I couldget down there by the canal, I should feel no better, for I should bethinking of nothing else but feeding the ducks. "

This thought made him twist and writhe in the bed to such an extent thatthe clothes refused to submit to the rough treatment, and glided off toseek peace and quietness upon the floor. The pleasant coolness wasgratifying for a few minutes; but the boy's love of order put an end tohis lying uncovered, and he sprang out of bed, dragged the truantclothing back, remade his bed extremely badly, and once more lay down. 

The occupation relieved him for a while, and he began to hope that hewould go to sleep; but the very fact of his endeavouring to loseconsciousness made him more wakeful, and he lay with wide-open eyes, going over the events of the evening, till he got into a passion withAndrew Forbes, with Mr George Selby, and most of all with himself. 

"How could I be such an idiot as to go? I ought to have known better. I might have been sure, after what I had seen, that there was somethingwrong. But then, " he groaned, "I did fancy something was wrong, and Iwent to try and keep Drew out of mischief. Oh, what an unlucky fellow Iam!

"It's of no use, " was his next thought. "I shall never do any goodhere, only keep on getting into trouble. Why, if this were to be known, it would bring disgrace on my father and mother, and they would have toleave court--father would perhaps lose his commission. "

He sprang up again in horror at the very thought of this, drew up hisknees, and passed his arms round them, to sit for long enough packed upwith his chin upon his knees somewhat after the fashion of a Peruvianmummy. 

"It's horrible, " he groaned to himself--"horrible, that's what it is. And this is being what mother calls a good son. They'll be nice andproud of me when they know. 

"Ah-h-h-ah! There goes that wretched old clock over the gateway again!It can't be five minutes since it chimed before. It seems to have beenchiming ever since I came to bed. What time is it, I wonder? Bah!three-quarters past. Three-quarters past what? Oh dear, how thirsty Iam! and I've had three glasses of water since I came to bed. Going tofeed the ducks! Oh, I wish I'd said I'd go out and fight with Drew, andpinked him as he calls it. He wouldn't have been able to lead me intothis scrape. But more likely he would have pinked me. Well, and aprecious good thing too. It would have been all right, and I couldn'tthen have gone. 

"Phew! how hot it is. My skin seems to prickle and tingle, as ifsomebody had been playing tricks with the bed; and all this time Ibelieve that miserable dandy Drew is snoring away, and not troubling abit. There, if it isn't chiming again! It can't be a quarter of anhour since I heard it last. Ting, tang. Last quarter. Well, go on;four quarters, and then strike, and I shall know what time it is. What!A quarter past? Well, a quarter past what? Oh, that clock's wrong. It chimed three-quarters just now. It can't have chimed the fourquarters since, and struck the hour; it's impossible. I'm sure it mustbe wrong. "

He threw himself down again in despair, feeling as if sleep were fartheroff than ever. 

"Oh dear!" he moaned; "Drew told me I seemed a year older after thatrow. I feel another year older since then; and if it goes on like this, I shall be like an old man by morning. But there, I'm not going to giveup in this cowardly way. I'll show Master Drew that I'm not such a boyas he thinks for. It's all nonsense! Just because I went and dinedthere with him and his friend, and was then led into standing up withthem and joining hands, I'm to be considered as having joined them, andbecome a Jacobite! Why, it's childish; and as to his threats of whatthey would do if I ran back, I don't care, I won't believe it. I'm notsuch a baby. Death indeed! I've only just begun to live. 

"Ugh! it was very ugly, very shocking to see those heads stuck up thereover Temple Bar; and yet Drew took it as coolly as could be. Why, itwas he who ought to have been frightened, not I. And I'm notfrightened--I won't be frightened. I won't say anything; but I'm notgoing there again. No, I won't speak--unless they do threaten me. ThenI must tell all. But only wait till morning, and I'll have it out withMaster Drew. Not quite so much of a schoolboy as he thinks me. 

"There'll be no sleep for me to-night, " he said at last, in a resignedway. "Well, it's perhaps so much the better. I have been able to thinkout what I mean to do, and now I'll just try and arrange what I shallsay to Drew in the morning; and, after that, I'll get up and dress, andhave a long read. I do wonder, though, what time it is. "

He then lay wondering and waiting for the clock to chime again, but hedid not hear it chime its next quarter, for now that he had made up hismind not to go to sleep, sleep came to him with one of those suddenseizures which drop us in an instant into the oblivion which gives restand refreshment to the wearied body and brain. 

Then, all at once, as he lay with his eyes closed, he did hear itplainly. 

"Ah, at last!" he cried, --"first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter. Now, then, I shall know what time it is. "

The clock struck, and he counted--nine. 

Then he listened for more, opened his eyes, and stared in amazement atthe light streaming through the shuttered windows, and leaped out ofbed. 

"Why, " he cried, "it's breakfast-time! I must have been asleep afterall. "

Then he stood looking back into yesterday, for the evening's proceedingscame to him with a flash. 

"A Jacobite!" he said aloud; "and those heads upon the top of the gate!"

CHAPTER TEN. 

IN THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA. 

It was a bright morning; but now it seemed to Frank Gowan that the worldhad suddenly turned back. Andrew Forbes met him in the most friendlyway after breakfast. He was almost affectionate in his greeting. 

"Didn't dream about the traitors' heads on Temple Bar, did you?"

"No, " said Frank coldly. "I lay awake and thought about them. "

"Ugh!" ejaculated Andrew, with a shudder. "What gruesome things to taketo bed with you. I didn't; I was so tired that I went off directly andslept like a top. "

Frank looked at him in disgust. 

"Hallo! what's the matter?" cried his fellow-page. "Not well?"

"I was wondering whether you had any conscience. "

"I say, hark at the serious old man!" cried Andrew merrily. "Whatevermade you ask that?"

"Because it seemed impossible you could have one, to treat it all solightly after taking me there last night. "

"I don't see how you can call it that. You were invited, and you wentwith me. "

"That's a contemptible piece of shuffling, " cried Frank. 

Andrew flushed up and frowned. 

"Pooh!" he said, laughing it off. "You are tired and cross thismorning. What a fellow you are for wanting to quarrel! But we can't dothat, now we're brethren. "

"No, we are not, " said Frank hotly. "I'll have nothing to do with themiserable business. "

"Colt kicking on first feeling his harness, " said Andrew merrily. "Never mind, Frank; you'll soon get used to it. "

"Never. "

"And it's a grand harness to wear. I say, what's the good of making afuss about it? You'll thank me one of these days. "

"Then you have no conscience, " cried Frank sternly. 

"Why, Frank, old boy, you make me feel quite young beside you. What aserious old man you've grown into! But if you will have it out aboutconscience, " he continued warmly, after a glance at each of the doorsopening out of the room in which they were, "I'll tell you this: myconscience would not let me, any more than would the consciences ofthousands more, settle down to being ruled over by a German prince, invited here by a party of scheming politicians, to the exclusion of therightful heir to the throne. What do you say to that?"

"Only this, " said Frank: "that you and I have nothing to do with suchthings as who ought to be king or who ought not. We're the Prince'sservants, and we are bound to do our duty to him and his father. If wego on as you propose, we become conspirators and traitors. "

"Oh, I say, what a sermon; what a lot about nothing! People don't studythese things in war and politics. I'm for the simple right or wrong ofthings. I say it's wrong for King George the First to be on the throne, so I shall not stick at trifles in fighting for the right. "

"Well, if you talk like that in a place where they say that walls haveears, you'll soon save me the trouble and pain of speaking. "

"There was no one to hear but you, and you're safe, " said Andrew, laughing. "Brothers don't betray brothers, for one thing; and you knowwhat I told you last night. If you were to betray us, your life wouldnot be safe for a day. "

"Pish!"

"Oh, you take it that way, do you? You think you are safe because youare here in the Palace, surrounded by guards. Now, I'll tell yousomething that you don't know. You believe that I am the only one herewho is ready to throw up his hat and draw his sword for the King. "

"Yes, and I'm right. "

"Only ignorant, Frank, my boy. Now listen. We Jacobites have peopleeverywhere ready to strike when the time comes. Here in this Palace wehave ladies and gentlemen forced to keep silence for the present, butwho will be in ecstasies as soon as they know the good news Mr Selbygave me last night. Why, the King's and Prince's households containsome of our staunchest people; and if you like to go lower, there areplenty of us even among the Royal Guards. Now, what do you say tothat?"

"It can't be true. "

"Very well; I shan't quarrel with your ignorance. But look here, Frank;take my advice: Don't you do anything foolish, for so sure as you betrayany secret you possess there will be hundreds of hands against you--yes, boy as you are, and unimportant as you think yourself. If you breathe aword, it is not merely against me, but against the safety of scoreshere; and to save themselves one or the other will send his swordthrough you at the first opportunity, wipe it, put it back in itssheath, and walk away. No one would be the wiser, and poor Frank Gowan, of whom his mother and father are so proud, would lie dead, while Ishould have lost the friend for whom I care more than for any one I evermet. "

"You don't; it isn't true, " cried Frank. "If it were, you would nothave led me into this scrape. "

"Yes, I should. I tell you that you will thank me some day. "

"For making me a traitor?"

"Nonsense! Who can be a traitor who fights for his rightful king?There, let's leave it now. You have been brought into the right way, and you are ready to fight against it because you don't see the truthyet; but it will all come out, and--very soon. "

"What?" cried Frank, for there was a meaning look to accompany thelatter words. 

"I'm not going to repeat what I said; but you will soon see. "

"Then I must speak out at once. I shrank from it for fear of troublingmy mother; but now you force me to. "

"Don't, Frank. I shouldn't like to see you hurt. "

"Whether I'm hurt or whether I'm not is nothing to you. "

"Yes, it is. I have told you why. I couldn't bear to see you struckdown. "

"I don't believe that I should be. "

"I do, and I don't want you to risk it, for one thing. For the other, Idon't want to be arrested, and to have my head chopped off, for youcouldn't speak without getting me into trouble. "

Frank stared at him with his purpose beginning to waver. 

"I might get off easily, being what they would call a mere boy. But Idon't know; perhaps they would think that, as I was in a particularposition in the Palace, they ought to make an example of me. "

He laughed lightly as he threw himself into a seat by the window. 

"I've no one to care about me except the dad, and a little more troublewouldn't hurt him very much. Perhaps he'd be proud because I died forthe King. I say, would you like to know why I am such a steady followerof him across the water?"

Frank didn't speak, but his eyes said yes. 

"Because I found how my poor father was wrong-treated. He's free, buthe's little better than a prisoner. He's looked upon as a traitor, andI'm kept here principally as a sort of hostage to make him keep quiet. That's it, and they'll shorten me for certain if they find anything out. Poor old dad, though; I dare say he'll be sorry, for he likes me in hisway. "

The trampling of horses was heard in the distance, and Andrew turnedsharply. 

"Here they come again. How bright and gay they look this morning! Ah!I should have liked to live and be an officer in a regiment like that, ready to fight for my king; but I suppose I am not to be tall enough, "he added, with a mocking laugh. "Wonder whether they'll stick my headon Temple Bar. Now, Frank, here's your chance; come and shout to thenearest officer--`Stop and arrest a traitor!' Well, why don't you? Hewill hear you if you holloa well. "

Frank made no reply. 

"Oh, " cried Andrew, "you are letting your chance go by. Well, perhapsit's better, and it will give me time to send a message to warn the dearold dad. No, that wouldn't do, because he would at once settle that itwas your doing, and then--well, I should have signed your death-warrant, Franky. It would be all over with us both, and pretty soon. You first, though, for our people wouldn't stop for a trial. I say: feel afraid?Somehow I don't. Perhaps that will come later on. Sure to, I suppose;for it must be very horrible to have to die when one is so young, andwith so many things to do. Going?"

"Yes, " said Frank gravely, as he turned away. 

"Good-bye, then. Perhaps we shan't see each other again. "

A peculiar thrill ran through Frank, and his heart gave one great throb. But he did not turn round. He went out of the room, to go somewhere tobe alone--to try to think quietly out what he ought to do, and to solvethe problem which would have been a hard one for a much older head, though at that moment it seemed to the boy as if he had suddenly grownvery old, and that the present was separated from his happy boyish daysby a tremendous space. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

ANOTHER INVITATION. 

Several days passed, and at each fresh meeting Andrew Forbes looked athis fellow-page inquiringly, as if asking whether he had spoken out yet;but the lad's manner was sufficient to show that he had not, thoughFrank was very cool and distant when they were alone. 

Then Andrew began to banter his companion. 

"Head's all right yet, " he said one morning, laughing; and he gave it aslow twirl round like a ball in a socket. "Feels a bit loose sometimes;not at all a pleasant sensation. You're all right still, I see. Felt abit nervous about you, though, once or twice. "

Frank frowned slightly; but Andrew went on. 

"I noticed one of us trying the point of his sword; and twice over afterdark I saw men watching this window, and that made me think that youmust have spoken, especially as I saw Lady--well, never mind names--examining something she had drawn out of the bosom of her dress. Sheslipped it back as soon as she saw me, but I feel certain that it was asort of bodkin or stiletto. `That's meant for poor Frank, ' I said tomyself; for, you know, in history women have often done work of thatkind. But, there, you don't seem to have any holes in you; so I supposeyou are all right for the present. "

"How can you joke about so serious a matter?" cried Frank. 

"Because I want to put an end to this miserable pique between us, " criedAndrew warmly. "It's absurd, and I hate it. I thought we were to bealways friends. I can't bear it, Frank, for I do like you. "

"It was your doing, " said the lad coldly. 

"No. It was the wretched state our country is in that did it all. "

"You always get the better of me in arguments, " said Frank, "so I am notgoing to fight with you in that way. But I know I am right. "

"And I know that I am right, " cried Andrew. 

"I shall not, as I said before, try to argue with you. We could neveragree. "

"No; it wants some one else to judge between us, and I'll tell you who'sthe man. "

"I don't see how we can speak about our troubles. "

"No need to, " said Andrew. "He'll know all about it. Let's leave it toold Father Time. He proves all things. But, I say, Frank, don't beobstinate. There's a meeting of the friends the day after to-morrow. You'll come with me if we can get away?"

"I shall do all I can to stop you from going!" cried Frank. 

"By betraying me?"

"No; I can't do that. I promised to be your friend; and though it maybe my duty, I couldn't do such a treacherous thing. "

"As if I didn't know, " said Andrew, laying his arm on the lad'sshoulder. "Do you think I would have been so open if I had not beensure of you? There, you will come?"

"Never again. "

"Never's a long time, Frank. Come. "

"Once more, no!"

"To take care of me, and keep me from being too rash. "

"I can't betray you and your friends, " said Frank sadly; "but I can doall that is possible to save you from a great danger. "

"And so can I you. I'm right. "

"No; I am right. "

"You think so now; but I know you will come round. In the meantime, thank you, Frank. I knew, I say, that you would be staunch; but I'lltell you this: a word now from you would mean the breaking up of thatparty in the city, and, unless I could warn them in time, the seizureand perhaps death of many friends, and amongst them of one whom I love. I told him everything about you, and of our friendship, and it was hewho bade me to bring you out in the Park there, so that he might see youfirst, and judge for himself whether he should like you to join us. "

"You mean Mr George Selby?"

"Yes, I mean Mr George Selby, " said Andrew, with a peculiar smile andemphasis on his words. "It was a very risky thing for him to come hereclose to the Palace with so many spies about; but throwing biscuits tothe ducks was throwing dust in the people's eyes as well. "

"Yes. I felt that it was a trick, " said Frank sadly. 

"Obliged to stoop to tricks now, my lad. Well, he was delighted withyou, and told me how glad he was for me to have such a friend. He saysyou must be of us, Frank, so that in the good times ahead you may be oneof the friends of the rightful king. You'll like Mr George Selby. "

"I hate him, " said Frank warmly, "for leading you astray, and for tryingto lead me in the same evil way. "

"Tchut! Some one coming. "

The "some one" proved to be the Prince with a train of gentlemen, nearlyall of whom were Germans, and they passed through the anteroom on theirway out. 

"See that tall, light-haired fellow?" said Andrew, as soon as they werealone again. 

"The German baron?"

"Yes, the one in uniform. "

"Yes. He's the Baron Steinberg, a colonel in the Hanoverian Guards. "

"That's the man. He came over on Saturday. Well, I hate him. "

"Why? Because he's a German?"

"Pooh! I shouldn't hate a man because he was a foreigner. I hate himbecause he's an overbearing bully, who looks down on everything English. He quite insulted me yesterday, and I nearly drew upon him. But Ididn't. "

"What did he do?"

"Put his hand upon my shoulder, and pushed me aside. `Out of the way, booby!' he said in German. A rude boor!"

"Oh, it was his rough way, perhaps. You mustn't take any notice ofthat. "

"Mustn't I?" exclaimed Andrew. "We shall see. That isn't all. I hatehim for another thing. "

"You're a queer fellow, Drew. I think you divide the world into twosets--those you hate and those you love. "

"And a good division too. But these German fellows want teaching alesson, and somebody will be teaching it if they don't mend. Oh! Ihate that fellow, and so ought you to. "

"Why? Because he is a German?"

"Not for that. I'll tell you. I didn't see you yesterday, or I'd havetold you then. You were in the big reception-room?"

"When my father was on duty with his company of the Guards?"

"Yes, and your mother was in the Princess's train. "

"Yes, and I didn't get one chance to speak to her. "

"Well, that fellow did; he spoke to her twice, and I saw him staring ather insolently nearly all the time the Princess and her ladies werethere. "

"Well?"

"That is all, " said Andrew shortly. "They'll be at her drawing-roomthis afternoon, and if I were you I should go and stop near Lady Gowanas much as I could. "

"I should like to, " said Frank, looking at his friend wonderingly; "butof course I can't go where I like. "

A few minutes later one of the servants brought in a note and handed itto Frank, who opened it eagerly. 

"No answer, " he said to the man; and then he turned to his companion. "Read, " he said. "From my father. "

"`Come and dine at the mess this evening, and bring Andrew Forbes, '"read the lad, and he flushed with pleasure. 

"Of course you will not come, " said Frank mockingly. "You could not becomfortable with such a loyal party. "

"With such a host as Captain Sir Robert Gowan!" cried Andrew. "Oh yes, I could. I like him. " He smiled rather meaningly, and then theconversation turned upon the treat to come, both lads being enthusiasticabout everything connected with the military. 

This was broken into by the same servant entering with another note. 

"My turn now, Frank, " said Andrew merrily; "but who's going to write tome?"

To his annoyance, as he turned to take the note, the man handed it toFrank and left the antechamber. 

"Well, you seem to be somebody, " cried Andrew, who now looked nettled. 

"From my mother, " said Frank, after glancing through the missive. 

"Lucky you; mother and father both here. My poor father nowhere, hidingabout like a thief. Talk about friends at court!"

"It does seem hard for you, " said Frank. "See what she says. "

"H'm! `So sorry not to be able to speak to you yesterday. Come to myrooms for an hour before the reception this afternoon. I long to seeyou, my dear boy. '"

Andrew handed back the letter with a sigh. 

"Lucky you, Frank. I say, don't repeat what I said about yesterday. "

"Of course not. "

"That's right. Men talk about things when they are alone which wouldfrighten ladies. She might get thinking that I should get up a quarrelwith that Steinberg. "

"I'm sure my mother wouldn't think anything of the sort, " said Frank, smiling at his friend's conceit. 

"Oh, I don't know, " said Andrew importantly. "Yes I do, though. It wasa rather stupid remark. But I wish I were you, Frank, " he continued, with a genuine unspoiled boyish light coming into his eyes, which lookedwistful and longing. "Perhaps, if I had a mother and father here in thecourt, I should be as loyal as you are. "

"Of course you would be. Well, they like you. You're coming to dinewith my father to-night, and I wish I could take you with me to see mymother early this afternoon. "

"Do you--do you really, Frank?" cried the lad eagerly. 

"Of course I do; you know I always say what I mean. "

"Then thank you, " cried the lad warmly; "that's almost as good asgoing. "

"I'll ask her to invite you next time. Hallo! where are you off to?"

"Only to my room for a bit. "

"What for? Anything the matter?"

"Matter? Pish! Well, yes. I'm thinking I'd better be off, for fear, instead of my converting you, you'll be taking advantage of my weakness, offering me a share in Sir Robert and Lady Gowan for a bribe, andconverting me. "

"I wish I could, " said Frank to himself, as his companion hurried out ofthe room. "Why not? Suppose I were to take my mother into myconfidence, and ask her to try and win him away from what is sure to endin a great trouble!"

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

THE TROUBLE GROWS. 

Frank was thinking in this strain when he went to his mother's rooms inthe Palace soon after, and her maid showed him at once to where she wassitting reading, having dressed for the Princess's reception in goodtime, so as to be free to receive her son. 

"Oh!" ejaculated the maid, as she was just about to leave the room; andthere was a look of dismay in her countenance. 

"What is it?" cried Lady Gowan, turning sharply with her son clasped inher arms. 

"Your dress, my lady--the lace. It will be crushed flat. "

"Oh, " said Lady Gowan, with a merry laugh, "never mind that. Come in anhour and set all straight again. "

"Yes, my lady, " said the maid; and mother and son were left alone. 

"As if we cared for satins and laces, Frank darling, at a time likethis. My own dear boy, " she whispered, as she kissed him again andagain, holding his face between her white hands and gazing at himproudly. "There, I'm crushing your curls. "

"Go on, " said Frank; "crush away. You can brush them for me before Igo--like you used to when I was home for the holidays. "

"In the dear old times, Frank darling, " cried Lady Gowan, "when we didnot have to look at each other from a distance. But never mind; weshall soon go down into the country for a month or two, away from thisweary, formal court, and then we'll have a happy time. "

Frank gazed proudly at his mother again and again during that littlehappy interview, which seemed all sunshine as he looked back upon itfrom among the clouds of the troubles which so soon came; and he thoughthow young and girlish and beautiful she appeared. "The most beautifullady at the court, " he told himself, "as well as the sweetest and thebest. "

Time after time the words he wished to speak rose to his lips, for thelonging to make her his confidante over the Jacobite difficulty wasintense. But somehow at the critical moments he either shrank from fearof causing her trouble and anxiety, or else felt that he ought not torun the risk of bringing Andrew into trouble after what had passed. Heknew that Lady Gowan would not injure the mistaken lad; but still therewas the risk of danger following. Besides, he had to some extentconfided in his father, and would probably say more; so that if it wasright that Lady Gowan should know, his father would speak. 

She gave him very little chance for making confidences till just at theend of the hour she had set apart for him, when the maid appeared torepair the disorder which she alone could see, but was dismissed atonce. 

"Another ten minutes by the clock, and then Mr Frank will be going. "

The maid withdrew. 

"Oh, how time flies, my darling!" said the lady. "And I had so manymore things to say to you, so much advice to give to my dearest boy. But I am proud to have you here, Frank. Your father's so much away fromme, that it is nice to feel that I have my big, brave son to protectme. "

Frank coloured, and thought of his companion's words. 

"It reconciles me more to being here, my boy, " she continued; "for yousee it means your advancement as well. But these are very anxious, troublous times for both your father and me. And you are going to dinewith him at the mess this evening. Well, you are very young, and I wantto keep you still a boy; but, heigh-ho! you are growing fast, and willsoon be a man. So be careful and grow into the brave, honourable, loyalgentleman I wish you to be. "

"I will try so hard, " he said eagerly; and once more he longed to speakout, but she gave him no time, though at the last moment he would hardlyhave spoken. As it was, he stood feeling as if he were very guiltywhile she held his hand. 

"Of course, my dear, " she said, "you are too young to have taken anyinterest in the political troubles of the time; but I want you tounderstand that it's the happiest thing for England to be as it is, andI want you as you grow older to be very careful not to be led away bydiscontented men who may want to plunge the country into war by bringingforward another whom they wish to make king. "

"Mother!" began Frank excitedly. 

"Don't interrupt me, dear. In a few minutes you must go. Whateverfeelings your father and I may at one time have had, we are now fixed inour determination to support those who are now our rulers. The Princehas been very kind to us, and the Princess has become my dearest friend. I believe she loves me, Frank, and I want her to find that my boy willprove one of her truest and best followers. I want you to grow up to beeither a great soldier or statesman. "

"I shall be a soldier like my father, " said Frank proudly. 

"We shall see, Frank, " said Lady Gowan, smiling. "You are too young yetto decide. Wait a little--bide a wee, as they say in the north country. Now you must go; but you will promise me to be careful and avoid allwho might try to lead you away. Think that your course is marked outfor you--the way to become a true, loyal gentleman. "

"I promise, mother, " said the lad firmly. 

"Of course you do, my boy, " said Lady Gowan proudly. "There, kiss meand go. I have to play butterfly in the court sunshine for a while; buthow glad shall I be to get away from it all to our dear old countryhome. "

"And so shall I, mother, " cried Frank, with his eyes sparkling. 

"For a holiday, Frank. Life is not to be all play, my boy; andrecollect that play comes the sweeter after good work done. There, Ihad you here for a pleasant chat, and I have done nothing but give youlessons on being loyal to your king; but we are separated so much, Ihave so few opportunities for talking to you, that I am obliged to giveyou a little serious advice. "

"Go on talking to me like that, mother, " said the boy, clinging to her. "I like to hear you. "

"And you always will, won't you, Frank?"

"Of course, " he said proudly. 

"One word Frank, dear, and then you must go. Do you know why I havespoken like this? No, I will not make a question of it, but tell you atonce. Andrew Forbes"--Frank started and changed colour--"is your veryclose companion, and with all his vanity and little weaknesses, he isstill a gallant lad and a gentleman. Poor boy! he is very strangelyplaced here at the court, an attendant on the Prince and Princess, whilehis father is known to be a staunch adherent of the Pretender--aJacobite. He was your father's closest friend, and I knew his poorwife--Andrew's mother--well. It was very sad her dying so young, andleaving her motherless boy to the tender mercies of a hard world justwhen dissensions led his father to take the other side. The Princessknows everything about him, and it was at my request that he was placedhere, where I could try and watch over him. Now, naturally enough, Andrew has leanings toward his father's side; but he must be taught togrow more and more staunch to the King, and I want you, who are hisclosest companion, to carefully avoid letting him influence you, whileyou try hard to wean him from every folly, so that, though he is olderin some things, he may learn the right way from my calm, grave, steadyboy. "

"But, mother--"

"Yes, " she said, smiling; "I can guess what you are about to say. Go, dearest. No: not another word. --Yes, I am ready now. "

This to her maid, who was standing in the doorway, looking very severe;and Frank was hurried out to return to his own quarters. 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

A VERY BAD DINNER. 

"And I could have told her so easily then, " thought Frank, as he wentaway feeling proud and pleased, and yet more troubled than ever. "WeanAndrew from his ideas? I wonder whether I could. Of course I shall tryhard; and if I succeeded, what a thing to have done! I'm not going tothink which side is right or wrong. We're the King's servants, and havenothing to do with such matters. Drew has been trying to get me over totheir side. Now I'm going to make him come to ours, in spite of all theMr George Selbys in London. "

That afternoon the Princess's reception-rooms were crowded by abrilliant assemblage of court ladies and gentlemen, many of whom were inuniform; and there was plenty to take the attention of a lad fresh fromthe country, without troubling himself about political matters. He sawhis father, but not to speak to. The latter gave him a quick look and anod, though, which the boy interpreted to mean, "Don't forget thisevening. "

"Just as if I am likely to, " thought Frank, as he gazed proudly afterthe handsome, manly-looking officer. He had a glimpse or two of hismother, who was in close attendance upon the Princess, and with anatural feeling of pride the lad thought to himself that his father andmother were the most royal-looking couple there. 

At last he found himself close to Andrew Forbes, who eagerly joined him, their duties having till now kept them separate. 

"Isn't it horrible?" said Andrew, with a look of disgust in his flushedface. 

"Horrible! I thought it the grandest sight I have ever seen. What doyou mean by horrible?"

"This guttural chattering of the people. Why, you can hardly hear anEnglish word spoken. It's all double Dutch, till I feel as if my teethwere set on edge. "

"Nonsense! Good chance to learn German. "

"I'd rather learn Hottentot. Look too what a lot of fat, muffin-facedwomen there are, and stupid, smoky, sour-kraut-eating men. To my mindthere are only two people worth looking at, and they are your father andmother. "

Frank, who had felt irritated at his companion's persistent carping, began to glow, for he felt that his companion's words were genuine. 

"Yes, they do look well, don't they?"

"Splendid. I do like your mother, Frank. "

"Well, she likes you. "

"H'm. I don't know, " said the lad dubiously. 

"But I do, " said Frank quickly. "She told me so only this afternoon. "

"What! Here, tell me what she said. "

"That she knew your mother so well, and that it was sad about her dyingso young, and that she felt, as I took it, something the same toward youas she did toward me. "

"Did--did she talk like that, Frank?" said Andrew, with his lower lipquivering a little. 

"Yes; and told me she hoped I should always be a good friend to you, andkeep you out of mischief. "

"Stuff!" cried Andrew. "I'm sure she did not say that. "

"She did, " said Frank warmly. "Not in those words, perhaps; but thatwas what she meant. "

Andrew laughed derisively. 

"Why, I'm a couple of years nearly older than you. "

"So she said; but she spoke as if she thought that I could influenceyou. "

"Bless her!" said Andrew warmly. "I feel as proud of her as you do, Frank, only I'm sorry for her to be here amongst all these miserableGerman people. Look, there's that stuck-up, conceited BaronBrokenstone, or whatever his name is. A common German adventurer, that's what he is; and yet he's received here at court. "

"Well, he's one of the King's Hanoverian generals. "

"I should like to meet him under one of our generals, " said Andrew. "Iconsider it an insult for a fellow like that to be speaking to yourmother--our mother, Frank, if she talks about me like that. I hate him, and feel as if I should like to go and hit him across the face with myglove. "

"What for? Oh, I say, Drew, what a hot-headed fellow you are. "

"It isn't my head, Franky; it's my heart. It seems to burn when I seethese insolent Dutch officers lording it here, and smiling in theirhalf-contemptuous, half-insulting way at our English ladies. Ugh! Iwonder your father doesn't stop it. Look at him yonder, standing as ifhe were made of stone. I shall tell him what I think to-night. "

"You would never be so foolish and insulting, " said Frank warmly. "Hewould be angry. "

"No, I suppose I must not, " said Andrew gloomily. "He would say it wasthe impertinence of a boy. "

They had to separate directly after, and a few minutes later Frank sawhis father crossing the room toward the door. Frank was nearest, and bya quick movement reached it first, and stepped outside so as to get aword or two from him as he came out. But Sir Robert was stopped on hisway, and some minutes elapsed before Frank saw the manly, upright figureemerge from the gaily dressed crowd which filled the anteroom, andstride toward him, but evidently without noticing his presence. 

"Father, " he whispered. 

Sir Robert turned upon him a fierce, angry face, his eyes flashing, andlips moving as if he were talking to himself. But the stern lookssoftened to a smile as he recognised his son, and he spoke hurriedly:

"Don't stop me, my boy; I'm not fit to talk to you now. Oh, absurd!"

"Is anything the matter, father?" said Frank anxiously, as he laid hishand on his father's arm. 

"Matter? Oh, nothing, boy. Just a trifle put out. The rooms are veryhot. There, I must go. Don't forget to-night, you and young Forbes. "

He nodded and strode on, leaving his son wondering; for he had neverseen such a look before upon his father's face. 

He thought no more of it then, for his attention was taken up by thecoming of the Princess with her ladies, the reception being at an end;while soon after Andrew Forbes joined him, and began questioning himagain about Lady Gowan, and what she had said about his dead mother, ending by turning Frank's attention from the emotion he could hardlyhide by saying banteringly:

"You'll have to be very strict with me, Frank, or you'll have a greatdeal of trouble to make me a good boy. "

"I shall manage it, " said Frank, with a laugh; and not very long afterthey were on their way to the Guards' messroom, both trying to appearcool and unconcerned, but each feeling nervous at the idea of diningwith the officers. 

Sir Robert was there, looking rather flushed and excited, as he stoodtalking to a brother-officer in the large room set apart for the Guards;but his face lit up with a pleasant smile as the boys entered, and hegreeted them warmly, and introduced them to the officer with him. 

"Makes one feel old, Murray, " he said, "to have a couple of greatfellows like these for sons. "

"Sons? I thought that--" began the officer. 

"Oh, about this fellow, " said Sir Robert merrily. "Oh yes, he'sForbes's boy; but Lady Gowan and I seem to have adopted him like. Sortof step-parents to him--eh, Andrew?"

"I wish I could quite feel that, Sir Robert, " said Andrew warmly. 

"Well, quite feel it then, my lad, " said Sir Robert, clapping him on theshoulder. "It rests with you. --Think Frank here will ever be man enoughfor a soldier, Murray?"

"Man enough? Of course, " said the officer addressed. "We must get themboth commissions as soon as they're old enough. Forbes might beginnow. "

"H'm! Ha!" said Sir Robert, giving the lad a dry look. "Andrew Forbeswill have to wait a bit. "

Then, seeing the blood come into the lad's face at the remark whichmeant so much:

"He's going to wait for Frank here. --Well, isn't it nearlydinner-time?--Hungry, boys?"

"Er--no, sir, " said Andrew. 

"Frank is, " said Sir Robert, smiling at his son. 

"Can't help it, father, " said the boy frankly. "I always am. "

"And a capital sign too, my lad, " said the officer addressed as Murray. "There's nothing like a fine healthy appetite in a boy. It means makingbone and muscle, and growing. Oh yes, he'll be as big as you are, Gowan. Make a finer man, I'll be bound. "

"Don't look like it, " said Sir Robert merrily; "why, the boy's blushinglike a great girl. "

The conversation was ended by the entrance of several other officers, who all welcomed the two lads warmly, and seemed pleased to do all theycould to set at their ease the son and _protege_ of the most popularofficer in the regiment. 

Captain Murray, his father's friend, was chatting with Frank, when hesuddenly said:

"Here are the rest of the guests. "

Six German officers entered the room, and Frank started and turned toglance at his father, and then at Andrew, whom he found looking in hisdirection; but Sir Robert had advanced with the elderly colonel of theregiment, and Captain Murray rose as well. 

"I shall have to play interpreter, " he said, smiling. "Come along, andthe colonel will introduce you two, or I will. They don't speak anyEnglish; and if you two do not, your father and I are the only menpresent who know German. "

The introductions followed, and feeling very uncomfortable all thewhile, Frank and his companion were in due course made known to BaronSteinberg, Count Von Baumhof, and to the four other guests, whose nameshe did not catch; and then, by the help of Captain Murray and SirRobert, a difficult conversation was carried on, the German officersassuming a haughty, condescending manner towards the Guardsmen, who weremost warm in their welcome. 

At the end of a few minutes Captain Murray returned to where the twolads were standing, leaving Sir Robert trying his best to comprehend thevisitors, and translating their words to the colonel and hisbrother-officers. 

"Rather an unthankful task, " said the captain, smiling. "These Germanstreat us as if they had conquered the country, and we were theirservants. Never mind; I suppose it is their nature to. "

"Yes, " said Andrew warmly; "they make my blood boil. I know I am only aboy; but that was no reason why they should insult Frank Gowan here andme with their sneering, contemptuous looks. "

"Never mind, my lad. I noticed it. Show them, both of you, that youare English gentlemen, and know how to treat strangers and guests. "

"Yes, yes, of course, " said Frank hastily. 

"They will be more civil after dinner. Ah, and there it is. "

For the door was thrown open, one of the servants announced the dinner, and the colonel led off with Baron Steinberg, after saying a few wordsto Sir Robert, who came directly to his brother-officer. 

"The colonel wishes the places to be changed, Murray, " he said, "so thatyou and I can be closer to the head of the table on either side, to dothe talking with the visitors. I wish you would take my boy here onyour left. Forbes, my lad, you come and sit with me. "

Andrew had begun to look a little glum at being set on one side onaccount of the German officers; but at Sir Robert's last words hebrightened up a little, and they followed into the messroom, which wasdecorated with the regimental colours; the hall looked gay with its finedisplay of plate, glass, flowers, and fruit, and the band was playing ina room just beyond. 

The scene drove away all the little unpleasantry, and the dinnerproceeded, with the colonel and his officers doing their best toentertain their guests, but only seeming to succeed with the two pagesof honour, to whom everything was, in its novelty, thoroughlydelightful. The German officers, though noblemen and gentlemen, gavetheir hosts a very poor example of good breeding, being all throughexceedingly haughty and overbearing, and treating the attempts of SirRobert and Captain Murray to act as their interpreters to the coloneland the other officers with a contempt that was most galling; and morethan once Frank saw his father, who was opposite, bite his lip and lookacross at Captain Murray, who, after one of these glances, whispered toFrank:

"Your dad's getting nettled, my lad, and I find it very consoling. "

"Why?" said Frank, who felt annoyed with himself for enjoying theevening so much. 

"Why? Because I was fancying that I must have a very hasty temper forminding what has been taking place. Do you know any German at all?"

"Very little, " said Frank quickly. 

"What a pity! You could have said something to this stolid gentleman onmy right. He seems to think I am a waiter. "

"I thought he was very rude several times. "

"Well, yes, I suppose we must call it rude. The poor old colonel yonderis in misery; he does hardly anything but wipe his forehead. Does notyoung Forbes speak German?"

"No, he hates it, " said Frank hastily. 

"Enough to make him, " muttered the captain. "But never mind; you mustboth come and dine with us another time, when we are all Englishmenpresent. This is a dreary business; but we must make the best of it. "

He turned to say something courteous to the heavy, silent officer on hisright, but it was coldly received, and after a few words the Germanturned to converse with one of his fellow-countrymen, others joined in, and the colonel looked more troubled and chagrined than ever. 

The dinner went slowly on; and at last, with the conversationprincipally carried on by the German guests, who were on more than oneoccasion almost insolent to their entertainers, the dessert wascommenced, several of the officers drawing their chairs closer, and ayoung ensign, who looked very little older than Frank, whispered to him:

"I heard your father say that you were coming into the army. "

"Yes, I hope to, " replied the lad. 

"Then you set to at once to study German. We shall be having everythingGerman soon. "

"Then I shall not join, " said Andrew across the table; and the officeron his right laughed. 

Sir Robert and Captain Murray were too much occupied now to pay anyattention to their young guests, who found the officers below them eagerto make up for this, and they began chatting freely, so that this wasthe pleasantest part of the evening. But at the upper part of the tablematters were getting more strained. The colonel and his friends, whomhe had placed with the foreign guests, after trying hard all through tomake themselves agreeable and to entertain the visitors, had received somany rebuffs that they became cold and silent, while the Germans grewmore and more loud in their remarks across the table to each other. Many of these remarks were broad allusions to the country in which theywere and its people, and the annoyance he felt was plainly marked on SirRobert's brow in deeply cut parallel lines. 

Ignoring their hosts, the visitors now began to cut jokes about whatthey had seen, and from a word here and there which, thanks to hismother, Frank was able to grasp, they were growing less and lessparticular about what they said. 

Baron Steinberg had had a great deal to say in a haughtily contemptuousmanner, and Frank noticed that whenever he spoke his friends listened tohim with a certain amount of deference, as if he were the most importantman present. He noted, too, that when the baron was speaking his fatherlooked more and more stern, but whenever it fell to his lot to interpretsomething said by the colonel he was most studiously courteous to theguest. 

Frank had grown interested in an anecdote being related for his andAndrew's benefit by one of the young officers below, and as it was beingtold very humorously his back was half turned to the upper part of thetable, and he was leaning forward so as not to miss a word. At the sametime, though, he was half-conscious that the baron on the colonel'sright was talking loudly, and saying something which greatly amused hiscompatriots, when all at once Sir Robert Gowan sprang to his feet, andCaptain Murray cried across the table to him:

"Gowan! for Heaven's sake take no notice. "

Frank's heart began to throb violently, as he saw his father dart afierce look at his brother-officer, and then take a couple of strides upthe side of the table to where the baron sat on the colonel's right. 

"Gowan, what is the matter?" cried the colonel. "What has he said?"

"I'll interpret afterwards, sir, " said Sir Robert, in a deep, hoarsevoice, "when we are alone;" then fiercely to the baron in German: "Takeback those words, sir. It is an insult--a lie!"

The baron sprang to his feet, his example being followed by hisbrother-officers, and, leaning forward, he seemed about to strike, butwith a brutally contemptuous laugh he bent down, caught up his glass, and threw it and its contents in Sir Robert's face. 

Every one had risen now, and Captain Murray made a rush to reach theother side; but before he was half-way there, Frank had seen his fatherdart forward, there was the sound of a heavy blow, and the German baronfell back with his chair, the crash resounding through the room, butonly to be drowned by the fierce roar of voices, as the German officersclapped their hands to their swordless sides, and then made a rush toseize Sir Robert. 

The colonel could not speak a word of German, but his looks and gesturessufficed as he sprang before them. 

"Keep back, gentlemen!" he said; "I am in ignorance of the cause of allthis. "

"A most gross insult, sir!" cried Captain Murray angrily. 

"Silence, sir!" cried the colonel. "These gentlemen were _my_ guests, and whatever was said Captain Sir Robert Gowan has committed anunpardonable breach of social duty. To your quarters, sir, without aword. "

"Right, colonel, " replied Sir Robert quietly, as he stood pale andstern, returning the vindictive looks of the German guests, who wouldhave attacked him but for the action taken by his brother-officers. 

What took place afterward was confused to Frank by the giddy excitementin his brain; but he was conscious of seeing the baron assisted to achair, and then talking in savage anger to his compatriots, while at theother end of the room there was another knot where the younger officersand Captain Murray were with Sir Robert. 

"It was a mad thing to do, Gowan, " cried the former. 

"Flesh and blood could not bear it, lad, " replied Frank's father. "Mad?What would you have done if in the presence of your son those words hadbeen uttered?"

"As you did, old lad, " cried Captain Murray, with his face flushing, "and then stamped my heel upon his face. "

There was a low murmur of satisfaction from the young officers around. 

"Hah!" said Sir Robert, "I thought so. " Then with a quiet smile hecaught Andrew's and Frank's hands: "So sorry, my dear boys, to havespoiled your evening. Go now. --Murray, old lad, see them off, and thencome to my quarters. "

"Oh, Sir Robert, " whispered Andrew, clinging to his hand, and speakingin a low, passionate voice, "I am glad. That did me good. "

"What! You understood his words?"

"I? No. "

"That's right! Go now, Frank boy. One moment, my lad. You aresuddenly called upon to act like a man. "

"Yes, father! What do you want me to do?"

"Keep silence, my lad. Not a word about this must reach your mother'sears. "

"Come, Frank, my lad, " said Captain Murray gently. "You are better awayfrom here. "

The words seemed to come from a distance, but the lad started andfollowed the captain outside, where the young officers gathered abouthim, eager to shake hands and tell him that they were all so glad; buthe hardly heard them, and it was in a strangely confused way that heparted from Captain Murray, who said that he could go no farther, as hewanted to hurry back to Sir Robert. 

Then the two lads were alone. 

"What does it all mean, Drew?" cried Frank passionately. "Oh, I must goback. It's cowardly to come away from my father now. "

"You can't go to him. He'll be under arrest. "

"Arrest!" cried Frank. 

"Yes, for certain. But don't look like that, lad. It's glorious--it'sgrand. "

"But arrest? He said it was an insult. They can't punish him forthat. "

"Punishment? Pooh! What does that matter? Every gentleman in the armywill shout for him, and the men throw up their caps. Oh, it's grand--it's grand! And they'll meet, of course; and Sir Robert must--heshall--he will too. He'll run the miserable German through. "

"What? Fight! My father fight--with him?"

"Yes, as sure as we should have done after such a row at school. "

"But--with swords?"

"Officers don't fight with fists. "

"Oh!" cried Frank wildly; "then that's what he meant when he said thatmy mother must not know. "

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

FRANK'S DREADFUL DAWN. 

Frank Gowan lay awake for hours that night with his brain in a wildstate of excitement. The scene at the dinner, the angry face of hisfather as he stood defying the baron's friends after striking the Germandown, the colonel's stern interference, and his orders for Sir Robert togo to his quarters--all troubled him in turn; then there was the idea ofhis father being under arrest, and the possibility of his receiving somepunishment, all repeating themselves in a way which drove back everyprospect of sleep, weary as the lad was; while worst of all, there wasAndrew Forbes's remark about an encounter to come, and the possibleresults. 

It was too horrible. Suppose Sir Robert should be killed by thefierce-looking baron! Frank turned cold, and the perspiration came indrops upon his temples as he thought of his mother. He sat up in bed, feeling that he ought to go to his father and beg of him to escapeanywhere so as to avoid such a terrible fate. But the next minute histhoughts came in a less confusing way, and he knew that he could not atthat late hour get to his father's side, and that even if he could hisideas were childish. His father would smile at him, and tell him thatthey were impossible--that no man of honour could fly so as to avoidfacing his difficulties, for it would be a contemptible, cowardly act, impossible for him to commit. 

"I know--I know, " groaned the boy, as he flung himself down once more. "I couldn't have run away to escape from a fight at school. It wouldhave been impossible. Why didn't I learn German instead of idling aboutas I have! If I had I should have known what the baron said. Whatcould it have been?"

The hours crept sluggishly by, and sleep still avoided him. Not that hewished to sleep, for he wanted to think; and he thought too much, lyinggazing at his window till there was a very faint suggestion of thecoming day; when, leaving his bed, he drew the curtain a little on oneside, to see that the stars were growing paler, and low down in the easta soft, pearly greyness in the sky just over the black-looking trees ofthe Park. 

It was cold at that early hour, and he shivered and crept back to bed, thinking that his mother in the apartments of the ladies of honour wasno doubt sleeping peacefully, in utter ignorance of the terrible time oftrouble to come; and then once more he lay down to think, as others havein their time, how weak and helpless he was in his desires to avert theimpending calamity. 

"No wonder I can't sleep, " he muttered; and the next moment he slept. For nature is inexorable when the human frame needs rest, or men wouldnot sleep peacefully in the full knowledge that it must be their lastrepose on earth. 

Five minutes after, his door was softly opened, a figure glided throughthe gloom to his bedside, and bent over him, like a dimly seen shadow, to catch him by the shoulder. 

"Frank! Frank! Here, quick! Wake up!"

The lad sprang back into wakefulness as suddenly as if a trigger hadbeen touched, and all the drowsiness with which he was now charged hadbeen let off. 

"Yes; what's the matter? Who's there?"

"Hush! Don't make a noise. Jump up, and dress. "

"Drew?"

"Yes. Be quick!"

"But what's the matter?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I got up and dressed, and opened my window tostand looking out at the stars, till just now I heard a door across thecourtyard open, and three men in cloaks came out. "

"Officers' patrol--going to visit the sentries. "

"No; your father, Captain Murray, and some one else. I think it was thedoctor; he is short and stout. "

"Then father's going to escape, " said Frank, in an excited whisper. 

"Escape! Bah!" replied Andrew, in a tone full of disgust. "How couldhe as a gentleman? Can't you see what it means? They're going to ameeting. "

"A meeting?" faltered Frank. 

"Oh, how dull you are! Yes, a meeting; they're going to fight!"

Frank, who had leisurely obeyed his companion's command to get up anddress, now began to hurry his clothes on rapidly, while Andrew went on:

"I don't know how they've managed it, because your father was underarrest; but I suppose the officers felt that there must be a meeting, and they have quietly arranged it with the Germans. Of course it's allon the sly. Make haste. "

"Yes. I shan't be a minute. You have warned the guard of course?"

"Done what?" said Andrew. 

"Given the alarm, " panted Frank. 

"I say, are you mad, or are you still asleep? What do you mean?"

"Mad! asleep! Do you think I don't know what I'm saying?"

"I'm sure you don't. "

"Do you think I want my father to be killed?"

"Do you think your father wants to be branded as a coward? Don't besuch a foolish schoolboy. You are among men now. I wish I hadn't comeand woke you. They'll be getting it over too before I'm there. "

He made a movement toward the door, but Frank seized him by the arm. 

"No, no; don't go without me, " he whispered imploringly. 

"Why not? You'd better go to bed again. You're just like a greatgirl. "

"I must go with you, Drew. I'm afraid I didn't hardly know what I wassaying; but it seems so cold-blooded to know that one's own father isgoing to a fight that may mean death, and not interfere to stop it. "

"Interfere to stop it--may mean death! I hope it does to some one, "whispered Andrew fiercely. "There, let go; I can't stop any longer. "

"You're not going without me. There, I'm ready now. "

"But I can't take you to try and interfere. I thought you'd like me totell you. "

"Yes, I do. I must come, and--and I won't say or do anything that isn'tright. "

"I can't trust you, " said Andrew hastily. "It was a mistake to come andtell you. There, let go. "

"You are not going without me!" cried Frank, fiercely now; and hegrasped his companion's arm so firmly that the lad winced. 

"Come on, then, " he said; and, with his breath coming thick and short, Frank followed his companion downstairs and out of the door of the oldhouse in the Palace precincts, into the long, low colonnade. 

They closed the door softly, and ran together across the courtyard inthe dim light, but were challenged directly after by a sentry. 

"Hush! Don't stop us, " whispered Andrew. "You know who we are--two ofthe royal pages. "

"Can't pass, " said the man sternly. 

"But we must, " said Frank, in an agonised whisper. "Here, take this. "

"Can't pass, " said the man; "'gainst orders. You must come to theguardroom. "

But he took the coin Frank handed to him, and slipped it into hispocket. 

"We want to go to the meeting--the fight, " whispered Andrew now. "Wewon't own that you let us go by. "

"Swear it, " said the man. 

"Yes, of course. Honour of gentlemen. "

"Well, I dunno, " said the man. 

"Yes, you do. Which way did they go when they passed the gate?"

"Couldn't see, " said the man; "too dark. I thought it was one of themgames. My mate yonder'll know, only he won't let you go by without thepassword. "

"Oh yes, he will, " said Andrew excitedly. "Come on. "

"Mind, I never see you go by, " said the man. 

"Of course you didn't, " said Andrew; "and I can't see you; it's too darkyet. "

They set off running, and the next minute were at the gate opening on tothe Park, where another sentry challenged them. 

"I'm Mr Frank Gowan, Captain Sir Robert Gowan's son, and this is MrAndrew Forbes, Prince's page. "

"Yes, I know you, young gentlemen; but where's the password?"

"Oh, I don't know, " said Andrew impatiently. "Don't stop us, or they'llget it over before we're there. Look here; come to our rooms any timeto-day, and ask for us. We'll give you a guinea to let us go. "

"I dursn't, " said the man, in a whisper. 

"Which way did they go?" said Frank, trembling now with anxiety. 

"Strite acrost under the trees there. They've gone to the bit of a wooddown by the water. "

"Yes; that's a retired spot, " panted Andrew. "Here, let's go on. "

"Can't, sir, and I darn't. It's a jewel, aren't it?"

"Yes, a duel. "

"Well, I'm not going to be flogged or shot for the sake of a guinea, young gentlemen, and I won't. But if you two makes a roosh by while Igo into my sentry-box, it aren't no fault o' mine. "

He turned from them, marched to his little upright box, and entered it, while before he could turn the two lads were dashing through the gate, and directly after were beneath the trees. 

It was rapidly growing lighter now; but the boys saw nothing of thelovely pearly dawn and the soft wreaths of mist which floated over thewater. The birds were beginning to chirp and whistle, and as they ranon blackbird after blackbird started from the low shrubs, uttering thechinking alarm note, and flew onward like a velvet streak on the softmorning glow. 

In a minute or so they had reached the water-side, and stopped tolisten; but they could hear nothing but the gabbling and quacking of thewater-fowl. 

"Too late--too late!" groaned Frank. "Which way shall we go?"

"Left, " said Andrew shortly. "Sure to go farther away. "

They started again, running now on the grass, and as they went on stepfor step:

"Mayn't have begun yet, " panted Andrew. "Sure to take time preparingfirst. --There, hark!"

For from beneath a clump of trees, a couple of hundred yards in front, there was an indistinct sound which might have meant anything. This theboys attributed to the grinding together of swords, and hurried on. 

Before they had gone twenty yards, though, it stopped; and as allremained silent after they had gone on a short distance farther, thepair stopped, too, and listened. 

"Going wrong, " said Frank despairingly. 

"No. Right, " whispered Andrew, grasping his companion's arm; for a lowvoice in amongst the trees gave what sounded like an order, and directlyafter there was a sharp click as of steel striking against steel, followed by a grating, grinding sound, as of blade passing over blade. 

Frank made a rush forward over the wet grass, disengaging his arm as hedid so; but Andrew bounded after him, and flung his arms about hisshoulders. 

"Stop!" he whispered. "You're not going on if you are going tointerfere. "

"Let go!" said Frank, in a choking voice. "I'm not going to interfere. I am going to try and act like a man. "

"Honour?"

"Honour!" and once more they ran on, to reach the trees and thread theirway through to where a couple of groups of gentlemen stood in a grassyopening, looking on while two others, stripped to shirt and breeches, were at thrust and parry, as if the world must be rid of one of thembefore they had done. 

As Frank saw that one was his father--slight, well-knit, and agile--andthe other--heavy, massively built, and powerful--the Baron Steinberg, the desire was strong to rush between them; but the power was wanting, and he stood as if fixed to the spot, staring with starting eyes at therapid exchanges made, for each was a good swordsman, well skilled inattack and defence, while the blades, as they grated edge to edge andplayed here and there, flashed in the morning light; and as if in uttermockery of the scene, a bird uttered its sweet song to the coming day. 

There were moments when, as the German's blade flashed dangerously nearSir Robert's breast, Frank longed to close his eyes, but they werefixed, and with shuddering emotion he followed every movement, feeling apang as a deadly thrust was delivered, drawing breath again as he saw itparried. 

For quite a minute the baron kept up a fierce attack in this, the secondencounter since they had begun, but every thrust was turned aside, andat last, as if by one consent, the combatants drew back a step or twowith their breasts heaving, and, without taking their eyes off eachother, stood carefully re-rolling up their shirt sleeves over theirwhite muscular arms. 

And now a low whispering went on among the officers, German and English, who were present, and Andrew said softly in Frank's ear:

"Don't move--don't make a sign. It might unsettle Sir Robert if he knewyou were here. "

Frank felt that this was true, and with his heart beating as if it wouldbreak from his chest he stood watching his father, noting that hisbreathing was growing more easy, and that he was, though his face waswet with perspiration, less exhausted than his adversary, whose faceappeared drawn with hate and rage as he glared at the English captain. 

Suddenly Captain Murray broke the silence by saying aloud to the Germanofficers:

"We are of opinion, gentlemen, that only one more encounter, the third, should take place. This should decide. "

"Tell them not to interfere, " said Steinberg fiercely, but withouttaking his eyes off his adversary. Then in French, with a very peculiaraccent, he cried, "_En garde_!" and stepped forward to cross swords withSir Robert once more. 

The latter advanced at the same moment, and the blades clicked andgrated slightly, as their holders stood motionless, ready to attack ordefend as the case might be. 

For nearly half a minute they stood motionless, eye fixed on eye, eachready to bring to bear his utmost skill, for, from the first the Germanhad fought with a vindictive rage which plainly showed that he wasdetermined to disable, if he did not slay, his adversary; while, enragedas he had been, there was, after some hours of sleep, no such desire onthe part of Sir Robert. He desired to wound his enemy, but that wasall; and as he at the first engagement realised the German's intentions, he fought cautiously, confining himself principally to defence, savewhen he was driven, for his own safety, to retaliate. 

The seconds and those who had come as friends, at the expense of abreach of discipline and the consequences which might follow, hadgrasped this from the first; and though he had great faith in hisfriend's skill, Captain Murray had been longing for an opportunity tointerfere and end the encounter. None had presented itself, and theGerman officers had so coldly refused to listen to any attempt atmediation that there was nothing for it but to let matters take theircourse. 

And now, as the adversaries stood motionless with their blades crossed, Sir Robert's friends felt to a man, as skilled fencers, that the timehad arrived for him to take the initiative, press his adversary home, and end the duel by wounding him. 

But Sir Robert still stood on his guard, the feeling in his breastbeing--in spite of the terrible provocation he had received--that he haddone wrong in striking his colonel's guest, and he kept cool andclear-headed, resolved not to attack. 

Then, all at once, by an almost imperceptible movement of the wrist, thebaron made his sword blade play about his enemy's, laying himself opento attack, to tempt his adversary to begin. 

Twice over he placed himself at so great a disadvantage that it wouldhave been easy for Sir Robert to have delivered dangerous thrusts; butthe opportunities were declined, for the English captain's mind was madeup, and Frank heard an impatient word from Murray's lips, while Andrewuttered a loud sigh. 

Then, quick as lightning, the baron resumed his old tactics, sending inthrust after thrust with all the skill he could command. His bladequivered and bent, and seemed to lick that of Sir Robert like a lambenttongue of fire; and Frank felt ready to choke, as he, with Andrew, unable to control their excitement, crept nearer and nearer to theactors in the terrible life drama, till they were close behind CaptainMurray and the other English officers, hearing their hard breathing andthe short, sharp gasps they uttered as some fierce thrust was made whichseemed to have gone home. 

But no: giving way very slightly, in spite of the fashion in which hewas pressed by the German, Sir Robert turned every thrust aside; and hadhe taken advantage of his opportunities, he could have again and againlaid the baron at his feet, but not in the way he wished, for his desirenow was to inflict such a wound as would merely place his enemy _hors decombat_. 

A murmur now arose amongst the Englishmen, for the affair was becomingmurderous on one side. But the German officers looked on stolidly, eachwith his left hand resting upon the hilt of his sword, as if ready toresent any interference with the principals in a deadly way. 

There was no hope of combination there to end the encounter, and oncemore Captain Murray and his friends waited for Sir Robert to terminatethe fight, as they now felt that he could at any time. 

For, enraged by the way in which he was being baffled by the superiorskill of his adversary, the baron's attack was growing wild as well asfierce; and, savagely determined to end all by a furious onslaught, hemade a series of quick feints, letting his point play about Sir Robert'sbreast, and then, quick as lightning, lunged with such terrible forcethat Frank uttered a faint cry. His father heard it, and though heparried that thrust, it was so nervously that he was partly off hisguard with that which followed, the result being that a red linesuddenly sprang into sight from just above his wrist, nearly to hiselbow, and from which the blood began to flow. 

A cry of "Halt!" came from Captain Murray and his friends, and this wasanswered by a guttural roar from the baron, while, as the former, assecond, stepped forward to beat down the adversaries' swords, the Germanofficers at once drew their weapons, not to support the baron's second, but as a menace. 

It was all almost momentary, and while it went on the baron, inspired bythe sight of the blood, pressed forward, thrusting rapidly, feeling thatthe day was his own. 

But that strong British arm, though wounded, grasped the hilt of SirRobert's blade as rigidly as if it were of the same metal; and as thebaron lunged for what he intended for his final thrust, he thoroughlyachieved his object, but not exactly as he meant. His sword point waswithin an inch of Sir Robert's side, when a quick beat in octave sent itspinning from his hand, while at the same instant, and before the flyingsword had reached the ground, Sir Robert's blade had passed completelythrough his adversary's body. 

The German officers rushed forward, not to assist their fallen leader, but, sword in hand, evidently to avenge his fall, so taking theEnglishmen by surprise that, save Sir Robert's second, neither had timeto draw. 

It would have gone hard with them, but, to the surprise of all, therewas a short, sharp order, and an officer and a dozen of the Guardsdashed out of the clump of trees which sheltered the duellists, toarrest the whole party for brawling within the Palace precincts. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

THE CONQUEROR. 

The German party blustered, but the officer in command of the Guards hadno hesitation in forcing them to submit. They threatened, but the fixedbayonets presented at their breasts, and the disposition shown by thesturdy Englishmen who bore them to use them on the instant that an orderwas given, ended in a surrender. 

As the baron fell, the feeling of horror which attacked Frank passedaway, and, handkerchief in hand, he sprang to his father's side, bindingit tightly round the wound, and following it up by the application of ascarf from his neck. 

"Ah, Frank lad, " said Sir Robert, as if it were quite a matter of coursethat his son should help him; and he held up his arm, so that the woundcould be bound while he spoke to Captain Murray. 

"It was an accident, " he said excitedly. "I swear that I was only on mydefence. "

"We saw, " said the captain quietly. "He regularly forced himself onyour blade. "

"How is he, doctor?" said Sir Robert excitedly. 

"Bad, " replied the surgeon, who was kneeling beside the fallen man, while his disarmed companions looked fiercely on. 

"Don't worry yourself about it, Gowan, " said one of Sir Robert'sbrother-officers; "the brute fought like a savage, and tried his best tokill you. "

"I'd have given ten years of my life sooner than it should havehappened. --That will do, boy. "

"Bad job, Gowan, " said the officer who had arrested them. "The colonelwas very wild as soon as he knew that you had broken arrest and come tothis meeting, and it will go hard with you, Murray, and you others. "

"Oh, we were spectators like the boys here, " said one of the officers. 

"Yes, it's a bad job, " said Captain Murray; "but a man must stand by hisfriend. Never mind, Gowan, old fellow; if they cashier us, we mustoffer our swords elsewhere. I say, " he continued, turning to thecaptain of the guard, "you are not going to arrest these boys?"

"The two pages? No; absurd. They found out that there was an affairon, and came to see. Got over the wall, I suppose. I should have donethe same. I can't see them. Now, doctor, as soon as you say the word, my men shall carry our German friend on their muskets. How is he?"

"As I said before--bad, " replied the surgeon sternly. "Better send twomen for a litter. He must be taken carefully. "

"Then I'll leave two men with you while I take my prisoners to theguard-house. Fall in, gentlemen, please. You boys get back to yourquarters. Now, messieurs--meinherrs, I mean--you are my prisoners. Vorwarts! March!"

"Aren't you faint, father?" whispered Frank, who took Sir Robert'suninjured arm. 

"Only sick, boy--heartsick more than anything. Frank, your mother mustknow, and if she waits she will get a garbled account. Go to her assoon as you get to the Palace, and tell her everything--the simpletruth. I am not hurt much--only a flesh wound, which will soon heal. "

"And if she asks me why you fought, father, " whispered Frank, "what am Ito say?"

Sir Robert frowned heavily, and turned sharply to gaze in his son'seyes. 

"Frank boy, " he said, "you are beginning trouble early; but you must tryand think and act like a man. When I go, your place is at your mother'sside. "

"When you go, father?"

"Yes, I shall have to go, boy. Tell her I fought as a man should forthe honour of those I love. Now say no more; I am a bit faint, and Iwant to think. "

The strange procession moved in toward the gates, the German officerstalking angrily together, and paying little heed to theirfellow-prisoners, save that one of them darted a malignant glance at SirRobert Gowan, which made Andrew turn upon him sharply with an angryscowl, looking the officer up and down so fiercely that he movedmenacingly toward the lad; but the Guardsman at his side raised his armand stepped between them. 

Just then the boys' eyes met, and Frank, who was still supporting hisfather, gave his friend a grateful look. 

When the guard-house was reached, it was just sunrise, upon as lovely amorning as ever broke; and it contrasted strangely with the aspect ofthe men who had been out for so sinister a design. 

Frank felt something of the kind as the door was opened to admit hisfather, one accustomed to command, and now ready to enter as a prisoner;but he had very little time then for private thought, for the colonelsuddenly appeared, and without a glance at Sir Robert said sharply:

"Well?"

"Too late to stop it, sir, " reported the officer in command. "CaptainSir Robert Gowan wounded in the arm. "

"Baron Steinberg?"

"The doctor is with him, sir. A litter is to be sent at once. "

"But--surely not--"

"No, not dead, sir; but run through the body. "

"Tut, tut, tut!" ejaculated the colonel; and he turned now to Sir Robertwith words of reproach on his lips, but the fixed look of pain anddespair upon his officer's features disarmed him, and he signed to theprisoner to enter. 

"What shall I do now, father?" said Frank. "Let me fetch anotherdoctor. "

"Nonsense, boy. Only a flesh wound. Go back to the Park at once; Iwant to hear what news there is. "

"Of the baron, father?"

"Yes; make haste. I must know how he is. "

Frank gave a quick, short nod, pressed his father's hand, and hurriedout, to find Andrew, whom he had forgotten for the moment, walking upand down in front of a knot of soldiers, looking as fretful as a trappedwolf in a cage. 

"They wouldn't let me come in, " he said impatiently. 

"I only got in because I was supporting my father, " said Frank quickly. "Come along; I'm going to see how the baron is. Has the litter gone?"

"No; there are the men coming with it now. "

The two lads set off running, Andrew's ill-humour passing off in action, and he chatted quite cheerily as they made for the Park. 

"Your father was splendid, Frank!" he cried. "I was proud of him. Whata lesson for those haughty sausage-eaters!"

"But it is a terrible business, Drew. "

"Stuff! only an affair of honour. Of course it may be serious for yourfather if the baron dies: but he won't die. Some of his hot blood letout. Do him good, and let all these Hanoverians see what stuff theEnglish have in them. Don't you fidget. Why, every one in the Guardswill be delighted. I know I am. Wouldn't have missed that fight foranything. "

"You don't ask how my father's wound is. "

"No, and he would not want me to. Nasty, shallow cut, that's all. Herewe are. "

They trotted into the opening where the greensward was all trampled andstamped by the combatants' feet, and found the doctor kneeling by hispatient just as they had left him, and the two Grenadiers with groundedarms standing with their hands resting on the muzzles of their pieces. 

"Hallo! young men, " cried the doctor, rising and stepping to them. "Isthat litter going to be all day?"

"They're bringing it, sir, " said Frank; "we ran on first. How is henow?"

Frank looked at the white face before him with its contracted featuresand ghastly aspect about the pinched-in lips. 

"About as bad as he can be, my lad. A man can't have a sharp piece ofsteel run through his chest without feeling a bit uncomfortable. Lessonfor you, my boys. You see what duelling really is. You'll neither ofyou quarrel and go out after this. "

"Why not?" said Andrew sharply. "I should, and so would Frank Gowan, ifwe were insulted by a foreigner. "

"Bah!" cried the doctor testily. "Nice language for a boy like you. "

"Please tell me, sir, " said Frank anxiously. "Will he get better?"

"Why do you want to know, you young dog?" said the doctor, turning uponhim sharply. "No business here at all, either of you. "

"My father is so anxious to know. I want to run back and tell him. "

"Oh, that's it!" said the doctor gruffly. "No business to have brokenout to fight; but I suppose I must tell him. Go back and say that thebaron has got a hole in his chest and another in his back, and his lifeis trying to slip out of one of them; but I've got them stopped, andthat before his life managed to pop out. Lucky for him that I was here;and I'm very glad, tell your father, that it has turned out as it has, for I stood all through the ugly business, expecting every moment thathe would go down wounded to the death. "

"Yes, I'll tell him, " said Frank hurriedly. 

"Don't rush off like that, boy. How should you like to be a surgeon?"

"Not at all, sir. "

"And quite right, " said the doctor, taking out his box, and helpinghimself to a liberal pinch of snuff. "Nice job for a man like me tohave to do all I can to save the life of a savage who did all he couldto murder one of my greatest friends. There, run back and tell him tomake his mind easy about my lord here. I won't let him die, and as soonas I can I'll come and see to his arm. "

The boys ran off again, passing the litter directly; but when theyreached the guard-house, the sentry refused to let them pass, andsummoned another of the Guards, who took in a message to the captain whomade the arrest. 

He came to the door directly, and learned what they wanted. 

"I can't admit you, " he said. "The colonel's orders have been verystrict. I'll go and set your father's mind at rest, for of course he'llbe glad that he did not kill his adversary. "

The captain nodded in a friendly way, and went back. 

"He can't help himself, Frank, " said Andrew. "Don't mind about it. Andthere won't be any punishment. The King and the Prince will storm andshout a bit in Dutch, and then it will all blow over. Your father's toogreat a favourite with the troops for there to be any bother, and thebigwigs know how pleased every one will be that the Dutchman got theworst of it. I say, look; it's only half-past five now!"

"What: not later than that!" cried Frank in astonishment, for he wouldhave been less surprised if he had heard that it was midday. 

"Here they come, " whispered Andrew; and, turning quickly, Frank saw thesoldiers bearing in the wounded baron, with the doctor by his side, andthey waited till they saw the litter borne in to the guardroom, and thedoor was shut. 

"I say, who would have thought of this when we were going over to themessroom yesterday evening? What shall we do now--go back to bed?"

"To bed!" said Frank reproachfully. "No. I have the worst to come. "

"What, are you going to challenge one of the Germans? I'll second you. "

"Don't be so flippant. There, good-bye for the present. "

"Good-bye be hanged! You're in trouble, and I'm going to stick to youlike a man. "

"Yes, I know you will, Drew; but let me go alone now. "

"What for? Where are you going? You're not going to be so stupid as tobegin petitioning, and all that sort of nonsense, to get your fatheroff?"

"No, " said Frank, with his lower lip quivering; "he'll fight his ownbattle. I've got a message from him for my mother, and I have to breakthe news to her. "

Andrew Forbes uttered a low, soft whistle, and nodded his head. 

"Before she gets some muddled story, not half true. I say, tell her notto be frightened and upset. Sir Robert shan't come to harm. Why, wecould raise all London if they were to be queer to him. But take myword for it, they won't be. "

Frank hardly heard his last words, for they were now in the calm, retired quadrangle of the Palace, one side of which was devoted to theapartments of the ladies in attendance upon the Queen and Princess, andthe lad went straight to the door leading to his mother's rooms, andrang. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

FRANK HAS A PAINFUL TASK. 

For the moment Frank Gowan forgot that it was only half-past five, andafter waiting a reasonable time he rang again. 

But all was still in the court, which lay in the shade, while the greatred-brick clock tower was beginning to glow in the sunshine. There weresome pigeons on one of the roofs preening their plumes, and a fewsparrows chirping here and there, while every window visible from wherethe boy stood was whitened by the drawn-down blinds. 

He rang again and waited, but all was as silent as if the place wereuninhabited, and the whistling of wings as half a dozen pigeons suddenlyflew down to begin stalking about as if in search of food soundedstartling. 

"Too soon, " thought Frank; and going a little way along, he seatedhimself upon a dumpy stone post, to wait patiently till such time as thePalace servants were astir. 

And there in the silence his thoughts went back to his adventures thatmorning, and the scene, which seemed to have been enacted days and daysago, came vividly before his eyes, while he thrilled once more with thefeeling of mingled horror and excitement, as he seemed to stand againclose behind Captain Murray, expecting moment by moment to see hisfather succumb to the German's savage attack. 

There it all was, as clear as if it were still going on, right to themoment when the baron missed his desperate thrust and literally fellupon his adversary's point. 

"It was horrid, horrid, horrid, " muttered the lad with a shiver; and hetried to divert his mind by thinking of how he should relate just asufficiency of the encounter to his mother, and no more. 

"Yes, " he said to himself. "I'll just tell her that they fought, thatfather was scratched by the baron's sword, and then the baron was badlywounded in return. 

"That will do, " he said, feeling perfectly satisfied; "I'll tell herjust in this way. "

But as he came to this determination, doubt began to creep in and askhim whether he could relate the trouble so coolly and easily when hismother's clear eyes were watching him closely and searching for everyscrap of truth; and then he began to think it possible that he mightfail, and stand before her feeling guilty of keeping a great deal back. 

"I know I shall grow confused, and that she will not believe that poorfather's arm was only scratched, and she'll think at once that it is aserious wound, and that the baron is dead. "

He turned so hot at this that he rose quickly, and walked along all foursides of the quadrangle to cool himself before going to the door oncemore and giving a sharp ring. 

"Are the servants going to lie in bed all day?" he said peevishly. "They ought to be down before this. "

But the ring meeting with no response, he sat down again to try andthink out what the consequences of the events of the morning would be. Here, however, he found himself confronted by a thick, black veil, whichshut out the future. It was easy enough to read the past, but toimagine what was to come was beyond him. 

At last, when quite an hour had passed, he grew impatient, and rangsharply this time, to hear a window opened somewhere at the top of thehouse; and when he looked up, it was to see a head thrust forth andrapidly withdrawn. 

Five minutes or so afterward he heard the shooting of bolts and therattling down of a chain, the door was opened, and a pretty-lookingmaidservant, with sleep still in her eyes, confronted himill-humouredly. 

"How late you are!" cried Frank. 

"No, sir; please, it's you who are so early. We didn't go to bed tillpast one. "

"Is Lady Gowan up yet?"

"Lor' bless you, sir, no! Why--oh, I beg your pardon, I'm sure, sir. Ididn't know you at first; it's her ladyship's son, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course. I want to see her directly. "

"But you can't, sir. She won't be down this two hours. "

"Go and tell my mother I am here, and that I want to see her onimportant business. "

"Very well, sir; but I know I shall get into trouble for disturbingher, " said the maid ill-humouredly. "She was with the Princess tillever so late. "

The girl went upstairs, leaving Frank waiting in the narrow passage ofthe place, and at the end of a few minutes she returned. 

"Her ladyship says, sir, you are to come into her little boudoir andwait; she'll dress, and come down in a few minutes. "

Frank followed the maid to the little room, and stood waiting, for hecould not sit down in his anxiety. He felt hot and cold, and as if hewould have given anything to have hurried away, but there was nothingfor it but to screw up his courage and face the matter. 

"She'll be half an hour yet, " he muttered, "and that will give me timeto grow cool; then I can talk to her. "

He was wrong; for at the end of five minutes there was the rustling ofgarments, and Lady Gowan entered, in a loose morning gown, lookingstartled at being woke up by such a message. 

"Why, Frank, my darling boy, what is it?" she cried, as the boy shrankfrom her eyes when she embraced him affectionately. "You are ill! No;in trouble! I can see it in your eyes. Look up at me, my boy, and bein nature what you are by name. You were right to come to me. There, sit down by my side, and let it be always so--boy or man, let me alwaysbe your _confidante_, and I will forgive you and advise you if I can. "

Frank was silent, but he clung to her, trembling. 

"Speak to me, dear, " she said, drawing him to her and kissing hisforehead; "it cannot be anything very dreadful--only some escapade. "

His lips parted, but no words would come, and he shivered at the thoughtof undeceiving her. 

"Come, come, dear, " she whispered, "there is no one to hear you but I;and am I not your mother?"

"Yes, but--"

That was all. He could say no more. 

"Frank, my boy, why do you hesitate?" she whispered, as she passed hersoft, warm hand over his forehead, which was wet and cold. "Come, speakout like a brave lad. A boy of your age should be manly, and if he hasdone wrong own to it, and be ready to bear the reproof or punishment hehas earned. Come, let me help you. "

"You help me?" he gasped. 

"Yes, I think I can. You dined at the mess last night; your face isflushed and feverish, your head is hot, and your hands wet and cold. Phoebe tells me that in her sleep she heard you ringing at the bell soonafter five. Is this so?"

"Yes, " he said with his eyes and a quick nod of the head. 

"Hah! And am I right in saying that you have had scarcely any or nosleep during the night?"

He nodded again quickly, and felt as if it would be impossible to tryand set his mother right. 

"Hah! I am angry with you. I feel that I ought to be. There has beensome escapade. Your father would have watched over you while he wasthere. It must have been afterwards--Andrew Forbes and some of the wildyoung officers. Yes, I see it now; and I never warned you against sucha peril, though it is real enough, I fear. "

"Oh, mother, mother!" groaned the boy in agony. 

"I knew it, " she said sternly; "they have led you away to some card- ordice-playing, and you have lost. Now you are fully awake to yourfolly. "

The boy made a brave effort to speak out, but still no words would come. 

"Well, " said Lady Gowan, taking his hand to hold it firmly between herown. 

But he was still silent. 

"I am angry, and cruelly disappointed in you, Frank, " she said sternly. "But your repentance has been quick, and you have done what is right. There, I will forgive you, on your solemn promise that you will notagain sin like this. I will give you the money to pay the miserabledebt, and if I have not enough I will get it, even if I have to sell mydiamonds. "

She looked at him as it expecting now a burst of repentant thanks; buthe remained speechless, and a feeling of resentment against him rose inLady Gowan's breast, as she felt that this was not the return the boyshould have made to her gentle reproof, her offer to free him from hisdifficulty, and her eyes flashed upon him angrily. 

"Oh, mother!" he cried, "don't look at me like that. "

"I must, Frank, " she said, loosing his hand, "you are not meeting me inthis matter as you should. "

"No, no, " he cried, finding his tongue now, and catching her hands inhis, as he sank on his knees before her. "Don't shrink from me, thoughit does seem so cruel of me. "

"More cruel, my boy, than you think, " she said, as she resigned herhands to him lovingly once more. "Speak out to me, then. It is what Ifear?"

"Oh no, no, mother darling, " he groaned. "I must speak now. It is farworse than that. "

"Worse!" she cried, with a startled look in her eyes. "Some quarrel?"

He bowed his head, partly in assent, partly to escape her piercing look. 

"And you are no longer a schoolboy--you wear a sword. Oh, Frank, Frank!you--Andrew Forbes. "

He shook his head and bowed it down. Then he raised it firmly andproudly, and met his mother's eyes gazing wildly at him now, as shetried to release her hands, but as he held them tightly, pressed themwith her own against her throbbing breast. 

"He told me to come to you as a man and break the news. "

"He--your father--told you--to break the news. Ah, I see it all. Aquarrel--and they have fought--but he bade you come. Then he lives!"

"Yes, yes, mother dear. He is wounded, but very slightly in the arm. "

Lady Gowan uttered a low, piteous cry, and sank upon her knees besideher son, with her lips moving quickly for some moments, as he supportedher where they knelt together. 

"Wounded--dangerously?" she moaned. 

"No, no; believe me, mother, slightly in his sword arm. He walked backwith me. "

"To his quarters?"

"No. He was arrested. "

"Ah!" ejaculated Lady Gowan. "Arrested--why?"

Frank hastily explained. 

"Oh the horror of these meetings! But this man, your father struck him?But why?"

Frank repeated his father's message, and Lady Gowan looked bewildered. 

"I cannot understand, " she said. "These German officers are favouritesof the King, and the baron must have cruelly insulted your father, orhe, who is so brave and strong and gentle, would never have done this. They are proud and overbearing, and I know treat our English officerswith contempt. Yes, it must have been from that. When was it?"

"At daybreak. "

"Where?"

"Just yonder in the Park. "

"And your father took you?" said Lady Gowan, with a look of horror. 

"No, no, mother; he did not know I was there till it was just over, andhe told me how it was. "

"Yes, I see. "

"I was horrified and frightened when Drew came and told me. I could notkeep away. "

"No, " she said softly, "of course not. I should have gone myself had Iknown. But your good, brave father wounded, and the man who insultedhim escaped unhurt!"

"No, no, mother; he is--"

"Frank! Not dead?" she cried in horror, for the boy stopped. 

"No, no; but very dangerously wounded. The soldiers carried him back ona litter, but the doctor says that he will live. "

Once more, while she knelt there, Lady Gowan's lips moved as her eyesclosed, and she bent down her head above her son's shoulder. 

At last she raised it, and said, firmly:

"We must be brave over this terrible misfortune, Frank dear. But tellme; do I know the worst?"

"Yes, yes, mother; I meant to keep a great deal back, and I can't lookin your eyes, and say anything that is not perfectly true. "

"And never will, my son, " she cried, with a wildly hysterical burst oftears, which she checked in a few moments. "There, your mother is veryweak, you see, dear; but I am going to be strong now. Then thatexplains the sternness of the arrest. Let us look the matter in theface. Your father struck this German nobleman, the guest of theregiment. They fought this morning, and the cause of the trouble isbadly hurt. The King and the Prince will be furious. They will lookupon it as a mutinous attack upon one of their favourites. Yes, I mustsee the Princess at once. I will go to her chamber now; so leave me, myboy, and wait. I will write to you, and I must try and get a note toyour father. There, go, my own brave boy, and be comforted. Thetrouble may not be so great after all, for we have a friend who loves usboth--the Princess, and she will help me in my sore distress. There, go, my boy; she must have the news from me, as your father contrivedthat it should come to me. I can go to her chamber at any time, for shehas told me again and again that she looks upon me as her dearestfriend. "

The next minute Frank was crossing the quadrangle on his way back, feeling relieved of much of his burden; but before he reached thequarters occupied by the royal pages, Andrew Forbes stood before him. 

"At last!" he said. "I've been waiting here ever since. How does shetake it?"

"Bravely, " said Frank, with a proud look. "She has just gone in to tellthe Princess. "

"And she will get Sir Robert out of the scrape if she can. But it won'tdo, Frank, " said Andrew, shaking his head. "She'll be very kind to yourmother, but you may as well know the worst. She can't; for his Majestywill have something to say about his baron. Your father might as wellhave hit the King himself. "

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

THE KING'S DECREE. 

"Any fresh news?"

"No. Have you any?"

"Not much; but I've seen the doctor again this morning. "

"You told me yesterday that he said you were not to dare to come to himany more. "

"Yesterday! Why, that was four days ago. "

"Nonsense! That would have been before the duel. "

"I say, Frank, are you going out of your mind?"

"I don't know, " said the boy wearily. "My head's muddled with want ofsleep. "

"Muddled? I should think it is. Why, it's a week to-day since thatglorious fight in the Park. "

"Glorious?"

"Yes. I wish our officers would challenge all the German officers, fight them, and wound them, and send them out of the country. "

"Don't talk nonsense. Talk about the doctor. He did tell you not tocome any more. "

"Yes; he said he wouldn't be bothered by a pack of boys. "

"Yes; he said the same to me every time I went. "

"Every time! Have you been there much?"

"About four times a day. "

"No wonder he was snappish to me, then. "

"I suppose it has been tiresome, and he has called me all sorts ofnames, and said I worried his life out; but he always ended by smilingand shaking hands. "

"You haven't been this morning of course?"

"Yes, I have. "

"Well?"

"He says father's arm is going on well; but the baron is very bad. "

"Serve him right. "

"But I want him to get well. "

"Oh, he'll get well some day. He's such a big, thick fellow, that it'sa long wound from front to back, and takes time. Be a lesson to him. Isay, how's Lady Gowan?"

"Very miserable and low-spirited. "

"Humph!" ejaculated Andrew; and he glanced in a curious, furtive way athis companion. "I say, I thought the Princess was to speak to the King, and get your father pardoned. "

"She did speak to him, and the Prince has too. "

"Well?"

"We don't know any more yet. I suppose my father is kept under arrestso as to punish him. "

"Yes, " said Andrew, with a strange hesitation, which took Frank'sattention. 

"Why did you say `_yes_' like that?" he cried, with his dull, listlessmanner passing off, and a keen, eager look in his eyes. 

"Did I say `_yes_' like that?"

"You know you did. What is it you are keeping back, Drew?"

"I say, don't talk like that, " said Andrew petulantly. "I never sawsuch a fellow as you are. Here, only the other day you looked up to mein everything, and I tried to teach you how to behave like a young manof the world in courtly society. "

"Yes, you did, and I am greatly obliged; but--"

"Seems like it, " said Andrew sharply. "Then all at once you set up yourhackles, and show fight like a young cockerel, and begin bouncing overme--I mean trying to; and it won't do, young Gowan. I'm your senior. "

"Yes, yes, I know, " cried Frank angrily; "but this is all talk, just forthe sake of saying something to put me off. Now speak out; what is ityou're keeping back?"

"There you go again, bully Gowan! Here, I say, you know I'm not goingto stand this. You keep your place. "

"Don't, don't, Drew, when I'm in such trouble!" cried Frank appealingly. 

"Ah! that's better. Now you've dropped into your place again, boy. "

"You have something fresh--some great trouble--and you are hiding itfrom me. "

"Well, how can I help it?" said Andrew. "You're bad enough as it is, and I don't want to make matters worse. "

"But that's what you are doing. Why don't you speak?"

"Because you'll go and tell dear Lady Gowan, and it will half kill her. "

"What!" cried Frank, springing at his companion, and catching him by theshoulder. 

"And I look upon her as if she was my mother as well as yours, and I'dcut off my hand sooner than hurt her feelings more. "

"I knew there was something fresh, " cried Frank excitedly; "and, whatever it is, I must tell her, Drew. I promised her that I'd be quiteopen, and keep nothing from her. "

"There, I knew I was right. How can I help keeping it back? And don't, Frank lad. I say, how strong you are. You're ragging my collar about. I shan't be fit to be seen. "

"Then why don't you speak? It's cruel, horrible, " cried Frank hoarsely. 

"Because it comes so hard, old lad. I feel just as you told me you feltwhen you had to go and tell Lady Gowan that morning. "

"Yes, yes, I know; but do--do speak! You've tortured me enough. "

"I've just seen Captain Murray. "

"Ah!"

"He was coming out of the colonel's quarters. "

"Well? Be quick--oh, do be quick!"

"I ran to him, and he took me into his room and told me. "

"Yes--told you--what?"

"He said he was very sorry for you and Lady Gowan, but the King was ashard as a rock. The Prince had been at him, and the Princess too; buthe would hardly listen to them, and the most he would do was--It seemsthat Steinberg is a very old favourite. "

"Oh, I knew all that long ago! Why do you break off in that tantalisingway?"

"There is to be no regular court-martial, such as was to have been assoon as the doctor said Sir Robert could bear it. "

"Yes, yes. "

"Oh, it's no, no, Frank. He's to be dismissed from his regiment. "

"I was afraid so, " cried Frank. "But to exchange into another. Whatregiment is he to go in?"

Andrew was silent. 

"Well, go on! Why don't you speak?" cried Frank wildly. "I asked youwhat regiment he was to go in. "

"No regiment at all. He's dismissed from the King's service, and he isto leave the country. If he comes back, he is to be severely punished. "

"Oh, they could not punish him more severely, " cried Frank, with anangry stamp of the foot. 

"Yes, they could. His Majesty"--Andrew Forbes said the two last wordswith bitter irony in his tones--"might order his execution. "

"Then we are all to go away, " said Frank, frowning. 

"I don't know about that, " replied Andrew. "But it's a good thing foryour father. "

"What! A good thing?"

"Yes; to get out of the service of such a miserable usurper. If it werenot for the terrible upset to Lady Gowan, I should be ready tocongratulate her. "

"That will do, " said Frank sharply. "Don't get introducing yourprinciples here. "

"Our principles, " whispered Andrew, with a meaning look. 

"Your principles, " continued Frank, with emphasis. "I'm in no temperfor that, and I don't want to quarrel. I must go and tell her as soonas I'm off duty. She'll be ready to hate the sight of me for alwaysbringing her bad news. "

But before the boy was relieved from his daily duties in the anteroom, anote was brought to him from Lady Gowan confirming Andrew's words. Infact, Frank's mother had known the worst over-night. But there wasother news in the letter which told the lad that his father was to leaveLondon that evening, that he was to accompany his mother to see him fora farewell interview, and that she wished him to be ready to go with herat seven o'clock. 

Frank read the letter twice, and felt puzzled. He read it again, andsought out his friend. 

"Been to see Lady Gowan?" Andrew asked. 

"No; read this. "

The lad took the letter, shrugged his shoulders as he read it, andhanded it back. 

"That's plain enough, " he said bitterly. 

"Do you think so? I don't. I can't make out the end. "

"You are to call for Lady Gowan, and take her to Sir Robert's quarters. "

"No, no, I mean about a farewell visit. "

"Well, isn't that plain?"

"But we shall go too. "

"I don't think so. Your mother is the Princess's friend, and she doesnot wish to lose her. You will both have to stay. "

"Impossible!" cried Frank excitedly. 

"Well, we shall see, " said Andrew meaningly. 

That evening Frank took his mother, closely veiled, to Sir Robert'squarters, where he had been ever since the duel, with a sentry beneathhis window, another stationed at his door. 

The pass Lady Gowan bore admitted them at once, and the next minute theywere in Sir Robert's room, to find him looking pale and stern, busilyfinishing with his servant the preparations for an immediate start. 

The man was dismissed, and father, mother, and son were alone. 

Lady Gowan was the first to speak. 

"You know the orders that have been given, Robert?" she said. 

"Yes; I travel with a strong escort to Harwich, where I am to take shipand cross. "

"Of course we are going with you, Robert, " said Lady Gowan. 

Sir Robert was silent for a few moments, and Frank stood watching himanxiously, eager to hear his reply. 

"No, " he said at last. "I am driven out of the country, and it wouldnot be right to take you with me now. "

"Robert!" cried Lady Gowan. 

"Hush!" he said appealingly. "I have much to bear now; don't add to myburden. At present I have no plans. I do not even know where I shalldirect my steps. I am to be shipped off to Ostend. It would be madnessto take you from here yet. The Princess is your friend, and Iunderstand that the Prince is well-disposed toward me. You must stayhere for the present. "

"But I am sure that her Royal Highness will wish me to leave her servicenow. "

"And I am not, " said Sir Robert. "For the present I wish you to stay. "

Lady Gowan bent down and kissed his hand in obedience to her husband'swishes. 

"But you will take me with you, father?" cried Frank. 

"You, my boy? No. You cannot leave your mother. She and I both lookto you to fill my place till the happier days come, when I can return toEngland. You hear me, Frank?"

A protest was on the lad's lips; but there was a stern decision in SirRobert's eyes and tones which silenced it, and with quivering lip hestood listening to his father's instructions, till there was a tap atthe door, and an officer appeared to announce that the visitors mustleave. 

"Very well, " said Sir Robert quietly, and the officer withdrew. 

"Oh, father!" cried Frank, "let me go and ask for another hour. "

"No, my boy, " said Sir Robert, firmly. "It is better so. Why should wetry to prolong pain? Good-bye, Frank, till we meet again. You must bea man now, young as you are. I leave your mother in your care. "

His farewell to Lady Gowan was very brief, and then at his wish she toreherself away, and with her veil drawn-down to hide her emotion, shehurried out, resting on Frank's arm; while he, in spite of his father'srecent words, was half choked as he felt how his mother was sobbing. 

"Don't speak to me, dear, " she whispered, as they reached herapartments. "I cannot bear it. I feel as if we were forsaking yourfather in the time of his greatest need. "

It was painful to leave her suffering; but there was a feeling of desireurging the lad away, and he hurried out, finding Andrew faithfullywaiting at the door, and ready to press his hand in sympathy. 

"It's terribly hard, lad, " he said. "Oh, dear; what a wicked world itis! But you are coming to see him go?"

Frank nodded--he could not trust himself to speak--and they started backfor Sir Robert's quarters. 

They were none too soon; for already a couple of coaches were at thedoor, and a military guard was drawn up, keeping back a little crowd, the wind of the approaching departure having got abroad. 

The lads noticed that fully half were soldiers; but they had little timefor making observations, for already Sir Robert was at the door, and thenext minute he had stepped into the first coach, the second, standingback, being filled with guards, one being beside the coachman on thebox, and two others standing behind. An officer and two soldiersfollowed Sir Robert. The door was banged to as Frank and Andrew dashedforward, and forced their way past the sentries who kept back the crowd. 

It required little effort, for as soon as the Guards recognised themthey gave place, and enabled them to run beside the coach for a littleway, waving their hands to the banished man. 

Sir Robert saw them, and leaned forward, and his face appeared at thewindow, when, as if influenced by one spirit, the soldiers uttered atremendous cheer, the rest joined in, and the next minute the boys stoodpanting outside in front of the clock tower, with the carriagesdisappearing on their way east. 

"Oh, Frank, Frank!" cried Andrew excitedly, "is this free England? Ifwe had only known--if we had only known. "

Frank's heart was too full for speech, and, hardly heeding hiscompanion's words, he stood gazing after the two coaches, feeling lowerin spirits than he ever had before in his life. 

"We ought to have known that the soldiers and the people were all uponhis side. A little brave effort, with some one to lead them, and wecould have rescued him. The men would have carried everything beforethem. "

"Rather curious expressions of opinion for one of the royal pages, younggentleman, " said a stern voice. 

"Captain Murray!" cried Andrew, who was thoroughly startled to find hiswords taken up so promptly by some one behind him. 

"Yes, my lad, Captain Murray. I am glad, Gowan, that such words did notfall from you, though in your case they would have been more excusable. "

"Perhaps, sir, " cried Frank, in his loyalty to his friend, thoughtruthfully enough, "it was because I could not speak. I wish I hadhelped to do it, though. "

"Hah! Yes, brave and manly, but weak and foolish, my boy. Recollectwhat and where you are, and that whispers spoken in the precincts of thePalace often have echoes which magnify them and cause those who utteredthem much harm. "

"I'm not sorry I spoke, " said Andrew hotly. "It has been horriblyunjust to Sir Robert Gowan. "

"Suppose we discuss that shut in between four walls which have no ears, my lad. But let me ask you this, my hot-blooded young friend--supposeyou had roused the soldiers into rising and rescuing Sir Robert Gowan, what then?"

"It would have been a very gallant thing, sir, " said Andrew haughtily. 

"Of course, very brave and dashing, but a recklessly impulsive act. What would have followed?"

Captain Murray turned from Andrew to Frank, and the latter saw by thedim lamplight that the words were addressed more particularly to him. 

"We should have set him free. "

"No. You might have rescued him from his guards; but he would have beenno more free than he is now. He could not have stayed in England, butwould have had to make for the coast, and escape to France or Holland insome smuggler's boat. You see he would have been just where he is now. But it is more probable that you would not have secured him, for theguard would at the first attempt have been called upon to fire, and manylives would have been sacrificed for nothing. "

"I thought you were Sir Robert Gowan's friend, sir, " said Andrewbitterly. 

"So I am, boy; but I am the King's servant, sworn to obey and defendhim. His Majesty's commands were that Sir Robert should leave hisservice, and seek a home out of England. It is our duty to obey. Andnow listen to me, Mr Andrew Forbes, and you too, Frank Gowan; and if Ispeak sternly, remember it is from a desire to advise my old comrade'sson and his companion for the best. A still tongue maketh a wise head. But I am not going to preach at you; and it is better that you shouldtake it to heart--you in particular, Andrew Forbes, for you occupy apeculiar position here. Your father is a proscribed rebel. "

"You dare to say that of my father!" cried the lad, laying his hand uponhis sword. 

"Yes, you foolish lad. Let that hilt alone. Keep your sword for yourenemies, not for your friends, even if they tell you unpleasant truths. Your tongue, my lad, runs too freely, and will get you sooner or laterinto trouble. Men have been punished for much less than you have said, even to losing their lives. "

"Is this what a King's officer should do?" cried Andrew, who was whitewith anger, --"play the part of a spy?"

"Silly, hot-headed boy, " said Captain Murray. "I saw you both, and cameup to speak to my old friend's son, when I could not help hearing whatyour enemies would call traitorous remarks. Frank, my lad, you are theyounger in years, but you have the older head, and you must not be ledaway by this hot-blooded fellow. There, come both of you to myquarters. "

"Frank, I'm going to my room, " said Andrew, ignoring the captain'swords. 

"No, you are coming with us, " said Captain Murray. "Frank, my lad, yourfather asked me to give an eye to you, and bade me tell you that if youwere ever in any difficulty you were to come to me for help. Rememberthat please, for I will help Robert Gowan's son in every way I can. "

The friendly feeling he had already had for his father's companion allcame back on the instant, and Frank held out his hand. 

"Hah, that's right, boy. You have your father's eye for a friend. Comealong, and let's have a quiet chat. I want company to-night, for thisbusiness makes one low-spirited. Come along, Hotspur. "

"Do you mean to continue insulting me, sir?" said Andrew sharply. 

"I? No. There, you are put out because I spoke so plainly. Look here, Forbes, I should not like to see you arrested and dismissed from yourservice for uttering treasonable words, and you will be one of thesedays. It is being talked about in the Palace, but fortunately only byyour friends. Come, it is only a few steps, and we may as well talksitting down. "

The lad was on the point of declining coldly; but the officer's extendedhand and genial smile disarmed him, and there was something soattractive in his manner that, unable to resist, he allowed CaptainMurray to pass an arm through his and march both lads to his quarters. 

"Hah! this is better, " he said, as he placed chairs for his visitors. "Poor old Gowan! I wish he were with us. Why, Frank, my lad, what aseries of adventures in a short time! Only the other night, and we wereall sitting comfortably at dinner. How soon a storm springs up. Heardthe last about our German friend?"

"Enemy, " muttered Andrew. 

"Well, enemy if you like. I saw the doctor just before I caught sightof you, and he told me--"

"Not dead?" said Frank wildly. 

"No. He has made a sudden change for the better. The doctor says hehas the constitution of an ox, and that has pulled him through. "

"Ugh!" ejaculated Andrew; and Frank spoke hastily to cover hiscompanion's rudeness. 

"How long do you think my father will have to be away?"

"Till his. Majesty dies, or, if he is fortunate, till your mother andthe Princess have won over his Royal Highness to do battle with hisfather on your father's behalf. "

"But do you think he is likely to succeed?"

"I hope so, my lad. The King may give way. It will not be fromfriendly feeling, or a desire to do a kind action--what do you callit?--an act of clemency. "

"He'll never pardon Sir Robert!" cried Andrew, bringing his fist downupon the table heavily. 

"I think he will, " said Captain Murray; "for his Majesty is a keen manof the world, a good soldier, and a good judge of soldiers. I thinkthat out of policy, and the knowledge that he is very unpopular, he maythink it wise to pardon a gallant officer, and to bring him back intothe ranks of the men whom he can trust. "

"Yes, yes, " cried Frank excitedly; and his eyes brightened as hetreasured up words, every one of which would, he felt sure, gladden hismother's heart. 

"Hadn't you better get up and see if any one is listening at the door, Captain Murray?" said Andrew sarcastically. 

"Because my words sound treasonable, my lad?"

"Yes, and may be magnified by the echoes of the Palace walls, sir. "

The big, frank officer sank back in his chair, and laughed merrily. 

"You're a queer fellow, Forbes--a clever fellow--with a splendid memory;but--there, don't feel insulted--you must have been meant for a woman:you have such a sharp, spiteful tongue. No, no, no--sit still. Youmust take as well as give. Do you two ever fall out, Frank? He's ashot as pepper. "

"Yes, often, " said Frank, smiling; "but we soon make it up again, forhe's about the bravest and best fellow I ever knew. "

As Frank spoke, he reached over and gripped his friend's arm warmly. 

"You don't know how good and kind and helpful he has been in all thistrouble. "

"I believe it, " said Captain Murray, smiling. "He's a lucky fellow too, for he has won a good friend. You hear, Hotspur? A good friend inFrank here, who is the very spit of his father, one of the bravest, truest soldiers that ever lived. "

These words were said in a way which made Frank feel a little choky, andturned the tide of Andrew Forbes's anger, which now ebbed rapidly away. 

"You'll come to me, my lads, both of you, if you want help?" said thecaptain, at their parting an hour later. 

"Yes, of course, " cried Frank eagerly; but Andrew Forbes was silent. 

"And you, Andrew lad. Gowan asked me to be a friend to you too; for hesaid that Lady Gowan liked you, and that it was a hard position for alad like you to be placed in, and he is right. "

"Did Sir Robert say that, sir?" said the lad huskily. 

"Yes, when we said good-bye. "

"Yes, I will come to you, sir--when I can. "

The last words were to himself, and he was silent for some time as theywalked back to their quarters. 

"I wish I hadn't such a sharp temper, Frank, " he said at last. "But itis a queer position, and the harness galls me. I can't help it. Iought to go away. "

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

THE DOCTOR MAKES A SUGGESTION AND FRANK IS STARTLED. 

"Your mother must be a favourite with the Princess, and no mistake, "said Andrew one morning, "or after that business of your father's youwould never be allowed to stay. "

"If you come to that, " said Frank in retort, "if one half of what I knowabout were to get abroad, where would you be?"

"Perhaps in two pieces, with the top bit carefully preserved, as awarning to treasonable people--so called. "

"I don't think that, " said Frank gravely; "for they would not go to suchlengths with a mere boy. "

"Who are you calling a mere boy?"

"You, " replied Frank coolly. "You are quite as young as I am in somethings, though you are so much older in others. "

"Perhaps so, " said Andrew rather haughtily. "Anyhow, I don't feel inthe least afraid of my principles being known. You can't tell tales, being one of us. "

"I--am--not--and--never--will--be!" said Frank, dividing his words as ifthere were a comma between each pair, and speaking with tremendousemphasis. 

"Oh, all right, " said Andrew, with a merry laugh. "I should like tohear you say that to Mr George Selby. "

"I'd say it plainly to him and the whole of the members of his club, "said Frank hotly. 

"Not you. Wouldn't dare. Come with me on Friday and say it. "

"I? No. Let them come to me if they want it said. "

"They don't. They've got you, and they'll keep you. "

"Time will prove that, Drew. I'm very glad, though, that you have givenup going. "

"Given up what?"

"Going to those dangerous meetings; and, I say, give up being so fond ofstaring at yourself in the glass. I never did see such a vain coxcombof a fellow. "

"H-r-r-ur!" growled Andrew, as he swung round fiercely upon hisfellow-page. "Oh, if I had not made up my mind that I wouldn't quarrelwith a brother! Ah! you may laugh; but you'll repent it one of thesedays. "

The lad clenched his fist as he spoke; but he was met by such agood-tempered smile that he turned away again more angry than ever. 

"I can't hit you--I won't hit you!" he gasped. 

"I know that, " cried Frank. "You can't hit a fellow who is fightinghard to make you sensible. I say, who is this Mr George Selby?"

"Never you mind. "

"But I do mind. I want to know. "

"Well, a great friend of him over the water. "

"How came you to get acquainted with him first?"

"You wait, and you'll know. "

"Don't tell me without you like; but he's a dangerous friend, and I'mvery glad you've given up seeing him. "

"Are you?" said Andrew, with a curious smile. "Why, I've seen him againand again. "

"You have!" cried Frank, in astonishment. "When?"

"Oh, at different times. Last evening, for instance, in the Park, whileyou were with your mother. He came to feed the ducks. "

"You won't be happy till you are sent away in disgrace. "

"That's very true, Franky; but I don't think I shall feel the disgrace. What would you say, too, if I told you that I have been three times tothe city?"

"Impossible!"

"Oh no; these things are not impossible to one who wants to do them. "

"Oh, Drew, Drew!" cried Frank. 

"There, don't you pity me. You are the one to be pitied. "

"I say, hadn't we better talk about something else?"

"Yes. Has Lady Gowan heard from Sir Robert?"

Frank shook his head gloomily. 

"What, not written yet?"

"No. "

"Then they're stopping his letters!" cried Andrew. 

Frank started violently. 

"That's it. Just the mean thing that these people would do. I'm sureyour father would not have let all this time pass without sending news. "

"Oh, they would not do that!" cried Frank. "He is waiting till he issettled down, and then we shall go and join him. "

"You will not, " said Andrew. "They'll keep you both here, as you'llsee. But, I say, hadn't we better talk about something else?"

"If you like, " said Frank coldly. 

"Well, then, I haven't heard, for I haven't seen Captain Murray or thedoctor. What news have you heard of Steinberg?"

"He's getting better, and going home to Hanover as soon as he can bearto travel. "

"That's good news, " cried Andrew. "I wish he'd take the King and hiscourt with him. "

Frank gave him an angry look, then a sharp glance round to see if hiscompanion's words had been heard, and the latter burst out laughing. 

"Poor old Frank!" he said merrily. "There, I won't tease you by sayingall these disloyal things. But, I say, your acts give the lie to yourwords. You're as true to us as steel. Come, don't be cross. "

This sort of skirmishing went on often enough, for the two lads werealways at work trying to undermine each other's principles; but theydropped into the habit of leaving off at the right time, so as to avoidquarrelling, and the days glided on in the regular routine of the court. But a great change had taken place in one who so short a time beforewas a mere schoolboy, and Lady Gowan could not help remarking it in therather rare occasions when she had her son alone, and talked to him andmade him the repository of her troubles. 

"I could not bear all this, Frank, " she said one day, "if it were notfor the Princess's kindness. Some day we shall have your fatherforgiven, and he will be back. "

"But some day is so long coming, mother. Why don't we go to him?"

"Because he wishes us to stay here, and he will not expose me to themiseries and uncertainties of the life he is leading. "

"But we would not mind, " cried Frank. 

"No, we would not mind; but we must do that which he wishes, my dear. "

This was three months after Sir Robert's enforced departure from thecourt, and when Andrew Forbes's words respecting the communications sentby Sir Robert being stopped had long proved to be unjust. 

"Is he still in France?" asked Frank. 

"Yes, still there, " said Lady Gowan, with a sigh. 

"And we can't join him. Don't you think, if you tried again, thePrincess might succeed in getting him recalled?"

"I have tried till I dare try no more, for fear of disgusting one whohas proved herself my great friend by my importunity. We must becontent with knowing that some day your father will be recalled, andthen all will be well again. "

Lady Gowan did not explain to her son by what means she had letters fromher husband, and once when he asked her point-blank she did not speakout, and he did not dare to press the matter. 

And still the time went on. 

Baron Steinberg was declared by the doctor well enough to take hisjourney; and one day, to Frank's relief, Andrew met him with the newsthat the German noble had taken his departure. 

"I saw him go, " said Andrew; "and, as he came out to the carriage, looking as thin as a herring, I couldn't help smiling, for all thebounce seemed to be gone out of him, and he was walking with a stick. "

"Poor wretch!" said Frank. 

"Nonsense! Got what he deserved. Some of these foreign officers seemto think that they wear swords and learn to use them for nothing elsebut to enable them to play the part of bullies and insult better men, force them to a fight, and then kill them. I'm only too glad one ofthem has had his lesson. "

"But it's very horrible, " said Frank thoughtfully. 

"Of course it is, " said Andrew, purposely misunderstanding him. "He'dhave killed your father with as little compunction as he would a rat. "

"Yes, I'm afraid so, " said Frank, with a shiver. 

"But he won't be so ready to insult people next time; and next time willbe a long way off, I know. But, I say, it's sickening, that it is. "

"What is?"

"The fuss made over a fellow like that. Baron indeed! He's only aforeign mercenary; and here is your poor father sent out of the country, while my lord has apartments set aside for him in the Palace, and he'spetted and pampered, and now at last he goes off in one of the King'scarriages with an escort. "

"Oh, well, as far as he is concerned, it does not matter. "

"Oh, but it does. I say it's shameful that such preference should beshown to foreigners. If matters go on like this, there'll be no oldEngland left; we shall be all living in a bit of Germany. "

"Well, he has gone, " said Frank; "so let it rest. "

"I can't, I tell you; it makes my blood boil. "

"Go and drink some cold water to cool it. "

"Bah! You'll never make a good outspoken Englishman, Frank. "

"Perhaps not. I shall never make a quarrelsome one, " said Frankquietly. 

"What! Oh, I like that! Why, you're the most quarrelsome fellow I evermet. I wonder we haven't had our affair in the Park before now. If ithadn't been for my forbearance we should. "

Frank stared at his companion in astonishment, for it was quite evidentthat he was speaking sincerely. 

"Come along, " said Andrew. 

"Where?"

"Out in the Park, where we can breathe the fresh air. I feel stifled inthese close rooms, breathing the air of a corrupt court. "

"No, thank you, " said Frank. 

"What? You won't come?"

"No, thank you. "

"Why? We're quite free this morning. "

"I'm afraid. "

"What, that I shall challenge you to fight somewhere among the trees?"

"No; I don't want to go and feed the ducks. "

"There, what did I say?" cried Andrew. "You really are about asquarrelsome a fellow as ever lived. No, no; I don't mean that. Comeon, Frank, old lad; I do want a breather this morning. I'll do anythingyou like--run races if you wish. "

"Will Mr George Selby be out there on the look-out for you?"

"No, " said Andrew, with a gloomy look. "Poor fellow! I wish he would. Honour bright, we shan't meet any one I sympathise with there. "

"Very well then, I'll come. "

"Hurrah!" cried Andrew eagerly. 

"It is stuffy and close in here. I did hope that we should have beendown at the old house by this time. "

"Yes, that holiday got knocked on the head. Has Lady Gowan heard fromyour father again?"

"Hush!"

"Oh, very well; I'll whisper. But there are no spies here. "

"Mother hasn't heard now for some time, and she's growing very uneasy. She has been getting worse and worse. Oh, what a miserable business itis! I wish we were with him. "

"Yes, I wish we were; for if matters go on like this much longer, Ishall run away. Here, what do you say, Frank? I'm sick of being apalace poodle. Let's go and seek adventures while we're searching foryour father. "

"Seek nonsense!" said Frank testily. "Life isn't like what we read inbooks. "

"Oh yes, it is--a deal more than you think. Let's go; it would beglorious. "

"Nonsense! Even if I wanted to, how could I? You know what my fathersaid--that I was to stay and protect my mother. "

"She'd be safe enough where she is, and she'd glory in her son being sobrave as to go in search of his father. "

"No, she would think it was cowardly of me to forsake her, whatever shemight say; and if I went off in that way, after the kind treatment wehave received from the Prince and Princess, it would make my poormother's position worse than ever. "

"I don't believe that the Prince and Princess would mind it a bit. ForI will say that for him--he isn't such a bad fellow; and I nearly likeher. He isn't so very easy, Frank, I can tell you. He's pretty nearlya prisoner. The King won't let him go and live away, because he'safraid he'd grow popular, and things would be worse than they are. Lookhow the people are talking, and how daring they are getting. "

"Are they?"

"Oh yes. There'll be trouble soon. Come on. "

"Mind, I trust to your honour, Drew. "

"Of course. Then you won't come off with me?"

"No--I--will not. "

Andrew laughed. 

"I say, though, " he said, as they went past the quarters the baron hadoccupied, "it was rather comic to see that cripple go. Just before hegot into the carriage, he turned to thank the doctor, and he caughtsight of me. "

"What! did he recognise you?"

"I don't think so; but I was laughing--well no, smiling--and he smiledback, and bowed to me, thinking, I suppose, that I was there to saygood-bye to him. He little knew, what I was thinking. Well, goodriddance. But the doctor--"

"Eh?" said a sharp voice, and the gentleman named stepped out of one ofthe dark doorways they were passing in the low colonnade. 

"Want to see me, my lads?"

"N-no, " stammered Andrew, thoroughly taken aback. "We--were talkingabout you starting the baron off. "

"Oh, I see, " said the doctor, smiling. "Of course, I saw you there. Yes, he's gone. Hah! Yes! That was a very peculiar wound, younggentlemen; and I honestly believe that not one in a hundred in myprofession could have saved his life. I worked very hard over his case, and he went off, without so much as giving me a little souvenir--a pinor a ring, or a trifle of that kind--seal, for instance. "

"What could you expect from one of those Germans, sir?" said Andrewcontemptuously. 

"Yes, what indeed!" said the doctor, taking snuff, and looking curiouslyat Frank. "Bad habit this, young man. Don't you follow my example. Dirty habit, eh? But, I say, young fellow, " he added, turning toAndrew, "a still tongue maketh a wise head. Wise man wouldn't shoutunder the Palace windows such sentiments as those, holding the Germannation up to contempt. There, a nod's as good as a wink to a blindhorse. Here, Gowan, what's the last news?"

"I don't know of any, sir. "

"Come, come! I'm a friend of his. You needn't be so close with me. Imean about your father. "

"I have none, sir. "

"Eh? Don't you know where he is?"

"No, sir, " said Frank sadly. 

"Humph! Pity!" said the doctor, taking a fresh pinch of snuff. "Because, if you had known, you might have written to tell him that I'vecured the baron, and sent him away. Yes, I worked very hard over hiscase. Many's the night I sat up with him, so that he shouldn't, slipthrough my fingers. For it would have been so much worse for yourfather if he had. "

"Yes, horrible, " said Frank. 

"I say, you ought to get him back now. Have a try. "

"But what can I do, sir?" cried Frank eagerly. 

"Oh, I don't know. No use to ask me, boy. Politics are not in my way. If you like to come to me with a broken bone, or a cut, or a hole in youanywhere, I'm your man, and I'll try and set you right. Or if you wanta dose of good strong physic, I'll mix you up something that will makeyou smack your lips and shout for sugar. But that other sort of thingis quite out of my way. What do you say to our all signing a roundrobin, and sending it into the King? for we all want Gowan back. "

"Yes, sir--capital!" cried Frank; but Andrew smiled contemptuously. 

"Or look here. You're a boy--smart lad too, with plenty of brains, "continued the doctor, who had noticed Andrew's sneer; "sensible sort ofboy--not a dandy, gilded vane, like Forbes here. Ah! don't you look atme like that, sir, or next time you're sick I'll give you such a dose asshall make you smile the other way. "

"Come along, Frank, " said the lad angrily. "You wait a minute. Ihaven't done with him yet. Look here, boy, " he continued, clappingFrank on the shoulder; "there's nothing a man and a father likes betterthan a good, natural, straightforward, manly sort of boy. I don't meana fellow who spends half his time scenting himself, brushing his hair tomake it curl, and looking at himself in the glass. --Here, hallo! what'sthe matter with you, Forbes? I didn't say you did. Pavement warm? Caton hot bricks is nothing to you. "

Andrew tightened his lips, and the doctor went on. 

"Look here, Gowan; I tell you what I'd do if I were you. I should justwait for my chance--you'll get plenty--and then I should go right infront of the King, dump myself down on one knee, and when he asks youwhat you want, tell him bluntly, like a manly boy should, to forgiveyour father, who is as brave an officer as ever cried `Forward!' to acompany of soldiers. "

"Bah!" ejaculated Andrew. 

"Bo!" cried the doctor. "Good-looking gander! What do you know aboutit?--You ask him. As the offended king, he may feel ready to say _no_;but as the man and father, he'll very likely be ready to say _yes_. "

"Oh, I never thought of that!" cried Frank excitedly. 

"Then think about it now, my boy. That's my prescription for a verysore case. You do it and win; and if your mother doesn't think she'sgot the best son in the world, I'm a Dutchman, and we've got plentywithout. "

"Oh, thank you, thank you, doctor!" cried Frank. 

"Wish you luck, boy. Do that, and you may be as proud as a peacockafterward--proud as Andrew Forbes here, and that's saying a deal. "

The doctor nodded to them both, took a fresh pinch of snuff loudly, andwent off. 

"Bah!" growled Andrew, as he went off at a great rate toward the Park. "Ridiculous! How can an English gentleman advise such a degradingcourse. Go down on your knees to that Dutchman, and beg!"

"I'd go down on my face to him, Drew, " cried Frank excitedly. 

"You won't follow out his advice?"

"I will, and when everybody is there, " cried Frank. "He's right, and Ibelieve that the King will. "

Andrew was silent for some minutes, and they walked on, inadvertentlygoing down by the water-side, and directing their steps to the clump oftrees where the duel had taken place. 

They passed over the ground in silence, each picturing the scene, andthen went slowly on, so as to pass round the end of the canal--for suchit was in those days--and return by the other side. 

Andrew was the first to break the silence, Frank being plunged in deepthought over the doctor's advice. 

"You ought to be very proud of your father, Frank, " he said. 

"I am, " was the laconic reply. 

"My father, when I told him, said he behaved most gallantly, but that heought to have killed his man. "

"Your father!" cried Frank, staring. "Why, when did you see yourfather?"

"Can't people write?" said Andrew hastily; and he looked slightlyconfused. "I did learn how to read and write, " he added, with a forcedlaugh. 

Frank was silent for a few moments. 

"I say, " he said at last, "doesn't it seem strange that we should beboth like this--each with his father obliged to keep abroad?"

"Very, " said Andrew drily, and he glanced sidewise at his companion; butFrank was thinking with his brow all in lines, till they came roundopposite to the house overlooking the Park, where he stopped to gaze upat the windows. 

"Poor old place looks dismal, " said Andrew, "with its shutters to andblinds drawn-down. I wonder your mother doesn't let it. "

"What, our house?" cried Frank, flushing. "Oh, they wouldn't do that. "

"Seems a pity for such a nice place to be empty. But there is some onein it of course?"

"Only our old housekeeper and a maid. Come along; it makes me feelmiserable to look at the place. "

"But doesn't your mother go there now?"

"No; she has not been since--since--"

He did not finish his sentence, for a curious sensation of huskinessaffected his throat, and he felt determined now to follow out thedoctor's suggestion, so that there might be some one to take interest inthe old town house again. 

He took a step or two, and then waited, for Andrew appeared to beattracted more than repelled by the gloomy aspect of the blank-lookingplace, and then, all at once, Frank's heart seemed to stand still, and astifling sense of suffocation to affect him, so that it was some momentsbefore he could speak, and then it was in a tone of voice that startledhis companion. 

"Come away!" cried Frank angrily, and with singular haste. "Don't stopthere staring at the windows; it looks so absurd. "

Andrew made no reply then, but walked sharply off with his companiontill they were some hundred yards away. 

"Don't be cross with me, Franky, " he said gently. "It isn't my fault, and you ought to know. I feel it as much as you do. I always liked SirRobert, and you know how much I care for Lady Gowan. "

Frank turned to him warmly. 

"Yes, I know you do, " he said, with a wild and wistful look in his eyes;and his lips parted as if he were eager to say something particular tohis companion. 

"There, don't take on about it. Things seem all out of joint with usall; but they'll come right some day. And don't you take any notice ofme. I feel sometimes as if I'd turned sour, and as if everything waswrong, and I was curdled. I can't help it. Perhaps the doctor's right. You do as he said, and ask the King boldly. For some things I shouldlike to see Sir Robert back. "

Frank made a quick gesture as if to speak out, but Andrew checked himwith a laugh. 

"Oh, I mean it, " he said. "I'd rather he joined us. "

Frank gave an indignant start. 

"There, there! Don't be cross. I won't say any more. You ask theKing. He's only a man, if he is a king; and if he doesn't grant yourpetition, I shall hate him ten times as much as I do now. Why, what afellow you are! You're all of a tremble, and your face is quite white. "

"Is it?" said Frank, with a strange little gasp. 

"Yes; either thinking about that petition, or the sight of your poor, dismal old house, or both of them, have regularly upset you. Comealong, and don't think about them. I must say this, though, for I wantto be honest: if I were placed as you are, with a father who had stoodso high in George's service, I think perhaps I should be ready to dowhat the doctor said for the sake of my mother if she was alive. "

Again Frank gave his companion that wistful look, and his lips parted, but no words came; and they went on down by the water-side, withoutnoticing that a shabby-looking man was slouching along behind them, throwing himself down upon the grass, as if idling away the time. Andall the while that the two lads were in the Park he kept them in sight, sometimes close at hand, sometimes distant, but always ready to followthem when they went on. 

Frank noticed it at last, as they were standing by the water's edge, andwhispered his suspicions that they were being watched. 

"Who by? That ragged-looking fellow yonder?"

"Yes; don't take any notice. "

"No, I'm not going to, " said Andrew, stooping to pick up a stone andsend it flying over the water. "Spy, perhaps. Well, we're not feedingthe ducks to-day. He's a spy for a crown. Well, let him spy. Theplace is full of them. I've a good mind to lead him a good round, anddisappoint him. No, I will not; it might lead to our being arrested fordoing nothing, and what would be the good of doing that?"

The man did his work well, for he kept them in sight without seeming tobe looking at them once, till they went back to the Palace, where theyparted for a time, and Andrew said to himself:

"I wish I had not talked as I did about his father and mother. Poor oldfellow; how he was upset!"

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

IT WAS NOT FANCY. 

Andrew Forbes would have felt more compunction had he seen Frank when hewas alone; for the lad hurried to his room, where he stood tremblingwith agitation and thinking of what he should do. 

His first thought was to go to his mother; but he knew that he could notsee her at that hour, and even if it had been possible, he shrank fromtelling her, partly from dread of the state of agitation in which hisnews would plunge her, partly from the thought that he might have beenmistaken--that fancy had had a great deal to do with it. 

"But I'll put that to the test as soon as it's dark, if I can get awayunseen, " he said to himself; and then he walked up and down his room, wondering whether Andrew had seen anything--coming to the conclusion atlast that if he had he would have spoken out at once. 

Then came another vein of thought to trouble him, and he was mentallytossed about as to whether he ought not to have confided in hiscompanion. Then again he tortured himself as to whether he ought not togo at once to Captain Murray and confide in him. Question afterquestion arose till his head felt dizzy, and he was so confused that hewas afraid to go and join his companion at the evening meal. 

But at last his common sense told him that all this worry of thought wasdue to the cowardly desire to get help, when, under the circumstances, he knew that he ought to have sufficient manliness to act and provewhether what he had seen was fancy or the reality. 

If it proved to be real--

He trembled at the thought; but making a brave effort, he well bathedhis aching temples with cold water, and went down to the evening meal, made a show of eating, and then excused himself on the plea of a verybad headache, got up, and was leaving the room, when, to his horror, Andrew joined him. 

"Here, " he said, "I don't like to see you in this way. I helped to giveyou this headache. Let's go and have a walk up and down the courtyard. "

"No, don't you come, " said Frank, so earnestly that Andrew gave way anddrew back. 

"Very well, " he said. "Go and lie down for a bit; you'll be betterthen. "

Frank made as if to go to his room, but took his hat and cloak andslipped out, forcing himself to cross the courtyard calmly and walkcarelessly by the sentries, turning off directly after in the oppositedirection to that in which he wished to go, and without seeming to payany attention kept his eyes travelling in all directions in search ofthe man they had seen in the afternoon. 

But he was nowhere visible, and to make more sure the lad took off hishat to fan himself, the evening being warm, and in so doing purposelydropped his glove, so that in stooping to recover it he could give agood look to the rear to see whether he was followed. 

But there was no one suspicious-looking in sight, and, taking advantageof the darkness of the soft, warm evening, he began to walk moresharply, going through the Park till he was opposite to the house, andafter glancing to right and left, to make sure that he was not observed, he began to examine it carefully. Those to right and left had severalwindows illumined, but his old London home was all in complete darkness, though he felt that if he went round to the street front he would see alight in the housekeeper's room. 

Dark, everywhere dark; no gleam showing anywhere, not even at the windowupon which his eyes had last rested when he was there that afternoon. 

"Fancy, " he thought; and he breathed more freely. "Yes, it must havebeen fancy. "

"No, it was not fancy!" and his heart began to throb violently, hisbreath came short, and he looked wildly to right and left, and thenwalked across the road to stand beneath the trees to make sure that noone was watching from there. 

But he was quite alone as far as he could see, and he ran lightly backto the railings, wild with excitement now, and stood gazing across thelittle garden at that back window which was heavily curtained; but rightup in the left-hand corner there was a faint glow, which he soon provedto himself could not be a reflection on the glass from outside. 

Then he was right; and, panting now as if he had been running heavily, he went round into the street, reached the front of the house, where, ashe had expected, he could see low down the faintly illumined blind ofthe housekeeper's room, and then rang gently. 

He waited, and there was no response; and he rang again, but the timepassed again; minutes--more probably moments--elapsed before he heard awindow opened softly overhead. 

"What is it?" said a woman's voice. 

"Come down and open the door, Berry, " said the boy quickly. 

"You, Master Frank?"

"Yes; make haste. "

"Is--is any one with you?" said the woman in a whisper, "because I don'tlike opening the door after dark. "

"No, I'm quite alone. Make haste. "

The woman did not stop to close the window, and the next minute Frankheard the bolts drawn softly back, the key turned, and as the door wasbeing opened he stepped forward, but only to stop short on the step, forthe housekeeper had not removed the chain. 

"What is it, my dear?" she said. 

She had not brought a light, and Frank could dimly see her face at thenarrow opening. 

"What is it?" cried Frank impatiently. "Take down the chain, and let mein. Don't keep me standing here. "

"But her ladyship gave me strict orders, my dear, that I wasn't to admitany one after dark, for there are so many wicked people about. "

"Did my father tell you not to admit me?" whispered Frank, with his faceclose to the narrow slit. 

"What! before he went abroad, my dear?" faltered the woman. 

"No, no--yesterday, to-day--whenever he came back. "

"Sir Robert, my dear?" whispered the woman, with her voice trembling. 

"Don't be so stupid. I must--I will see him. I saw his face at thewindow this afternoon. "

"Oh, my dear, my dear!" stammered the woman. 

"There, take down the chain, Berry. "

"I--I don't think I ought, my dear. Stop a minute, and I'll go and askhim. "

"No, no. Let me go up at once. You'll be quite right in letting me. "

The woman uttered a gasp, closed the door, and softly unhooked thechain, after which she opened the door just sufficiently for the boy topass in, and closed and fastened it again. 

The hall was dark as could be, save for a faint gleam from the fanlight;but Frank could have gone blindfold, and dashing over the marble floorto the foot of the staircase, he bounded up two steps at a time, reachedthe door of the back room, beneath which shone a line of light, andturned the handle sharply. As he did so, there was a dull sound within, and the light was extinguished. 

"Open the door, father, " whispered the boy, with his lips to thekeyhole. "It is I--Frank. "

There was the dull tremor of a heavy step crossing the floor, the doorwas unlocked, and the boy sprang forward in the darkness, the door wasclosed and relocked, and he was clasped in a pair of strong arms. 

"Oh, dad, dad, dad!" cried the lad, in a panting whisper. 

"My own boy! Then you saw me this afternoon?"

"Yes, just a faint glimpse of you. Oh, father, father, it wasn't safefor you to come back!"

"No, not very, my boy; but I couldn't stop away any longer. How is thedear one?"

"Quite well--only she looks thin and pale, father. She's fretting sobecause you are away. "

"Hah!" ejaculated Sir Robert, in a long-drawn sigh. "I felt that shemust be, and that helped to draw me back. Heaven bless her!--Frank lad, as you have found me out--But stop, did you tell her you had seen me?"

"I haven't seen her since, father; and if I had, I shouldn't have dared. What would she think?"

"Bullets and bayonets, or worse, my boy. Quite right; spoken like thebrave, thoughtful lad you are growing. But it's very hard, Frank. Don't you think you could manage to bring her over here--say this timeto-morrow evening?"

"Yes, father, easily, " said Frank. 

"My boy. Oh, if you knew how I long to see her again!"

"Yes, father, " said Frank bitterly, "I could bring her, but for what?--to see you arrested for coming back. It would be madness. There arespies everywhere. I had to be so careful to get round here withoutbeing followed. "

Sir Robert groaned as he stood there in the darkness, holding his son byhis arms in a firm grip. 

"I can't help it, father. I must tell you the truth, " cried the boypassionately. 

"Yes, you are quite right, boy, and I'm weak and foolish to haveproposed such a thing. But it's hard, my lad--very, very hard. "

"Don't I know, father?"

"Yes, yes, boy. But tell me, does she talk about me to you much?"

"She talks of nothing else, father. But listen; I'm going to petitionthe King myself. I'm going to kneel to him, and beg him to give youleave to return. "

"You are, my boy?"

"Yes, father, " cried Frank excitedly, "directly I get a chance. "

"No, Frank, don't do that, " said Sir Robert, rather sternly. 

"You don't wish me to, father?" Sir Robert drew a deep breath, and thenhoarsely: "No. I desire that you do not. Your mother has through thePrincess prayed and prayed in vain. No, Frank, you shall not do that. "

"Very well, father, " said the boy drearily. "Hist! Some one!"whispered Sir Robert; and Frank turned sharply to see light gleamingbeneath the door, and his father stepped away from him, and something onthe table grated softly as it was taken up. Then a soft voice said:

"Wouldn't you like a light, Sir Robert? I saw yours was out. "

"Yes, " came from close to where Frank stood with his hands turning wetin the darkness, and then he felt his father brush by him, the door wasunlocked, and the housekeeper's white face was seen lit up by the candleshe carried. 

"Thank you, Berry, " said Sir Robert; and he took the candle and relockedthe door after the woman. 

The light dazzled Frank for a few minutes, and then he was gazingwonderingly in his father's face, to see that it was thin and careworn, while the lines in his forehead were deepened. 

His sword and pistols lay upon the table close to some sheets of paper, the inkstand showing that he had been writing when he was interrupted byhis visitor; and the boy noticed, too, that there was a heavy cloak overa chair back, and the curtains were very closely drawn. 

"Don't look so smart as in the old days, Frank, eh?" said Sir Robert, with a sad smile. 

"You look like my father, " said the boy firmly. 

"And you like my son, " cried Sir Robert, patting the boy's head. 

"Then you really would not like me to venture to ask the King, father?"

Sir Robert pointed to a chair close by his own, and they sat down, thefather still retaining his boy's hand. 

"No, Frank, " he said gravely. "I should not now. It is too late. "

"But it would mean bringing you back, father. "

"I am not a clever man, Frank lad, " said Sir Robert. "I am fair as asoldier, and I know my duties pretty well; but when we get into the mazeof politics and social matters, I am afraid that I am very stupid. Here, however, I seem to see in a dim sort of way that such a thing asyou propose would be only weak and romantic. It sounds very nice, butit would only be raising your hopes and--Stop. Does your mother knowthat you think of doing this?"

"Oh no, father; the doctor only just suggested it--now that Steinberghas recovered. "

"Very good of the doctor, and I am deeply in his debt for saving thatwretched German baron's life. Not pleasant to have known that you hadkilled a man in a quarrel, Frank. "

"Horrible, father!" said the boy emphatically. 

"Yes, horrible, lad. But the doctor is a better man at wounds than heis at giving counsel. No, Frank, under any circumstances it would nothave done. King George is too hard and matter-of-fact a man of theworld to be stirred by my boy's appeal. His German folk would look uponit as weakness, and would be offended. He cannot afford to offend theGerman people, for he has no real English friends, and between the twostools he'd be afraid of coming to the ground. No, you shall not humbleyourself to do this; and, " he said firmly, "it is too late. "

There was something so commanding in the way these last words were saidthat Frank drew a deep sigh of regret, and the hopeful vision faded awaybehind the cloud his father drew over it. But the minutes wereprecious, and he could not afford time to regret the dashing of hishopes, when he had him for whose benefit they were designed sittingthere holding his hand. 

"Then you are going to stay here now, father?" he said. 

"Here? No, Frank. It is only a temporary hiding-place. I shall be offto-morrow. "

"Where to, father?"

"Humph! Don't know for certain, my boy. As you say, the place swarmswith spies, and though I have had to give up my gay uniform, plenty ofpeople know my face, and I don't even feel now that they are not huntingme down. "

"But if they did, what would happen?"

"A fight, Frank--don't tell your mother this; she suffers enough. Ican't afford to be captured, and--you know what they do with the poorwretches they take?"

Frank shivered, and glanced at his father's sword and pistols. 

"Loaded, father?" he said in a whisper. "Yes, boy. "

"And is your sword sharp?"

"As sharp as the cutler could make it. And I know how to use it, Frank;but a man who carries a sword--if he is a man--is like a bee with itssting; he will not use it save at the last extremity. You must rememberthat with yours. "

"Yes, father. But do think again; we are both so unhappy there at thecourt. "

"What, in the midst of luxury and show!" said Sir Robert banteringly. 

"Pah! What is the use of all that when we know that you are driven awayand dare not show your face? Oh, do think again. Can't you let us comeand join you?"

"It is impossible, my boy. Don't press me. I have too many troubles asit is. Look here, Frank; you are growing fast into a man, and you musttry to help me as you did just now when I turned weak and foolish. Theintense longing to see your mother was too much for me, but I havemastered it. You two are safe and well-cared for at the Palace, wherethe Princess is your mother's friend. I am nobody now, and what I dowill not count as regards your mother and you. So try and be content, and stay. "

"But you, father? Surely the King will forgive you soon. "

"Never, boy, " said Sir Robert sternly. "So be careful. A hint droppedof my whereabouts would give your mother intense suffering and dread formy life; so she must not know. "

"But your friends, father? Captain Murray--the doctor. Every one likesyou. "

"They must not know, so be cautious. I feel quite a young man, Frank, and don't want to have my life shortened, nor my body neither, " headded, with a grim smile. 

"Oh, father!" cried the boy, with a shudder. 

"We must look the worst in the face, Frank. By my return here my lifeis forfeit, and the King's people would be justified in shooting medown. "

"Oh, but, father, this is horrible. "

"Not to a soldier, Frank, " said Sir Robert, smiling. "Soldiers get usedto being shot at, and they don't mind so much, because they know howhard it is for any one to hit a mark. There, you are warned now, solet's talk of pleasanter things. "

"Yes, of course, father; but I may come and see you again often?"

"If you wish to see me taken. "

Frank shuddered again. 

"No. This must be your only visit. I am glad you have come; but Ican't afford to indulge in good things now. "

"You are going to stay in England, father?" cried Frank anxiously. 

"I don't know. "

"What are you going to do?"

"That I cannot tell either, my boy; and if I did know, for your mother'sand your peace of mind I would not tell you. "

"That isn't trusting me, father, " said Frank gloomily. 

"And that is not trusting me, Frank--to know what is best. "

"Oh, but I do trust you, father. Now tell me, " cried the boy eagerly, "what shall I do to help you?"

"Stay where you are patiently, and watch over and help your mother. "

"Is that all, father?" said the boy, in a disappointed tone of voice. 

"All? Is it not enough to be trusted to keep my secret, the knowledgewhich means your father's life, boy, and to have the guardianship of thetruest and best woman who ever lived--your mother? And you ask `Is thatall?'"

"Don't be angry with me, father. I am very young and stupid. I will beas contented as I can; only it is so hard to know that you are indanger, and to be doing nothing to help you. "

"You will be doing a great deal to help me, for you will be giving merest of mind--and I want it badly enough. There, now you had better go. You may be asked for, and you can't make the excuse that you have beento see your father. "

"No, " sighed Frank. "But I shall see you again soon?"

"Perhaps. I may come here sometimes. An extra hole is useful to ahunted animal, Frank; but don't question me, my boy, even if I seemmysterious. As your father, I can tell you nothing. "

Frank sighed and clung to his father's arm. 

"There, I'll run one risk. You may come here sometimes. It will notlook suspicious for you to visit your mother's empty house. "

"My father's empty house, " said the boy. 

"No, your mother's. Your father is an exile, an outcast, without anyrights in England. I am dead in the eyes of the law, Frank, and whenyou come of age you can reign in my stead. Why, boy, if you liked tomake a stand for it, they would, I dare say, tell you that you are nowSir Frank Gowan. "

He looked so merrily in his son's face, that the boy joined in hismirth. 

"You must go now, my boy. I have work that will take me all night. Butif you do come here in the hope of seeing me--"

"I shall not come, " said the boy firmly. 

"Why?"

"Because, to please myself, I will not do anything to make your positiondangerous. "

"Well said, Frank; but come now and then for my pleasure, and if I amnot here, do this. "

He rose and walked to a portrait framed in the wainscotting over a sidetable, pointed to one little oval nut in the carving, twisted itslightly, and the picture swung forward, showing a shallow closet behindfitted with shelves, and in which were swords and pistols, with flasksof powder and pouches of ball. 

"You can look in there; and if I have been, you will find a letter, written for you and your mother, by a Mr Cross to apparently nobody. Iam Mr Cross, Frank. There. Try if you can open it. "

He closed the picture door, and the boy tried, and opened and shut thepanel easily, noting at the same time how ingeniously the carvingtallied with portions on the other side of the framing. 

"Now, then, sharp and short like a soldier, Frank. Heaven bless andprotect you and your mother, who must not know I have been here. Good-bye!"

"Good-bye, father, " cried the boy in a choking voice as he clung to thestrong, firm man, who pressed him to his breast, and then snatchedhimself away, and caught up sword and pistol from the table. 

For there was a sharp, impatient knocking on the panel of the door, andSir Robert whispered:

"We have stayed too long!"

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

LADY GOWAN AT BAY. 

Obeying the impulse of the moment, Frank snatched the remaining pistolfrom the table, and drew his sword, seeing his father nod approval, ashe stretched out his hand to extinguish the light; but before he haddashed it out, the knocking was repeated, and they heard a well-knownvoice. 

"Robert--Robert! Open quickly, dearest. It is I. "

"Ah!" cried Frank, with his heart giving a tremendous bound, while SirRobert unlocked and flung open the door, and clasped his wife to hisbreast. 

Lady Gowan was half swooning and speechless from excitement; but, makinga brave effort, she recovered herself, and panted out as she struggledto free herself from her husband's firm arms:

"Quick! Not a moment to lose. Escape for your life. "

"What! They know?"

"Yes. The Princess came to my room to warn me. The spies have tracedyou here; information has been given at the Palace. The King has beentold, and the Princess bade me try to save your life before the guardcame to arrest you. "

"Hah! Sharp work for us, Frank lad. Well, I have seen and kissed you, darling. Now I must try and save your husband's life. "

As he spoke he buckled on his sword belt, thrust his pistols in hispockets, Frank handing him the second, and took up his hat and the heavycloak from where they lay. 

"Good-bye, darling. Frank knows how I can get a letter to you throughhim. "

"Yes, yes; but you are killing me, Robert; for pity's sake, fly!"

"My own! Yes, " he whispered, as he folded Lady Gowan in his arms again. 

"Ah!" cried Frank wildly, for a heavy series of blows from thefront-door knocker resounded through the house. 

"Too late!" cried Lady Gowan wildly, as Frank dashed out of the door tothe front room to peer through the window. 

He was back in a few moments, to find his mother clinging to his father, ghastly with the horrible dread which had attacked her. 

"Soldiers--a dozen at least in front!" panted Frank. 

There was another loud knocking at the street door. 

"Quick, father, out by that window. You can drop from the balcony. "

"Yes, my boy, easily. "

"Then get over the railing and cross the Park. Go straight through bythe Palace. No one would think you likely to take that way. "

"Good advice, boy. Out with the candle. That's right. "

Lady Gowan blew out the light, and Frank quickly drew the heavy curtainaside, and uttered a groan, for the garden was full of armed men, dimlyseen in the gloom amid the shrubs. 

"Trapped, Frank, " said Sir Robert quietly, the danger having made thesoldier cool. 

Lady Gowan uttered a faint, despairing cry. 

"Hush, dear!" said Sir Robert firmly. "Be a woman--my wife. I mayescape yet. See Berry, and keep her from opening the door, no matterwhat they say or do. "

"Yes, yes, " said Lady Gowan excitedly; "but, Robert, what will you do?"

"Escape, if you help me. Now be calm. Let them break in, and when theydo face them. You were alarmed, and did not know what evil was abroad. You need no excuse for refusing to have your house--and it is yourhouse--opened to a riotous party of drunken soldiers for aught you know. Now go down. Do anything you can to gain time for me. Heaven blessyou, darling, till we meet again!"

Lady Gowan's answer was to hurry out on the staircase, where the placewas echoing to the resounding knocks and orders to open in the King'sname. She was just in time to seize the old housekeeper by the arm, while a hysterical crying came from the maid below. 

"Oh, my lady, my lady! They're going to break in. I was about tounfasten the door. "

"Silence! Touch it at your peril, " cried Lady Gowan imperatively. "Letthem break in if they dare. Go below to that foolish, sobbing girl, andstay there keeping her quiet. "

"But they'll break down the door, my lady. "

"Let them, " said Lady Gowan coolly. 

But she started as one of the narrow side windows was shivered by thebutt of a musket, and the fragments of glass fell inside with a tinklingsound. 

"That's right; now reach in and shoot back the bolts. "

A hand and arm were thrust in through the hammered iron scroll workwhich covered the glass in the place of iron bars across the narrowwindow for protection, rendering it impossible for a man to creep past. 

But the arm came freely right up to its owner's shoulder, and in thegloom could be seen feeling about, the hand strained here and there toreach bolt, bar, or lock. Vainly enough, for they were far out ofreach; and at last, after several more angry orders, it was withdrawn. 

"Try the other window!" cried the voice of the officer in command. "Quick, men; don't shilly-shally. Use your butts. "

_Crash_, _crash_ and _tinkle_, _tinkle_ went the broken glass as it fellupon the marble floor beyond the mat; but the hole made was not in thebest place, and there was another crash as the butt of a musket wasdriven through higher up, and simultaneously there was the loud reportof the piece used as a battering-ram. 

"What are you doing?" roared the officer. 

"Went off, sir. "

"Went off, idiot! You must have touched the trigger. "

"No, sir. Both hands hold of the barrel. "

"Silence, sir! How dare you!" roared the officer--"how dare you! Anyone hurt, sergeant?"

"No, sir; bullet went too high; but it's gone through a windowopposite. "

Proof came of the truth of the man's word, for a window on the otherside of the street was thrown open, and a voice shouted angrily:

"Hallo there! What are you doing? Want to shoot people?"

"Go in, and shut your window!" cried the officer, in an authoritativetone. 

"Yes, that's all very well, " cried the voice; "but you've no right to--"

"Silence, sir! in the King's name!" roared the officer. "Here, fourrear rank face about, make ready, present!"

There was a shuffling sound, and the ring of muskets being brought up tothe shoulder; but before the command _Fire_! could be uttered, even ifit had been intended, the window opposite was banged down, and a laugharose. 

"Now then there, " said the officer to the man who had thrust in his armon the other side of the door, "can you reach?"

There was no reply for a time, while the man strained and reached out upand down, his hand making a peculiar whispering sound as it passed overthe panelled woodwork between the door and window. 

"Can't reach, sir. "

"Here, let me try. "

A faint light appeared at the window for a few moments, and then therewas a chinking sound as it was darkened again, and Lady Gowan, as shestood panting there, dimly made out that a sword was thrust through, anarm followed, and she could hear the blade ring and scrape as it wasused to feel for the fastenings, clicking loudly against the ironworkand the chain which hung at the side ready for hanging across the door, to pass over a spiral hook on the other side. 

This went on for a few minutes, when, as with an angry exclamation theofficer who had thrust his arm through paused to rest, Lady Gowanstepped forward out of the darkness, went close to the door, bent down, and caught the ring at the end of the hanging chain, and raised it tohook it across and fasten it to secure the door. 

She hardly made a sound with foot or dress; but as she drew the chaintight it chinked against the hook, and the officer heard her. 

"Ha!" he shouted, with his face to the broken glass. "I see you there. Open this door, or--"

_Click_, _click_ went the chain into its place, and, raising the bladeof his sword, the officer made a sweeping blow at the brave woman, whichstruck her on the shoulder as she drew back. 

"Now, " he roared, "will you open?"

The answer was a faint rustling, as Lady Gowan drew back into the darkpart of the hall, fortunately unhurt, for the arm which wielded thesword was the left, and thoroughly crippled by its owner's position. 

"Lucky for you I didn't give point, " he muttered. 

Then aloud: "Once more, in the King's name, open this door!"

"I'd die first, " said Lady Gowan to herself; and she stood close to thefoot of the great staircase listening, and hardly daring to breathe, asshe strained her ears to catch some sound of what might be going onupstairs, her wildly dilated eyes fixed the while on the slips ofwindows on either side of the door. But from within the house all shecould hear was a low sobbing from the housekeeper's room below, and themurmur of her old servant's voice as she tried to calm the hystericalgirl who was nearly crazy with terror. 

But her attention was taken up directly by the voices outside, whichcame plainly to her through the broken windows. 

"Well?" said the officer sharply; and she knew by the reply that one ofthe men must have climbed the iron railings and been down into the area. 

"Both windows covered with big iron bars, sir, and the door seems areg'lar thick 'un. "

"How long will they be getting back, sergeant, with the hammer andcrowbars?"

"'Nother ten minutes or quarter-hour, sir. "

"Bah! Well, run round to the back, and tell them to keep a sharplook-out. See that the men are well awake at the end of the street, andkeep two more ready back and front to stop every one who comes out ofthe houses in case he tries to escape by the roof. "

"Yes, sir. "

"If any one appears on the roof, and does not surrender, fire. "

The sergeant's heavy paces were heard going along the pavement, everystep seeming to crush down Lady Gowan's heart, as her head swam, and inimagination she saw the flash of the soldiers' muskets, and then heardthe heavy fall of one for whom she would have gladly died. 

Her hand went out to catch at the bottom pillar of the balustrade, andshe stood swaying to and fro in the darkness, struggling hard to masterthe terrible sensation of faintness which came over her. 

It soon passed off, for the thought came to her that she must be firm. She was doing nothing to help her husband; but he had bidden her keepwatch there over that door, and guard it against danger from within, andas a soldier's wife she would have died sooner than neglect the dutywith which he had intrusted her. For how did she know what pressuremight be brought to bear upon the weak woman below? The soldiery hadbeen into the area, where there were only the glass windows between, anda broken pane would form an easy way for passage of threats. If biddento open in the King's name, what might they not do? Ah, she must guardagainst that, and with her nerves newly strung, she stood listening fora few moments to the buzz of voices outside, and then, feeling that itwas impossible for danger to assail them without warning from the frontdoor, she went to the head of the stairs which led down into thebasement. 

"In the King's name!" she said softly. "Robert is my king, and I canobey none other. "

She was herself again now--the quick, eager, brave woman, ready to doanything to save her husband's life; and gliding down the stairs shesilently passed the open door of the housekeeper's room, where she couldhear the servant girl sobbing, and the old housekeeper trying to comforther and then to comfort herself. 

The next minute, quite unheard, she was at the end of the stone passagewhere the big, heavy door opened into the area, and began passing herhand over bolt, bar, and lock, to find all fast; and with a sigh ofrelief she was in the act of softly drawing out the big key, when amovement outside told her that a sentry had been placed at that door, and that the man must have heard the movement of the key. 

This made her pause, with her heart throbbing wildly; but in a minute orso she recovered herself, and almost by hairbreadths drew the great keyslowly out with scarcely another sound, and crept back along the passageonce more, past the open doorway through which the light streamed, andthen up the stairs, and back to her former position in the dark hall, feeling confident now that no one could pass into the house from belowunheard. 

The voices of the soldiers came to her, and an angry inquiry or two fromthe officer, who was getting out of patience. 

"Have they gone to the smith's to get the things made?" he criedangrily. 

"Well, sir, you see, it aren't like muskets, or swords, or ammunition, "said the sergeant. "We don't want pioneering tools every day. "

"But they ought to be ready for use at a moment's notice. "

"So they are, " grumbled the sergeant to himself; "but you've got to getto 'em first. "

And now it appeared to Lady Gowan that an hour passed slowly away, without news of what was passing upstairs, and her agony seemed to bemore than she could bear. Every sense had been on the strain, as shestood in trembling expectancy of hearing a shot fired--a shot that sheknew would be at the life of her boy's father; but the sluggish minutescrawled on, and still all was silent above, while outside she wasconstantly hearing little things which showed how thoroughly thesoldiery were on the alert. 

She had not heard the officer speak for some time, and she divined thathe must have gone round to the back of the house, where it faced theopen Park; but he would, she was sure, return soon, to give directionsto the men who arrived with the tools for breaking in the door; and whenthis was done, if Sir Robert had not found a way to escape, there wouldbe bloodshed. Her husband would never surrender while he could grasp asword, and Frank would be certain to draw in his father's defence, andthen--

Then Lady Gowan felt, as it were, an icy stab, which passed with a shockright through her; for the thought suggested itself how easy it would befor the soldiers to get a short ladder into the garden front of thehouse, rear it against the balcony outside the drawing-room window, andforce their way in there. No bars would trouble them, and the shutterswould give but little resistance. Why had she not thought of thatbefore?

And as she thoroughly grasped this weakness of their little fort in therear she turned cold with horror, for there was a faint sound on thestaircase behind her, and as at the same moment she heard the loud stepsof approaching men on the pavement outside a hand made a quick clutchfrom the darkness behind at her arm. 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

FOR DEAR LIFE. 

"Now, Frank, my boy, " said Sir Robert, as the door closed on Lady Gowan, "they have us in front, and they have us in the rear. A fox, they say, always has two holes to the earth. A man is obliged to have a third wayof escape if his enemies are too many for him, and I don't want to fightwith the King's men for other reasons than that they belong to my oldregiment. "

"Shall I light the candle again, father?"

"No, it will take too long, and I can do what I want in the dark. I'vea rope here. "

Frank heard his father unlock a cabinet, and his heart beat hopefully, when the next minute his father bade him "take hold, " and he felt athin, soft coil of rope passed into his hands. 

He needed no telling what was to follow, for he grasped the idea atonce, and followed his father out of the room without a word. 

They paused on the staircase for a few moments, and heard the shiveringof the glass and the stern summons for the door to be opened; and thenSir Robert laid his hand upon his son's shoulder. 

"Seems cowardly, Frank, to try to escape, and leave a woman to bear thebrunt of the encounter; but I must play the fugitive now. I can'tafford to surrender; the risks are too great. Come on. Your mothermust not be disappointed after what she has done, and have to see memarched off. "

Frank was astounded at his father's coolness, but he said nothing, andfollowed him quickly to the top of the house to where there was atrap-door in the ceiling over the passage leading to one of the attics. 

Without telling, Frank bent down and raised the light steps which wereon one side of the passage, passed his arm through the coil of rope, went up the steps, and pushed open the trap-door, which fell back, leaving an opening for him to pass through into the false roof. 

Sir Robert followed, and a door formed like a dormer window in the slopeof the roof was unbolted ready for him to step out on to the narrowleads. 

"Now, Frank lad, give me the rope, " said Sir Robert in a low voice. "Then follow me along by the parapet. We need not crawl, for it willhide us from the soldiers if we lean inward and keep one hand on thesloping slates. "

"Yes, I understand, " said Frank; "you mean to go along the roofs rightto the end. "

"Yes: right. "

"And fasten the rope round a chimney stack?"

"That's quite right too; and now listen. I shall not be able to talk toyou out there. As soon as I am down, don't stop to untie the rope; itwill be too tight from my weight. Cut it, and draw it up again quickly, then get back as you came, shut the door after you, and take down thesteps before you join your mother. But you must do something with therope. "

"Hide it?" said Frank. 

"It would be found, and I don't want you or your mother to have thecredit of helping me to escape. "

"Burn it in the kitchen fire?"

"There will not be time. They will search the house. I cannot proposea way, only do something with it. Now good-bye. "

"Good-bye?" faltered Frank. 

"Yes, while I can speak to you. Quick! a soldier's good-bye. That willdo; now out after me. "

Sir Robert's "good-bye" was a firm grip of his son's hand, and then hecrept out on to the roof; Frank followed him, his heart throbbing withexcitement; and as he stepped out he could hear voices down below in thegarden beneath the drawing-room windows. 

Frank shivered a little, for he felt sure that they would be seenagainst the sky, in spite of their precaution of leaning toward thesloping roof, and he fully expected to hear the report of muskets; butthe shiver was more due to excitement than fear. 

"They would not be able to hit us on a night like this, while we aremoving, " he said to himself; and with a strange feeling of wildexhilaration, he followed the dark figure before him, climbing acrossthe low walls which separated house from house, and finding it easyenough to walk along in the narrow path-like space of leaded roof, whichextended from the bottom of the slate slope to the low parapet with itsstone coping, beyond which nothing was visible but the tops of the treesin the Park. 

They must have passed over the roofs of twenty houses before Sir Robertstopped; and, as Frank crept up close to him, he put his lips to theboy's ear. 

"It's a drop of ten feet to the next house, " he said. "Must go downfrom here. "

A sensation of dread did now attack Frank, as he thought of the descentof a heavy man by the frail rope. If it had been he who was to go down, it would have been different, and he would have felt no hesitation. 

Catching at his father's arm, he whispered:

"Are you sure that it will bear you?"

"Certain. "

"But the chimney stack?" whispered Frank, as he could dimly make outthat his father was uncoiling the rope, and he could see no place thatwould be suitable. 

"Hist! This is better. "

Sir Robert was now kneeling down, and after being puzzled for a fewmoments, Frank then made out that his father was passing one end of therope through an opening at the corner of the parapet where therain-water ran through a leaded shoot into the upright leaden stack-pipewhich ran down the house and carried it into the drain. 

Frank dimly made out that he knotted the rope carefully, and tried it bypulling hard twice over, before throwing a few yards over the parapetand letting the rest run through his hands till it was all down. 

His next movement puzzled the boy, but he grasped the meaning directlyafter. 

They were at an angle now, and Sir Robert was carefully testing thestone coping, to see if it were tight in its place and the pieces heldtogether by the iron clamps kept in their places by the running in ofmolten lead. 

Apparently satisfied, he turned quickly to where Frank stood, nowtrembling, grasped his hand, and whispered:

"Have you a knife?"

"Yes, father. "

"Cut the rope, and get back as soon as you can. Don't wait to listenwhether I elude the men. "

"No, father. "

Sir Robert stood holding his son's hand for a few moments, and listeningto the murmur of voices at the back of his house, where the soldierswere talking rather excitedly. 

"For liberty and life, Frank!" whispered Sir Robert then; and with theperspiration standing in great drops on the boy's face, he saw hisfather grasp the rope knotted so tightly from the hole by the lead onwhich he stood over the stone coping, throw back his cloak, and then layhimself flat on the parapet, and carefully lower his feet as he held onby the stone. From that he lowered himself, and, partly supported bythe top of the leaden stack-pipe, he slowly changed his right hand tothe loop of the rope; then softly gliding by the wide-open head of thepipe, he began to descend with the rope well twined round his right leg, and held to the calf of his heavy boot by the edge of his left bootsole. 

"If the rope should break or come undone!" thought the boy, as he turnedcold and dropped upon his knees to reach over and grip the knot withboth hands, while his lips moved as he muttered a prayer, feeling thethin cord quiver and jerk as if it were a strange nerve which connectedhim with his father, who was below there somewhere in the darkness--jar, thrill, and make a humming noise like the string of some huge bassinstrument, but so faint that it would have been inaudible at any othertime. But he could hear plainly enough, without any exaltation of hissenses, that the soldiers were talking earnestly not a hundred yardsaway, their voices rising clearly to where the boy knelt. 

How long was it that he could feel that vibration of the cord whichthrilled through him right to his toes, and made his hair feel as if itwere being lifted from his scalp? Ten minutes--five minutes--a quarterof an hour? Not many seconds, and then it stopped; and the horror offeeling it suddenly slacken and hearing a heavy crashing fall did notassail the anxious boy, though he had fully expected it. The vibrationceased, and there was a quick, warning shake, which Frank interpreted tomean a signal for him to remember his orders, and hasten back to thehouse. 

He would have liked to lean over, listening and straining his sight tofollow the further movements of his father; but Sir Robert had, unconsciously to both, gradually disciplined his son into a prompt, soldierly way of instantly obeying orders, and directly that wave hadpassed up to him, Frank's knife was out, and the rope, after a good dealof sawing, was cut through, the knife replaced, and the cord was rapidlydrawn up, and laid down on the leads in a loose coil. 

He bent over then for a moment or two and listened, but all was stilljust below. There was no alarm such as he had dreaded, no shouting andfiring of shots; and gathering up the rope, he hurried back along thenarrow leads, using the same precaution of leaning inward, passed fromhouse to house quickly, and kept on asking himself what he should do tohide the rope. 

No idea came, and he had nearly reached home before it flashed acrosshis brain, and he drew a breath of relief. 

There was a hiding-place just before him, at the top of the low ridge ofthe house two doors away from his own. A low chimney was smokingsteadily, and without pausing to think whether it was wise or no hecrept up the slates, reached the ridge, grasped the side of the chimneystack, and stood upright, finding that he could just reach the top ofthe smoking pot. 

That was enough. The next minute he had the end of the rope passed in;and resting his wrists on the top of the pot, he drew and drew, ratherslowly at first, but more and more rapidly as the descending end gainedweight, and at last sufficed to run it down, and then it was gone. 

He slid down the slates, and, feeling relieved of an incubus, he reachedtheir own house, glided in at the dormer, shut and bolted the door, descended through the trap, drawing it over him, went down the steps, laid them in their place, and, lastly, wondering whether he had soiledhis hands with the black on the top of the house, he ran rapidlydownstairs. 

As he ran he could hear the heavy tramp of the soldiers in the street atthe front, and when he reached the lower flights dimly made out thefigure of his mother standing at the bottom step, and stretched out hishand and caught her arm. 

Lady Gowan uttered a cry of horror, and sprang forward into the hall, facing round to meet her invisible enemy; but she uttered a faint sighof relief as her arm was caught again, and she heard the familiar voicewhisper:

"Hush! hush! mother. "

"Ah!" she whispered back. "Your father?"

Frank's answer was drowned by a thunderous blow delivered with asledge-hammer upon the door close to the lock, and this was followed byanother and another, which raised echoes up the staircase, and brought aseries of hysterical shrieks from the housekeeper's room. 

But Lady Gowan paid no heed to either. She caught her son by the arms, and drew him farther from the door, placed her lips to his ear, andwhispered in an agonised tone:

"Your father?--speak!"

"Got down safe, and gone, " whispered back Frank; and as his mother clungto him a strange thrill of elation ran through his nerves, making himfeel that he was engaged in an adventure full of delirious joy. He feltthat he must shout and cheer to get rid of the intense excitement whichmade his blood bubble in his veins, and he was ready for any mad displayin what was like playing some wonderful game, in which, after adesperate struggle, his side was winning. 

"Let them hammer and bang down the door, mother. The idiots! they aregiving him time to get safe away. Oh the fools, the fools! Shall I goand speak to them?"

"No, no, " whispered Lady Gowan, speaking with her lips once more to herboy's ear, for the noise made was deafening. "Let them take time tobreak in, and then we must parley with them, and let them suspect us andmake a regular search. They will waste nearly an hour, Frank. "

"Of course they will, " cried the boy joyously; "but, I say, mother, we're not going to put up with this, you know; I'm not going to have youinsulted by these people breaking into the house. I shall show fight. "

"No, no, don't do anything imprudent, Frank. We must assume that wetook them for a ruffianly mob who tried to break in. "

"But they said, `in the King's name, ' mother, " said the boy dubiously. 

"And we would not believe them, my boy. Frank, Frank, it is horrible toincite you to prevaricate and dally with the truth, but it is to saveyour father's life. Be silent. On my head be the sin, and I will speakand bear it. "

The crashing of the woodwork went on beneath the blows, and the murmurthat rose like a low, deep accompaniment outside told that a crowd hadcollected, and were being kept back by the soldiery. 

"This way, Frank, " cried Lady Gowan; and she drew her son after her tothe head of the basement steps, where she called aloud to thehousekeeper, who came hurrying up, candle in hand, to where mother andson stood. 

The old woman looked ghastly, and Frank could hear a strange sobbingfrom below, in spite of the noise at the front, which was partlydeadened from where they stood. 

"Master, my lady?" cried the woman wildly. 

"Safe--escaped, Berry, " said Lady Gowan, in a voice full of exultation. 

"Safe--escaped, my lady!" cried the woman, with the light of exultationrising now in her countenance. "Then let them batter the house down, the wretches. I don't care now. "

"But, Berry, listen. Sir Robert is out of their reach by now; but theymust not know that he has been here. "

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the woman wildly; "they won't get anything out ofme. What! me tell 'em that my dear young master, whom I nursed when hewasn't half the size of Master Frank--tell 'em he has been here! I'dsooner have my tongue cut out. "

"But the girl--the girl?"

"What her, my lady?" said the housekeeper contemptuously. "Oh, they'llget nothing out of her to-night but shrieks, and nothing now, for she'sshruck herself hoarse and speechless. "

"Ah!" sighed Lady Gowan, "then now I can feel at rest. Come up, Frank. "

She led the way to the staircase, and hurried on to the drawing-room, with the massive front door being broken piecemeal by the heavysledge-hammer; but each chain and bolt still held, and there was no wayin yet but for light and noise, so that, before they gave way, Frank hadtime to get a light and ignite the candles in two sets of branches inthe drawing-room which they had entered and then fastened the door. 

This done, he turned in surprise to see that his mother had thrown backher hood, rearranged her hair, and was standing there before himflushed, but proud and perfectly calm. 

"Oh, mother!" he cried, stepping up to her and kissing her. "I can'thelp it. Drew is right. I am so proud of you. "

"Are you?" she said, smiling, as she returned his kiss, and her looksaid that the pride was reciprocal. 

They gazed in each other's eyes for a few moments, as if deaf to thesounds below-stairs, which told that the soldiers had at last gained anentrance. 

Then a change came over Lady Gowan's face, her upper lip curled, and alook of haughty scorn shone from her eyes. 

"They are coming up, my boy, " she cried. "Leave me to speak. "

For answer Frank drew his sword, caught up the silver branch with itsthree candles from the table, and took a couple of strides in front ofhis mother toward the door, as it was dashed open, when, sword in hand, followed by half a dozen men with fixed bayonets, the officer in commandrushed in. 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

SAVED!

"Here, how dare you!" shouted Frank angrily; and, in utter astonishment, the officer stopped short, and lowered the sword he had fully expectedto use, while the men threw up their bayonets and stood fast. "I don'tknow you, but you belong to the Guards, I suppose, and--"

"Silence, Frank! Let me speak, " said Lady Gowan, without a tremor inher voice. "Then you are not an armed mob of rioters. Pray, what doesthis outrage mean?"

"I ask your pardon, Lady Gowan, " said the young officer, recoveringhimself; "it is a painful act of duty. "

"To break into my house, sir!" said Lady Gowan haughtily, while her sonfelt more than ever that he was engaged in some madly exciting game. 

"I was refused entrance, after repeatedly demanding it in the King'sname. "

"In the King's name!" cried Lady Gowan scornfully. "How were I, my son, or my servants to know that this was not the excuse made by one of theriotous Jacobite bands to obtain entrance and plunder my home?"

"I cannot help fulfilling my duty, Lady Gowan, " said the young officerrespectfully. "I must proceed to the arrest. "

"Arrest?" cried Lady Gowan hurriedly. "Oh, Frank! But surely--ah, Iwill speak to the Princess. Such a trivial act--a thoughtless boy. Arrest him for absenting himself without leave--to meet his mother--athis own home?"

"Your ladyship must be trifling with me, " said the officer sternly, "andI cannot be played with. Information was brought to the Palace that SirRobert Gowan is here, and at all costs my orders are to arrest him. Ibeg that you will tell him to surrender at once. "

"Go back to those who sent you, sir, and tell them that Sir Robert Gowanis not here. "

"Then where is he, madam?"

"You have no right to question me, sir, " said Lady Gowan haughtily;"but, to end this interview, I will answer your question. I do notknow. "

"Your ladyship tells me that?" cried the officer quickly. 

"I refuse to be questioned by you, sir, " said Lady Gowan with dignity. "You are in the King's Guards; you have a duty to perform. I amhelpless at this moment. Pray do it, and go. But I insist, in the nameof the lady whom I have the honour to serve, that you do not go withoutleaving a proper guard to protect this house from pillage by the moboutside. "

The officer looked puzzled and confused for a moment or two, and then hespoke again sharply. 

"I am bound to take your ladyship's word, " he said; "but you know!" hecried, turning suddenly upon Frank, and so fiercely intended as to throwhim off his guard. "Come, sir; it is of no use to prevaricate. Whereis Sir Robert?"

But Frank was as firm as his mother, and he met the young officer's eyeswithout flinching. 

"Where is my father?" he said quietly. "I don't know, and if I did Iwouldn't tell you. "

A flush of anger suffused the young Guardsman's face; but the boy'smanner touched him home, and the anger passed away in a laugh. 

"Well, " he said, "that's not a bad answer. Unfortunately, younggentleman, I can't be satisfied with it. --Lady Gowan, I regret havingthis duty placed in my hands to carry out, but I must perform it. I amcompelled to disbelieve you and your son, and search the house. "

"Do your duty then, sir, " said Lady Gowan coldly; "but I cannot stayhere to submit to the insult. I insist upon my house being protected. "

"My men are at the door, madam, and no one will be allowed to pass. Ianswer for the place being safe. "

"Thank you, sir, " said Lady Gowan courteously. "I do not blame you forall this. I presume my son and I can pass your men?"

"Of course, madam, " said the officer; and his manner changed, for thesewords impressed him more than any denial that Sir Robert was there. "Ithank you for going, though, " he said, recovering his composure. "Yourelieve me from the painful duty of arresting Sir Robert in yourpresence. "

Lady Gowan smiled, and drew her hood over her head. 

"Come, Frank, " she said; "see me back to the Palace; you will not needyour sword. "

The officer took up the silver branch Frank had set down, and as the boyreturned his sword to its sheath, and his mother took his arm, theofficer preceded them, and lit them down the stairs, where Lady Gowanstopped in the splinter-strewn hall to speak to the housekeeper. 

"See, Berry, " she said quietly, "that this gentleman and his men haveevery opportunity for searching the house. A rumour has been carried tothe Palace that Sir Robert is here. When they have done, men will beplaced as sentries to guard the place. In the morning send for theworkmen to see that a new door is placed there, and to do first what isnecessary to board this one up. "

"Yes, my lady, " said the housekeeper quietly. 

The next minute Lady Gowan and her son passed out of the house with acorporal and four men to escort them back to the Palace, the crowdmaking way for the armed men, while the officer returned to the hall, and looked at the sergeant fixedly. 

"Gone?" said the officer. 

"Yes, sir. Bird's flown, " replied the sergeant. 

"Well, search from top to bottom, from cellar to leads. That's the wayhe must have gone. "

"If it wasn't a false alarm, sir, " said the man respectfully. "I neverhad much faith in any spies. "

"Be on your guard; he may be here, " said the officer. "Now search. "

The sergeant went off promptly with his men, muttering to himself:

"And nobody's better pleased than me. Nicely we should have beengroaned at if we had found him. That is, if we had taken him; but he'dhave fought like the man he is. Well, I'm glad he's gone. "

"I Saved, Frank, saved!" whispered Lady Gowan, as they parted onreaching the Palace. 

"Yes, mother, saved. Oh, don't look like that!"

She kissed him hurriedly, and entered her apartment, to hurry thence tothe Princess's chamber; while Frank made for his own, with his headfeeling as if it were full of buzzing sounds, and ready to ask himselfif all that he had gone through was not part of a feverish dream. 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

MORE ABOUT THE DUCKS. 

The news was all over the Palace the next morning; but before meetingAndrew Forbes, Frank hurried to his mother's apartments, to find herdressed, but lying down, her maid saying that she was very ill, but thatshe would see Mr Gowan. 

"I thought you would come, my boy, " said Lady Gowan, embracing him. "Oh, my darling, what a horrible night! Tell me again all about yourfather's escape. "

"You're not well enough, mother, " said the boy bluntly. "It will onlyagitate you more. Isn't it enough that I helped him to get safe awaywithout any accident?"

"Yes, yes, you are right, " said Lady Gowan. "But how rash, how mad ofhim to come! Frank, remember that you must not breathe a word about howit was that I was able to warn him. "

"I see, " said Frank; "it would make mischief. "

"And this has undone all that I was trying to do. He might have beenforgiven in time; now we shall have to wait perhaps for years. "

"Then don't let's wait, mother. He says that we should have to sufferterribly if we shared his lot with him. But who cares? I shouldn't abit, and I'm sure you wouldn't mind. "

"I, my boy?" cried Lady Gowan passionately. "I'd gladly lead thehumblest life with him, so that we could be at peace. "

"Very well, then; let's go. "

Lady Gowan shook her head. 

"We must respect your father's wishes, Frank, " she said sadly. "No; wemust stay as we are till we are ordered to leave here, or your fatherbids us come. "

"There, " said the boy, "I was right. You must not talk about it anymore; it only makes you cry. Never mind what happened last night. Hehas got safely away. "

"But if he should venture again, my boy, " sobbed Lady Gowan. 

"Never mind about _ifs_, mother. Of course he longed to see us, and heran the risk, so as to be near. I should have done the same, if I hadbeen like he is. There, now you lie still and read all day. He won'trun any more risks, so as not to frighten you. I must go now. "

Lady Gowan clung to her son for a few minutes, and then he hurried away, to find Andrew Forbes in the courtyard. 

"Ah, I was right!" he said. "I went to your rooms, thinking I shouldcatch you; but you were up and off. I thought this would be where youhad come. But, I say, I thought we were friends. "

"Well, so we are. "

"Don't seem like it, for you to go and have a jolly night of adventureslike that, and leave me out in the cold. "

"I couldn't help it, Drew, " said Frank apologetically. 

"Yes, you could. I smell a rat now. I thought you turned very queerwhen we were by your house yesterday. Then you saw him at one of thewindows?"

Frank looked at him frowningly, and then nodded his head. 

"And never told me! Well, this is being a friend! I would have trustedyou. But, I say, it was grand. I've just seen Captain Murray and thedoctor. They were together in the captain's room. They wouldn't sayso, of course, but they were delighted to hear he got away, though theysay they wouldn't wonder if you were dismissed. "

"I don't care, if my mother has to leave too. "

"Ah! but the Princess wouldn't let her go. I say, how do you feel now?"

"Very miserable, " said Frank sadly. 

"Nonsense! You mean not so precious loyal as you were. "

"If you are going to begin about that business again, I am going, " saidFrank coldly. 

"I've done. I'm satisfied. You'll be as eager on the other side someday, Frank; and I like you all the better for being so staunch as youare. As my father says, it makes you the better worth winning. "

"When did your father say that?" cried Frank sharply. 

"Never mind. Perhaps he wrote it to me. You can't expect me to bequite open with you if you're not with me. But, I say, " cried the ladenthusiastically, "it's grand!"

"What is?"

"For us to be both with our fathers banished. Why, Frank, it's likemaking heroes of us. "

"Making geese of us! What nonsense!"

"Just as you like; but I shall feel what I please. I never did see sucha fellow as you are, though. You have no more romance in you than a bigdrum. But, I say, tell us all about it. "

With a little pressing Frank told him all, the narrative being given, inan undertone, and after a faithful promise of secrecy, on one of thebenches under a tree in the Park, while Andrew sat with his fingersinterlaced and nipped between his knees, flushed of face, his eyesflashing, and his teeth set. 

"Oh, " he cried at last, "I wish I had been there, and it had come to afight. "

"What good would that have done?" said Frank. 

"Oh, I don't know; but what a night! It was glorious! And to thinkthat all the while I was moping alone over a stupid book, while you wereenjoying yourself like that. "

"Enjoying myself!" cried Frank scornfully. 

"Yes, enjoying yourself. There, with your sword out, defending yourbeautiful mother from the Guards, after saving your father's life, andkeeping the castle--house, I mean--against the men who were batteringdown the gate--door. "

"Well, " said Frank drily, "if I have no more romance in me than there isin a big drum, you have. "

"I should think I have!" cried the lad, whose handsome, effeminate facewas scarlet with his excitement. "Why, you cold-blooded, stony-heartedold countryman, can't you see that you were doing man's work, and havingglorious adventures?"

"No; only that it was very horrible, " said Frank, with his brow all inlines. 

"Bah! I don't believe you felt like that. What a chance! What a timeto have! All the luck coming to you, and I'm obliged to lead the lifeof a palace lapdog, when I want to be a soldier fighting for my king. "

"Wait till you get older, " said Frank. "I wanted to be a man lastnight. "

"Why, you were a man. It was splendid!" cried Andrew enthusiastically. 

"I wasn't a man, and it wasn't splendid, " said Frank sadly. "I felt allright then; but when I woke this morning, I seemed to see myselfstanding there in our drawing-room, with my sword in one hand and thebig silver candlestick in the other, and I felt that I must have lookedvery ridiculous, and that the young officer and the men with him musthave laughed at me. "

"Er-r-err!" growled Andrew; "I haven't patience with you, Franky. You're too modest by half--modest as a great girl. No, you're not; nogirl could have behaved like you did. I only wish I had had the chanceto be there. Ridiculous indeed! Very ridiculous to help your father toescape as you did, 'pon my honour. Oh yes, very ridiculous! I want tobe as ridiculous as that every day of my life; and if it isn't playingthe man--"

"Yes, that's it, " said Frank gloomily, --"playing the man, when one'sonly a boy. "

"Bah! Hold your tongue, stupid. You don't know yet what you did do. But, I say, that was ridiculous, if you like. "

"What was?" said Frank, starting. 

"Climbing up the roof to hide the rope, and stuffing it down thenext-door chimney. I say: I wonder what the people thought. "

Frank smiled now. 

"Well, that does seem comic. "

"It was glorious. But they'll never know. They'll think the sweepsmust have left it when the chimney was last swept. But I suppose you'veheard about Lieutenant Brayley's report?"

"No, not a word. I went as soon as I was dressed to see how my motherwas. "

"Oh, I heard from Murray. He reported that it was a false alarm, andthat Sir Robert could not have been there, for he had the house wellwatched back and front, and all the approaches to the houses adjoining. Oh, I do enjoy getting the better of the other side. And, I say, everyone's delighted that he escaped, if he was there; but I hope he won'tget taken. Tell him to mind, Franky, for every place swarms with spies, and that it's next to impossible to get out of the country. Oh, Iwouldn't have him taken for all the world. "

"Thank ye, " said Frank warmly; "but how am I to tell him that?"

Andrew turned and gave his companion a peculiar smiling look. 

"Of course, " he said merrily, "how can you tell him? He did not tellyou how to write to him--oh, no; nor where to find the letters he sentto you. Oh, no; he wouldn't do that. Not at all likely, is it?"

Frank turned white. 

"How did you know that?" he said hoarsely. 

"Because I'm rowing in the same boat, Franky. Why, of course he did. Now, didn't he?"

The boy nodded. 

"So did my father, of course. There, I'm going to thoroughly trust you, if you don't me. I'd trust you with anything, because I can feel thatyou couldn't go wrong. I don't want you to tell me where your fathertold you to write, or what name he is going to take, or how you are toget his letters, for of course he couldn't write to the Palace. But hetold you how to communicate with him, I do know, Frank. It was a matterof course with your father like that. I say, what do you think of a tinbox in a hollow tree in the Park, where you can bury it in the touchwoodwhen you go to feed the ducks?"

"That would be a good way of course, " said Frank; "but no, it isn't likethat. "

"What, for you and your father? Who said it was? I meant for me andmine. "

"What! Feed the ducks! Drew!" cried Frank excitedly. 

"Yes; what's the matter?"

"Feed the ducks?"

"Yes, feed the ducks!"

"You don't mean to tell me that--that--"

"Mr George Selby is my father? Of course I do. "

"Oh!" ejaculated Frank in astonishment. 

"Isn't it fine?" cried Andrew. "He comes and feeds the ducks--hisMajesty King George's ducks--and the precious spies stand and watch him;and sometimes he has a chance to see me, and sometimes he hasn't, andthen he leaves a note for me in the old tree, for he says it's the onlypleasure he has in his solitary exiled life. "

"Oh, Drew!" cried Frank warmly. 

"Yes, poor old chap. I'm not worth thinking about so much, only Isuppose I'm something like what poor mother was, and he likes it, or hewouldn't leave all his plots and plans for getting poor James Francis onthe throne to come risking arrest. They'd make short work of him, Frank, if they knew--head shorter. I shall tell him I've told you. ButI know what he'll say. "

"That you were much to blame, " said Frank eagerly. 

"Not he. He'll trust you, as I do. He likes you, Frank. He told me heliked you all the better for being so true to your principles, and thathe was very glad to find that I had made friends with you. There, nowyou can tell me as much as you like. Nothing at all, if you thinkproper; but I shall trust you as much as you'll let me, my lad. There, it's time to go in. I want to hear more about what they're doing. Asthey know that your father has been seen, they'll be more strict thanever. But let's go round by your old house. "

"No, no, " said Frank, with a shudder. 

"Better go. --Come, don't shiver like that. You were a man last night;be one now. "

"Come along then, " said Frank firmly; and they walked sharply round bythe end of the canal, and back along the opposite side towardWestminster, passing several people on the way, early as the hour was. 

"Don't seem to notice any one, " said Andrew; "and walk carelessly andopenly, just as if you were going--as we are--to look at your old housewhere the adventure was. "

"Why?"

"Because several of the people we pass will be spies. I don't want toput you all in a fidget; but neither you nor your mother will be able tostir now without being watched. "

"Do you think so?" said Frank, who felt startled. 

"Sure of it. There, that's doing just what I told you not to do, opening your mouth like a bumpkin for the flies to jump down yourthroat, and making your eyes look dark all round like two burnt holes ina blanket. Come along. You mustn't mind anything now. I don't: I'mused to it. Let 'em see that you don't care a rush, and that they maywatch you as much as they please. Now don't say anything to me, onlywalk by me, and we'll go by the Park front of your place. I want tohave a quiet stare at the tops of the houses and at the corner whereyour father slipped down the rope. "

Frank obeyed his companion, and they walked on, seeing no one inparticular, save an elderly man with a very bad cough, who stopped fromtime to time to rest upon his crutch-handled stick, and indulge in along burst of coughing, interspersing it with a great many "Oh dears!"and groans. They left him behind, as they passed the last tall house, where Frank shuddered as he saw the upright leaden stack, the hole inthe parapet, where the rope was tied, and the garden beneath. 

The boy turned hot as he went over the whole adventure again and thoughtthe same thoughts. Then he glanced sharply through the iron railings insearch of footmarks, but saw none, for Andrew uttered a warning "Takecare, " and he looked straight before him again as he went out by thePark gate, and turned back and through the streets till they reached thefront of the house, where men were nailing up boards, and a couple ofsoldiers stood on duty, marching up and down, as if some royal personagewere within. 

Frank glanced at the workmen, and would have increased his pace, butAndrew had hold of his arm and kept him back. 

"Don't hurry, " he said quietly; and then lightly to one of the sentries, "Got some prisoners inside, my man?"

The sentry grinned, and gave his head a side wise nod toward Frank. 

"Ask this young gentleman, sir; he knows. "

Frank flushed scarlet, as he turned sharply to the man, whom he nowrecognised as one of the Guards who entered the drawing-room with theofficer. 

"Ah, to be sure, " said Andrew coolly; and nodding carelessly, he went onand out by the gate into the Park at the end of the street, where theold man they had previously seen was holding on by the railings coughingviolently. 

"Poor old gentleman!" said Andrew sarcastically, but loud enough for himto hear; "he seems to be suffering a good deal from that cough. "

The man bent his head lower till his brow rested on the hand which heldon by the railings, and coughed more than ever. 

"You needn't have made remarks about him, " whispered Frank. "I'm afraidhe heard what you said. "

"I meant him to hear, " said Andrew loudly; and he stopped and lookedback directly. "A miserable, contemptible impostor. I could cure hiswretched cough in two minutes with that stick he leans on. "

The man started as if he had received a blow, and raised his head toglare fiercely at the youth, who was looking him superciliously up anddown. 

"Look at him, Frank, " continued Andrew; "did you ever see such amiserable, hangdog-looking cur?"

Frank felt in agony, and gripped his companion by the arm. 

"Did you mean that to insult me, boy?" said the man angrily. 

"Done it without the stick, " said Andrew, not appearing to notice theman's words. "You see a good lash from the tongue was enough. Now, canyou imagine it possible that any one could sink so low as to earn hisliving by watching his fellow-creatures, spying their every act, andthen betraying them for the sake of a few dirty shillings, to send themto prison or to the gibbet? There can be nothing on earth so base as athing like this. Why, a footpad is a nobleman compared to him. "

"You insolent young puppy!" cried the man; and entirely forgetful of hisinfirmity, he took three or four paces toward them, with his stickraised to strike. 

Frank's hand darted to his sword, but Andrew did not stir. He stoodwith his lids half closed and his lips compressed, staring firmly at hiswould-be assailant, never flinching for a moment, nor removing his eyesfrom those which literally glowed with anger. 

"The cough's gone, Frank, and the disguise might as well go with it. Heis not an invalid, but one of the vile, treacherous ruffians in the payof the Government. Let your blade alone; he daren't strike, for fear ofhaving a sword through his miserable carcass. He was dressed as asailor the other day, and he looked as if he had never had a foot atsea. He has been hanging about the Park for the past month. Pah! lookat the contemptible worm. "

The miserable spy and informer, who had remained with his stick raised, turned white with passion, as he stood listening to the lad's scathingwords, and had either of the boys flinched he might have struck at them. As it was, he uttered a fierce imprecation, let the point of his stickdrop to the ground, and turned away to hobble for a few steps, and, asif from habit, began to cough; but Andrew burst into a bitter laugh, andwith a fierce oath the man turned again and shook his stick at himbefore ceasing his cough and walking sharply away, erect and vigorous asany. 

"Well, " said Andrew, "do you think I insulted him too much?"

"Why, he is an impostor!"

"Pah! London swarms with his kind. They have sent many a good, true, and innocent man to Tyburn for the sake of blood-money--men whose onlyfault was that they believed James Francis to be our rightful king. Frank, " cried the lad passionately, "I can't tell you how I loathe thereptiles. I knew that wretch directly; my father pointed him out to meas one to beware of. If he knew what we do, he would send my dear, brave father to the scaffold, and he is trying hard to send yours. Where's your pity for the poor invalid now?"

"Oh!" ejaculated Frank excitedly, "can such things be true?"

"True? Why was he dogging us this morning? I can't be sure, of course;but as likely as not it was upon his information that your poor fatherwas almost taken last night, and your mother nearly broken-hearted thismorning. Why, Frank, I never saw you look so fierce before. It's allnonsense about my being two years older than you. You've overtaken andpassed me, lad. I'm getting quite afraid of you. "

"Oh, don't banter me now, Drew. I can't bear it. "

"It's only my spiteful tongue, Frank. I don't banter you at heart. I'min earnest. Only a short time ago I used to think I was as old as aman, and it was trouble about my father made me so. Now I can't helpseeing how trouble is altering you too. Don't mind what I say, but Imust say it. Some day you'll begin to think that I am not so much toblame for talking as I do about our royal master. "

Frank drew a long, deep breath, and felt as if it might after all bepossible. 

"There, that's enough for one morning, " cried Andrew merrily. "We'reonly boys after all, even if I am such a queer fish. Let's be boysagain now. What do you say? I'll race you round the end of the canal, and see who can get in first to breakfast. "

"No, " said Frank; "I want to walk back quietly and think. "

"And I don't mean to let you. There, we've had trouble enough beforebreakfast. Let's put it aside, and if we can get away go and see theHorse Guards parade, and then listen to the band and see some of thedrilling. I want to learn all I can about an officer's duty, so as notto be like a raw recruit when I get my commission, if I ever do. I say:hungry?"

"I? No. "

"Then you must be. Make a good breakfast, lad. Sir Robert's safeenough by now, and he'll be more cautious in future about coming amongsthis Majesty's springes and mantraps. Look yonder; there's CaptainMurray. Who's that with him?"

"The doctor. "

"So it is. Let's go and talk to them. "

"No; let them go by before we start for the gate. I feel as if everyone will be knowing about last night, and want to question me. I wish Icould go away till it has all blown over. "

"But you can't, Frank; and you must face it out like a man. I say--"

"Well?"

"You're not likely to see the King, and if you did it's a chance if he'dknow who you are; but you're sure to see the Prince, and I am a bitanxious to know whether he'll take any notice about what his page didlast night, and if he does, what he'll say. "

"I'm pretty well sure to see him this afternoon, " said Frank gloomily;"and if he questions me I can't tell him a lie. What shall I say?"

"I'll tell you, " said Andrew merrily. 

"Yes? What?"

"Say nothing. He can't make you speak. "

"Then he'll be angry, and it will be fresh trouble for my mother. "

"I don't believe he will be, " said Andrew. "Well, don't spoil yourbreakfast about something which may never happen. Wait and see. Theworst he could do would be to have you dismissed; and if he does he'lldismiss me too, for I shan't stop here, Frank, unless my father says Imust. "

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

WITH PRINCE AND PRINCESS. 

Frank thought over his companion's proposals for spending such time asthey could get away from duty, and soon after breakfast said what hethought. 

"Every one seems to know about it, " he said mournfully. "It's wonderfulwhat an excitement it has caused. "

"Not a bit. Every one knows Lady Gowan and her son, and how Sir Robertwas sent out of the country on account of that duel in the Park; so ofcourse they talk about it. "

"But wherever we go we shall be meeting people who will want to questionme. "

"Yes, " said Andrew quietly. "I've been thinking the same. It's a greatnuisance, for I wanted to go soldiering to-day. "

"There's nothing to prevent you going. "

"Yes, there is--you. I'm not going without you go too. "

"But, Drew--"

"There, don't say any more about it, " said the lad warmly. "I know. Itwouldn't be pleasant for you to go, so you stay in, and we'll read ortalk. "

"But I don't like to force you to give up. "

"Not going to force me. I'm going to stay because I like it, and keepyou company, and stop people from talking to you. "

Frank said little, but he thought a great deal, and the most about how, in spite of his old belief that he should never thoroughly care for hisfellow-page, the tie of sympathy between them from the similarity oftheir positions was growing stronger every day. 

As it happened they did not lose much, for they found that they wouldhave to be a good deal on duty, and the consequence was that much of theearly part of the day was spent in the antechamber to help usher inquite a long string of gentlemen, who wished for an audience with thePrince. 

In the afternoon, just as Frank was longing for his freedom so that hemight go and inquire how Lady Gowan was, he received a sharp nudge fromAndrew, and turned quickly, to find that a knot of ladies had enteredthe room, and naturally his first glance was to see if his mother waswith them. But he did not see her, his eyes lighting instead upon thePrincess, who was on her way to join her husband. 

The blood rose to Frank's cheeks as he saw that her Royal Highness waslooking at him intently, and his confusion increased as she smiledpleasantly at him in passing. Instead of hurrying forward to open thedoor for her as usual, he stood in his place as if frozen, and the dutyfell to Andrew, who joined him as soon as the last lady had passedthrough the door and the curtain was let fall. 

"I say, Frank, " said the lad merrily, "she didn't seem very cross withyou. Lucky to be you, with your mother a favourite. You're all right, and I don't suppose you'll hear another word about the business. It's agood thing sometimes to be a boy. "

But Andrew proved to be wrong, and within the next hour or so; for thelast of the audience--reckless officers praying for promotion andgentlemen asking the Prince's support as they sought for place--hadgone, when a servant entered the anteroom, and took Frank's breath awayby saying that the Prince wished to speak with him directly. 

"It's all over with you, Frank, " whispered Andrew; "leave me a lock ofyour hair, and you may as well give me your sword for a keepsake. You'll never want it again. "

These bantering words did not quell the boy's alarm, but he had no timefor thought; he had to go, and, drawing himself up and trying to put ona firm mien, he went to the door, drew aside the curtain, knocked, andentered. 

The Prince was busy at a table covered with papers, the Princess satnear him in the opening of one of the windows, and her ladies were atthe other end of the room beyond earshot. 

The boy grasped all this as he moved toward the table, and then stoodwaiting respectfully for his Royal Highness to speak. 

But some minutes elapsed, during which the boy's heart beat heavily, andhe stood watching the Prince, as he kept on dipping his pen in the inkand signed some of the papers by him, and drew the pen across others. 

Frank would have given anything for a look of encouragement from thePrincess; but she sat with her face still turned away, reading. Atlast!

The Prince looked up sharply, as if he had just become aware of theboy's presence, and said in rather imperfect English: "Well, my boy!"

Frank, who had felt so manly the previous night and that morning, wasthe schoolboy again, completely taken aback, and for a few moments stoodstaring blankly at the inquiring eyes before him. Then, as the Princeraised his brows as if about to say, "Why don't you speak?" the boy saidhurriedly:

"Your Royal Highness sent for me. "

"Sent for you? No--oh yes, I remember. Well, sir, what excuse have youto make for yourself?"

"None, your Highness, " said the boy firmly. 

"Humph! Defiant and obstinate?"

Frank shook his head. He could not trust himself to speak. 

"Hah! that's better, " said the Prince. "Well, what have you to say inexcuse for your conduct, before I order you to quit my service?"

"Nothing, your Highness. "

"Humph! Very wise of you, sir. I hate lying excuses. "

Frank darted a quick glance in the direction of the Princess, in thehope that she would intercede for him, as he saw himself sent off indisgrace, separated from the mother whom his father had bidden him towatch over and protect. The idea was horrible, and with his handsturning moist in the palms, and the dew gathering in fine drops abouthis temples, he felt ready to promise anything to ensure his stay at thePalace. 

"I may tell you what I have heard from the officer in charge of theguard last night--everything which took place. What am I to think ofone of my servants standing with his sword drawn to resist his Majesty'sofficer in the execution of his duty?"

"It was to defend my mother, sir, " said Frank firmly. "Oh! Well, thatis what a son should do, and that is some excuse. A lady I respect, andwhom the Princess esteems. But this is very serious at a time likethis, when his Majesty is surrounded by enemies; and there must be nomore such acts as this, Mr Gowan. If you were a man, I should not havespoken as I do; you would have been dealt with by others. But as youare a mere thoughtless boy, ready to act on the impulse of the moment, and as, for your mother's sake, the Princess has interceded for you, Iam disposed to look over it. "

"Thank your Royal Highness, " cried Frank, drawing a long, deep breath, full of relief. 

"Now you may go back to your duties, and remember this: you are veryyoung, and have good prospects before you. You are my servant now youare a boy; I hope you will be my servant still when you grow up to be aman. I shall want men whom I can trust--men to whom I can say `Protectme, ' and who will do it. "

"Yes, your Highness, and I will, " cried Frank eagerly, as he took acouple of steps forward. "So would my father, your Highness. He is afine, brave, true soldier, and--"

"He has a son who believes in him. Well?"

"He was forced to fight, your Highness. You would not have believed inhim as a soldier if he had refused, and it is so cruel and hard that heshould have been sent away. Pray--pray ask the King to forgive himnow. "

"Humph! You are a very plain-spoken young gentleman, " said the Princesternly. "You draw your sword to protect your mother, and now I supposeif your father is not pardoned you will turn rebel and draw it again toprotect him. "

"Your Royal Highness has no right to think such a thing of me, " said theboy, flushing warmly. "I was taught that I was to do my duty here. "

"And very good teaching too, sir; but boys are very ready to forget whatthey are taught; and princes and kings have a right to think and saywhat they please. "

"I beg your Royal Highness's pardon. You said you wanted faithfulservants, and a truer and better man than my father never lived. "

"Here, how old are you, young fellow?"

"Seventeen, your Highness. "

"And you are arguing like a man of seven-and-forty. Well, it is a finething for a boy to be able to speak like that of his father, and I willnot quarrel with you for being so plain. But look here, my boy: I amnot the King. "

"But your Royal Highness will be some day, " said Frank excitedly, for hehad the wild belief that he was going to carry the day. 

"Humph! Perhaps, boy; but that is a bad argument to use. There, I willbe plain with you. It does not rest with me to pardon your father. "

"But his Majesty--" began the boy excitedly. 

"I cannot ask his Majesty, boy, " said the Prince sternly. "I am veryangry to find that one of my attendants was mixed up with last night'stroubles; but, as I told you, at the intercession of the Princess, I amdisposed to look over it, if you promise me that in future you will bemore careful, and do your duty as my servant should. "

"I will, your Highness. --But my poor father?"

"Must wait until his Majesty is disposed to pardon his offence. Go. "

The Prince waved his hand toward the door, and then for a moment or twohe looked startled, for in a quick, impulsive way the boy darted forwardand caught the raised hand. 

The sudden movement startled the Princess too, and she sprang from herchair; but the look of alarm passed from her eyes as she saw the boybending down to kiss the Prince's hand, and as he let it fall she heldout her own. 

Frank saw the movement, and the next instant he was down on one knee, kissing it, and rose to give the Princess a smile full of gratitude. 

At that moment he felt his shoulder heavily grasped by the Prince. 

"Good lad!" he said. "Go to your duties. I see I shall have in you aservant I can trust. "

Frank did not know how he got out of the room, for his head was in awhirl, and he did not thoroughly come to himself till he had been seatedfor some time by his mother's couch and had told her all that hadpassed. 

But somehow Lady Gowan did not look happy, and when she parted from herson there was a wistful look in her eyes which told of a greater troublethan that of which the boy was aware. 

"Of course, " said Andrew Forbes, when he had drawn the full account ofthe boy's experiences from him; "but you need not be so preciousenthusiastic over it. You had done nothing, though plenty of people gethung nowadays for that. "

"But he was very kind and nice to me. "

"Kind and nice!" said Andrew, with a sneer. "That was his artfulness. He wants to make all the friends he can against a rainy day--his rainyday. He's thinking of being king; but he won't be. I do know that. "

Frank gave him an angry look, and turned away; but his companion caughthis arm. 

"Don't go, Frank; that was only one of my snarls. I'm not so generousand ready to believe in people as you are. "

Frank remembered his companion's position and his confidence about hisfather, and turned back. 

"I can't bear to hear you talk like that. "

"Slipped out, " said Andrew hurriedly. "There, then, it's all rightagain for you. But there's no mistake about your having a good friendin the Princess. "

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

FRANK BOILS OVER. 

There seemed to be a good deal of excitement about the court one day;people were whispering together, and twice over, as Frank wasapproaching, he noted that they either ceased talking or turned theirbacks upon him and walked away. But he took no further notice of itthen, for his mind was very full of his father, of whom he had not heardfor some time. 

His mother had seemed terribly troubled and anxious when he had met her, but he shrank from asking her the cause, feeling that his father's longsilence was telling upon her; and in the hope of getting news he wentagain and again to the house in Queen Anne Street, ascended to thedrawing-room, and opened the picture-panelled closet door. 

But it was for nothing. The housekeeper had told him that Sir Roberthad not been; but thinking that his father could have let himself inunknown to the old servant, Frank clung to the hope that he might havebeen, deposited a letter, and gone again, possibly in the night. Inevery visit, though, he was disappointed, but contented himself bythinking that his father had acted wisely, and felt that it was not safeto come for fear that he might be watched. 

It was nearly a week since he had been to the house, and he was longingfor an opportunity to go again, but opportunity had not served, and hecame to the conclusion that he would slip off that very afternoon, afterexacting a promise from Andrew Forbes that he would keep in the anteroomready to attend to any little duty which might require the presence ofone of the pages. 

To his surprise, though, Andrew was nowhere to be seen. To haveinquired after him would only have served to draw attention to hisabsence, so he contented himself with waiting patiently, but minute byminute he grew more anxious, feeling convinced that something must haveoccurred. 

"Whatever has happened?" he said to himself at last, as he saw officersbegin to arrive and be ushered into the Prince's room; but why, therewas no chance for him to know, as there was no one to whom he couldapply for information, and at last he sat alone in the great blanksaloon, fidgeting as if he were upon thorns, and inventing all manner ofabsurd reasons to account for his companion's absence. 

"I know, " he said to himself at last; "he has noticed that there issomething on the way, and gone out to try and pick up news. He'll behere directly. "

But he was wrong. Andrew did not come, and several little thingsoccurred to show him that there was undue excitement about the place. 

At last his suspense came to an end, as he sat alone, for Andrewappeared looking flushed and excited, glanced sharply round as soon ashe was inside the door, caught sight of his friend, and half ran to joinhim. 

"Oh, here you are, then, at last!" cried Frank. 

"At last, " said the lad. 

"Yes; where have you been--news-hunting?"

"Yes, " he whispered excitedly; "news-hunting, and I ran it down. "

"What is it? There are three officers with the Prince, and I heard someone say that a messenger was to be despatched to bring the King back totown. "

"Did you hear that?" cried Andrew excitedly. 

"Yes. "

"Ah!" ejaculated Andrew. 

"What is it? A riot?"

"Yes, a very big riot, lad; a very, very big one. Now we shall see. "

"It doesn't seem likely for it to be _we_, " said Frank sarcastically. "Why don't you out with it, and tell me what's the matter?"

"Oh, two things; but haven't you heard?"

"Of course not, or I shouldn't be begging and praying of you to speak. "

"I found a letter from the dad, that's one thing, and he told me what Ifind the place is ringing with. "

"Something about bells?" said Frank, laughing. 

"Yes, if you like, " said Andrew wildly. "The tocsin. War, my lad, war!"

"What! with France?"

"No; England. At last. The King has landed. "

"I say, are you going mad?"

"Yes, with excitement. Frank, the game has begun, and we must throw upeverything now, and join hands with the good men and true who are goingto save our country. "

"Bah! You've got one of your fits on again, " cried Frankcontemptuously; "what a gunpowder fizgig you are!"

"Look here!" said Andrew, in an angry whisper; "this is no time forboyish folly. We must be men. The crisis has come, and this miserablesham reign is pretty well at an end. "

"The Prince is in yonder, " said Frank warningly. 

"Prince!" said Drew contemptuously; "I know no Prince but James FrancisStuart. Now, listen; there must be no shilly-shallying on your part; wewant every true patriot to draw the sword for his country. "

"Ah well, I'm not what you call a true patriot, and so I shan't drawmine. "

"Bah!" ejaculated Drew. 

"And bah!" cried Frank. "Don't you play the fool, --unless you want someone to hear you, " he continued, in a warning whisper. 

"What do I care? I have had great news from my father, and the time hasat last come when we must strike for freedom. "

"Are you mad? Do you know where you are?" cried Frank, catching him bythe arm. 

"Not mad, and I know perfectly where I am. Look here, Frank; there mustbe no more nonsense. I tell you the time has come to strike. Ourfriends have landed, or are about to land. There is going to be acomplete revolution, and before many hours the House of Hanover will bea thing of the past, and the rightful monarch of the House of Stuartwill be on the throne. "

"Then you are mad, " said Frank, with another uneasy glance at thecurtained door beyond where they stood, "or you would never talk likethis. "

"I shall talk how I please now, " cried the lad excitedly. "Let them dotheir worst. I feel ready to wait till the Prince comes out, and thendraw my sword and shout, `God save King James the Third!'"

"No, you are not. You would not so insult one who has always behavedwell to you. "

"Bah! I am nobody. I don't count. How have he and his behaved to mypoor father and to yours? Frank, I know I'm wildly excited, and feelintoxicated by the joyful news; but I know what I am talking about, andI will not have you behave in this miserable, cold-blooded way, when ourfathers are just about to receive their freedom and come back to theirrights. "

"It's no use to argue with you when you're in this state, " said Frankcoldly; "but I won't sit here and have you say things which may lead toyour being punished. I should be a poor sort of friend if I did. "

"Pah! Have you no warm blood in you, that you sit there as cool as afrog when I bring you such glorious news?"

"It isn't glorious, " said Frank. "It means horrible bloodshed, ruin, and disaster to hundreds or thousands of misguided men. "

"Misguided! Do you know what you are talking about?"

"Yes, perfectly. "

"Have you no feeling for your father and mother's sufferings?"

"Leave my father and mother out of the question, please. "

"I can't. I know you're not a coward, Frank; but you're like a stupid, stubborn blood-horse that wants the whip or spur to make him go. Whenhe does begin, there's no holding him. "

"Then don't you begin to use whip or spur, Drew, in case. "

"But I will. I must now. It is for your good. I'm not going to standby and see you and your mother crushed in the toppling-down ruins ofthis falling house. Do you hear me? The time has come, and we wantevery one of our friends, young and old, to strike a good bold blow forliberty. "

"Let your friends be as mad as they like, " said Frank angrily. "I'm notgoing to stand by either and see Drew Forbes go to destruction. "

"Bah!--to victory. There, no more arguing. You are one of us, and youmust come out of your shell now, and take your place. "

"I'm not one of you, " said Frank sturdily, and too warm now to think ofthe danger of speaking aloud; "I was tricked into saying something orjoining in while others said it, and I am not a Jacobite, and I neverwill be!"

"I tell you that you are one. "

"Have it so if you like; but it's in name only, and I'll show you that Iam not in deed. You talked about crying before the Prince, `God saveKing James!' God save King George! There!"

He spoke out loudly now, but repented the next moment, for fear that heshould have dared his companion to execute his threat. 

"Coward!" cried Andrew. "The miserable German usurper who has banishedyour father!"

"You said that you knew I was not a coward. "

"Then I retract it. You are if you try to hang back now. "

"Call me what you like, I'll have nothing to do with it. They don'twant boys. "

"They do--every one; and you must come and fight. "

"Indeed!"

"Yes, or be punished as a traitor. "

"Let them come and punish me, then, " said Frank hotly. "I wear a sword, and I know how to use it. "

"Then come and use it like a man. Come, Frank. Don't pretend that youare going to show the white feather. "

"I don't. "

"It is monstrous!" panted the lad, who was wildly excited by hisenthusiasm. "I want you--my friend--to stand by me now at a criticaltime, and you treat me like this. I can't understand it when you knowthat your father is a staunch supporter of the royal cause. "

"Of course I do. What's that got to do with it? Do you think becausehe has been sent away that he would forget his oath to the King?"

"I said the royal cause, not the usurper's. "

"It is false. My father is still in the King's service, waiting for hisrecall. "

"Your father is my father's friend, as I am yours, and he is now holdinga high command in King James's army. "

"It's not true, Drew; it's one of your tricks to get me to go with you, and do what I faithfully promised I never would do. You know it'sfalse. High in command in King James's army! Why, he has no army, soit can't be true. "

"I tell you, it is true. My father and yours are both generals. "

"Look here, " said Frank, turning and speaking now in an angry whisper, "you're going too far, Drew. I don't want to quarrel--I hate toquarrel. Perhaps I am like a stubborn horse; but I did warn you not touse the whip or spur, and you will keep on doing it. Please let itdrop. You're making me feel hot, and when I feel like that my head goesqueer, and I hit out and keep on hitting, and feel sorry for itafterwards. I always did at school, and I should feel ten times assorry if I hit you. Now you sit down, and hold your tongue beforeyou're heard and get into a terrible scrape. "

"Sit down! At a time like this!" cried the lad. "Oh, will nothing stiryou? Are you such a cowardly cur that you are going to hide yourselfamong the German petticoats about the Palace? I tell you, it is true:General Sir Robert Gowan throws up his hat for the King. "

"Cowardly cur yourself!" cried Frank, whose rage had been bubbling up toboiling-point for the last ten minutes and now burst forth. 

"Miserable traitor! I thought better of you!" cried Andrew bitterly. "Pah! Friends! You are not worth the notice of a gentleman. Out ofthe way, you wretched cur!"

He struck Frank sharply across the face with his glove, as he steppedforward to pass, and quick as lightning the boy replied with a blow fullin the cheek, which sent him staggering back, so that he would havefallen had it not been for the wall. 

In an instant court rules and regulations were forgotten. The boys knewthat they wore swords, and these flashed from their scabbards, ornamentsno longer, and the next moment they crossed, the blades grittedtogether, thrust and parry followed, and each showed that theinstructions he had received were not in vain. 

What would have been the result cannot be told, save that it would havebeen bitter repentance for the one who had sent his blade home; butbefore any mischief had been done in the furious encounter, the doors ateither end of the anteroom were opened, and the Prince and the officersfrom the audience chamber with the guards from the staircase landingrushed in, the former narrowly escaping a thrust from Andrew's sword, aswith his own weapon he beat down the boys'. 

"How dare you!" he cried. 

"Now!" cried Andrew defiantly to Frank, as he stood quivering withrage--"now is your time. Speak out; tell the whole truth. "

"Yes, the whole truth, " said the Prince sternly. "What does this brawlmean?"

Frank did not hesitate for a moment. 

"It was my fault, your Royal Highness, " he cried, panting. "Wequarrelled; I lost my temper and struck him. "

"Who dared to draw?" thundered the Prince. 

"We both drew together, your Royal Highness, " cried Frank hurriedly, forfear that Andrew should be beforehand with him; "but I think I wasalmost the first. "

"You insolent young dogs!" cried the Prince; "how dare you brawl andfight here!--Take away their swords; such boys are not fit to be trustedwith weapons. As for you, sir, " he said, turning fiercely on Frank, "like father like son, as you English people say. And you, sir--you areolder, " he cried to Andrew. "There, take them away, and keep them tillI have decided how they shall be punished. --Come back to my room, gentlemen. Such an interruption is a disgrace to the court. "

He turned and walked toward the door, followed by the three officers, one of whom on entering looked back at the lads and smiled, as if he didnot think that much harm had been done. 

But neither of the lads saw, for Andrew was whispering maliciously toFrank:

"You dared not speak. You knew how I should be avenged. "

"Yes, I dared; but I wasn't going to be such a coward, " cried Franksharply. 

"Ah, stop that!" cried the officer who held the boys' swords, and hadjust given orders to his men to take their places in front and rear ofhis prisoners. "Do you want to begin again? Hang it all! wait till youget to the guardroom, if you must fight. "

"Don't speak to me like that!" cried Andrew fiercely. "It is not thecustom to insult prisoners, I believe. "

"Forward! march!" said the officer; and then, to Frank's annoyance, aswell as that of Andrew, he saw that the officer was laughing at them, and that the men were having hard work to keep their countenances. 

Five minutes later they had been marched down the staircase, across thecourtyard, to the entrance of the guardroom, where, to Frank's greatmortification, the first person he saw was Captain Murray. 

"Hallo! what's this?" he cried. "Prisoners? What have you lads beenabout?"

"Fighting, " said Frank sullenly, Andrew compressing his lips and staringhaughtily before him, as if he felt proud, of his position. 

"Fighting! With fists?" cried Captain Murray. 

"Oh no, " said the officer of the guard; "quite correctly. Here aretheir skewers. "

"But surely not anywhere here?"

"Oh yes, " said the officer mirthfully; "up in the anteroom, right underthe Prince's nose. "

"Tut--tut--tut!" ejaculated Captain Murray, half angry, half amused. 

"The Prince came between them, and the tall cock nearly sent his spurthrough him, " continued the officer. "I s'pose this means the Tower andthe block, doesn't it, Murray? or shall we have the job to shoot 'embefore breakfast to-morrow morning?"

"If I were only free, " cried Andrew, turning fiercely on the officer, "you would not dare to insult me then. "

"Then I'm very glad you are not. I say, why in the name of wonder areyou not in the service, my young fire-eater? You are not in your rightplace as a page. "

"Because--because--"

"Stop! that will do, young man, " said Captain Murray sternly. "Let himbe, " he continued to his brother-officer. "The lad is beside himselfwith passion. "

"Oh, I've done; but are they to be put together? They'll be at eachother's throats again. "

"No, they will not, " said Captain Murray. "Frank, give me your word asyour father's son that this quarrel is quite at an end. "

"Oh yes, I've done, " said the boy quickly. 

"And you, Mr Forbes?"

"No, " cried Andrew fiercely. "I shall make no promises. And as foryou, Frank Gowan, I repeat what I said to you: every word is true. "

"You think it is, " said Frank quietly, "or you wouldn't have said it. But it isn't true. It couldn't be. "

"That will do, young gentlemen, " said Captain Murray sternly. "I shouldhave thought you could have cooled down now. Now, Mr Forbes, will yougive me your word that you will behave to your fellow-prisoner like agentleman, and save me the unpleasant duty of placing you in the cell. "

"Yes. Come, Drew, " said Frank appealingly. "We were both wrong. I'llanswer for him, Captain Murray. "

"Well, one can't quarrel if the other will not. You can both have myroom while you are under arrest. Place a sentry at their door, " andturning to his brother-officer, and, giving Frank a nod, as he looked athim sadly and sternly, Captain Murray walked away. 

A few minutes later the key of the door was turned upon them, and theyheard one of the guard placed on sentry duty outside. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. 

"WHAT DID HE SAY?"

Frank threw himself into a chair, and Andrew Forbes began to walk up anddown like a newly caged wild beast. 

Frank thought of the last time he was in that room, and of CaptainMurray's advice to him; then of the quarrel, and his companion's madwords against his father. From that, with a bound, his thoughts went tohis mother. What would she think when she heard--as she would surelyhear in a few minutes--about the encounter?

He felt ready to groan in his misery, for the trouble seemed to havesuddenly increased. 

Andrew did not speak or even glance at him; and fully a quarter of anhour passed before Frank had decided as to the course he ought topursue. Once he had made up his mind he acted, and, rising from hischair, he waited until his fellow-prisoner was coming toward him in hiswearisome walk, and held out his hand. 

"Will you shake hands, Drew?" he said. 

The lad stopped on the instant, and his face lit up with eagerness. 

"Yes, " he cried, "if you'll stand by me like a man. "

"What do you mean?"

"Escape with me. Get out of the window as soon as it is dark, and makea dash for it. Let them fire; they would not hit us in the dark, and wecould soon reach the friends and be safe. "

"Run away and join your friends?" said Frank quietly. 

"Yes! We should be placed in the army at once, as soon as they knew whowe were. Come, you repent of what you said, and you will be faithful tothe cause?"

"Won't you shake hands without that?"

"No, I cannot. I am ready to forgive everything you said or did to me;but I cannot forgive such an act as desertion in the hour of England'sgreat need. Shake hands. "

"Can't, " said Frank sadly; and he thrust his hands into his pockets, walked to the window, and stood looking out into the courtyard. 

No word was spoken for some time, and no sound broke the stillness thatseemed to have fallen upon the place, save an occasional weary yawn fromthe soldier stationed outside the door and the tramp of the nearestsentry, while Andrew very silently still imitated the action of a newlycaged wild animal. At last he stopped suddenly. 

"Have you thought that over?" he said. 

"No, " replied Frank. "Doesn't want thinking over. My mind was made upbefore. "

"And you will take the consequences?"

"Hang the consequences!" cried Frank angrily. "What is your rightfulmonarch, or your pretender, or whatever he is, to me? I don'tunderstand your politics, and I don't want to. I've only one thing tothink about. My father told me that, as far as I could, I was to standby and watch over my mother in his absence, and I wouldn't forsake mypost for all the kings and queens in the world; so there!"

"Then I suppose if I try to escape you will give the alarm and betrayme?"

"I don't care what you suppose. But I shouldn't be such a sneak. Iwish you would go, and not bother me. You've no business here, and itwould be better if you were away; but I don't suppose you will do muchgood if you do go. "

"Oh!" ejaculated Andrew, as if letting off so much indignant steam; "andthis is friendship!"

"I don't care what you say now. Your ideas are wider and bigger thanmine, I suppose. I'm a more common sort of fellow, with only room in myhead to think about what I've been taught and told to do. Perhapsyou're right, but I don't see it. "

"I can't give you up without one more try, " said Andrew, standing beforehim with his brow all in lines. "You say your father told you to stayand watch over your mother?"

"Yes; and I will. "

"But since then he has changed his opinions; he is on our side now, andI cannot but think that he would wish you to try and strike one blow forhis--Bah!"

Andrew turned away in bitter contempt and rage, for strong in hisdetermination not to be stung into a fresh quarrel, the boy headdressed, as soon as he heard his companion begin to reiterate hisassertion that Sir Robert Gowan had gone over to the Pretender's side, turned slowly away, and, with his elbows once more resting on thewindow-sill, thrust a finger into each ear, and stopped them tight. Soeffectually was this done, that he started round angrily on feeling ahand laid upon his shoulder. 

"It's of no use, Drew, I won't--Oh, it's you, Captain Murray!"

"Yes, my lad. Has he been saying things you don't like?"

Frank nodded. 

"Well, that's one way of showing you don't want to listen. Your motherwishes to see you, and you can go to her. "

"Ah!" cried the boy eagerly. 

"Give me your word as a gentleman that you will go to her and return atonce, and I will let you cross to Lady Gowan's apartments without anescort. "

"Escort, sir?" said Frank wonderingly. 

"Well, without a corporal and a file of men as guard. "

"Oh, of course I'll come back, " said the boy, smiling. "I'm not goingto run away. "

"Go, then, at once. "

Captain Murray walked with him to the door, made a sign to the sentry, who drew back to stand at attention, and the boy began to descend. 

"How long may I stay, sir?" he asked. 

"As long as Lady Gowan wishes; but be back before dark. "

"Poor old Drew!" thought Frank, as he hurried across to the courtyardupon which his mother's apartments opened; "it's a deal worse for himthan it is for me. But he's half mad with his rightful-king ideas, andready to say or do anything to help them on. But to say such a thing asthat about my father! Oh!"

He was ushered at once into his mother's presence, but she did not hearthe door open or close; and as she lay on a couch, with her head turnedso that her face was buried in her hands, he thought she was asleep. 

"Mother, " he said softly, as he bent over her. 

Lady Gowan sprang up at once; but instead of holding out her arms to himas he was about to drop on his knees before her, her wet eyes flashedangrily, and she spoke in a voice full of bitter reproach. 

"I have just heard from the Princess that my son, whom I trusted inthese troublous times to be my stay and help, has been brawlingdisgracefully during his duties at the court. "

"Brawling disgracefully" made the boy wince, and a curious, stubbornlook began to cloud his face. 

"Her Royal Highness tells me that you actually so far forgot yourself asto draw upon young Forbes, that you were half mad with passion, and thatsome terrible mischief would have happened if the Prince, who heard theclashing from his room of audience, had not rushed in, and at great riskto himself beaten down the swords. That is what I have been told, andthat you are both placed under arrest. Is it all true?"

"Yes, mother, " said the lad bluntly; and he set his teeth for theencounter that was to come. 

"Is this the conduct I ought to expect from my son, after all my careand teaching--to let his lowest passions get the better of him, so that, but for the interference of the Prince, he might have stained his swordwith the blood of the youth he calls his friend?"

"It might have been the other way, mother, " said the boy bluntly. 

"Yes; and had you so little love, so little respect for your mother'sfeelings, that you could risk such a thing? I have been prostratedenough by what has happened. Suppose, instead, the news had beenbrought to me that in a senseless brawl my son had been badly wounded--or slain?"

"Senseless brawl" made the boy wince again. 

"It would have been very horrible, mother, " he said, in a low voice. 

"It would have killed me. Why was it? What was the cause?"

"Oh, it was an affair of honour, mother, " said Frank evasively. 

"An affair of honour!" cried Lady Gowan scornfully; "a boy like youdaring to speak to me like that! Honour, sir! Where is the honour? Itcomes of boys like you two, little better than children, being allowedto carry weapons. Do you not know that it is an honour to a gentlemanto wear a sword, because it is supposed that he would be the last todraw it, save in some terrible emergency for his defence or to preserveanother's life, and not at the first hasty word spoken? Had you noconsideration for me? Could you not see how painful my position is atthe court, that you must give me this fresh trouble to bear?"

"Yes, mother; you know how I think of you. I couldn't help it. "

"Shame! Could not help it! Is this the result of your education--you, growing toward manhood--my son to tell me this unblushingly, to give methis pitiful excuse--you could not help it? Why was it, sir?"

"Well, mother, we quarrelled. Drew is so hot-tempered and passionate. "

"And you are perfectly innocent, and free from all such attributes, Isuppose, sir, " cried Lady Gowan sarcastically. 

"Oh no, I'm not, mother, " said the lad bluntly, as he felt he would giveanything to get away. "I've got a nasty, passionate temper; but I'm allright if it isn't roused and Drew will keep on till he rouses it. "

"Pitiful! Worse and worse!" cried Lady Gowan. "All this arose, Isuppose, out of some contemptible piece of banter or teasing. He saidsomething to you, then, that you did not like?"

"Yes, " said Frank eagerly, "that was it. "

"And pray what did he say?"

"Say--oh--er--he said--oh, it was nothing much. "

"Speak out--the truth, sir, " cried Lady Gowan, fixing her eyes upon herson's. 

"Oh, he said--something I did not like, mother. "

"What was it, sir? I insist upon knowing. "

"Oh, it was nothing much. "

"Let me be the judge of that, sir. I, as your mother, would be only tooglad to find that you had some little excuse for such conduct. "

"And then, " continued Frank hurriedly, "I got put out, and--and I calledhim a liar. "

"What was it he said?"

"And then he struck me over the face with his glove, mother, and Icouldn't stand that, and I hit out, and sent him staggering against thewall. "

"Why?--what for?" insisted Lady Gowan. 

"And in a moment he whipped out his sword and attacked me, and of courseI had to draw, or he would have run me through. "

"Is that true, sir--Andrew Forbes drew on you first?"

"Of course it's true, mother, " said the lad proudly. "Did I ever tellyou a lie?"

"Never, my boy, " said Lady Gowan firmly. "It has been my proud boast tomyself that I could trust my son in everything. "

"Then why did you ask me in that doubting way if it was true?"

"Because my son is prevaricating with me, and speaking in a strange, evasive way. He never spoke to me like that before. Do you think meblind, Frank? Do you think that I, upon whom your tiny eyes firstopened--your mother, who has watched you with all a mother's love fromyour birth, cannot read every change in your countenance? Do you thinkI cannot see that you are fighting hard to keep something back?--you, whom I have always been so proud to think were as frank by nature as youare by name? Come, be honest with me. You are hiding something fromme?"

"Yes, mother, " cried the lad, throwing back his head and speakingdefiantly now, "I am. "

"Then tell me what it is at once. I am your mother, from whom nothingshould be hid. If the matter is one for which you feel shame, if it issome wrong-doing, the more reason that you should come to me, my boy, and confide in me, that I may take you once again to my heart, and kneelwith you, that we may together pray for forgiveness and the strength tobe given to save you from such another sin. "

"Mother, " cried the boy passionately, "I have not sinned in this!"

"Ah!--Then what is it?"

"I cannot tell you. "

"Frank, if ever there was a time when mother and son should be firmlytied in mutual confidence, it is now. I have no one to cling to butyou, and you hold me at a distance like this. "

"Yes, yes; but I cannot tell you. "

"You think so, my boy; but don't keep it from me. "

"Mother, " cried Frank wildly, "I must!"

"You shall not, my boy. I will know. "

"I cannot tell you. "

He held out his hands to her imploringly, but she drew back from him, and her eyes seemed to draw the truth he strove so hard to keep hiddenfrom his unwilling lips. 

"There, then!" he cried passionately; "I bore it as long as I could:because he insulted my father--it was to defend his honour that I struckhim, and we fought. "

"You drew to defend your father's honour, " said Lady Gowan hoarsely; andher face looked drawn and her lips white. 

"Yes, that was it. Is it so childish of me to say that I could not helpthat?"

"No, " said Lady Gowan, in a painful whisper. "How did he insult yourfather? What did he say?"

"Must I tell you?"

"Yes. "

Frank drew a long, deep, sobbing breath, and his voice sounded brokenand strange, as he said in a low, passionate voice:

"He dared to insult my father--he said he was false to the King--that hehad broken his oath as a soldier--that he was a miserable rebel andJacobite, and had gone over to the Pretender's side. "

"Oh!" ejaculated Lady Gowan, shrinking back into the corner of thecouch, and covering her face with her hands. 

"Mother, forgive me!" cried the lad, throwing himself upon his knees, and trying to draw her hands from her face. "I could not speak. Itseemed so horrible to have to tell you such a cruel slander as that. Icould not help it. I should have struck at anybody who said it, even ifit had been the Prince himself. "

Lady Gowan let her son draw her hands from her white, drawn face, andsat back gazing wildly in his eyes. 

"Oh, mother!" he cried piteously, "can you think this a sin? Don't lookat me like that. "

She uttered a passionate cry, clasped him to her breast, and let herface sink upon his shoulder, sobbing painfully the while. 

"I knew what pain it would give you, dear, " he whispered, with his lipsto her ear; "but you made me tell you. I was obliged to fight him. Father would have been ashamed of me, and called me a miserable coward, if I had not stood up for him as I did. "

"Then--then--he said that of your father?" faltered Lady Gowan, with herconvulsed face still hidden. 

"Yes. "

"And you denied it, Frank. "

"Of course, " cried the lad proudly; "and then we fought, and I did notknow what was happening till the Prince came and struck down ourswords. "

Lady Gowan raised her piteous-looking face, pressed her son back fromher, and rose from the couch. 

"Go now, my boy, " she said, in a low, agonised voice. 

"Back to prison?" he said. "But tell me first that you are not so angrywith me. I can't feel that I was so wrong. "

"No, no, my boy--no, I cannot blame you, " sighed Lady Gowan. 

"And you forgive me, mother?"

"Forgive you? Oh, my own, true, brave lad, it is not your fault, butthat of these terrible times. Go now, I can bear no more. "

"Say that once again, " whispered Frank, clinging to her. 

"I cannot speak, my darling. I am suffering more than I can tell you. There, leave me, dearest. I want to be alone, to think and pray forhelp in this terrible time of affliction. Frank, I am nearlybroken-hearted. "

"And I have been the cause, " he said sadly. 

"You? Oh no, no, my own, brave, true boy. I never felt prouder of youthan I do now. Go back. I must think. Then I will see the Princess. The Prince is not so very angry with you, and he will forgive you whenhe knows the truth. "

"And you, mother?"

"I?" cried the poor woman passionately. "Heaven help me! I do not feelthat I have anything to forgive. "

Lady Gowan embraced her son once more, and stood looking after him as hedescended the stairs, while Frank walked over to his prison with headerect and a flush of pride in his cheeks. 

"There, " he muttered, as he passed the sentry, "let them say or do whatthey like; I don't care now. "

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. 

THE BREACH WIDENS. 

Andrew started from his seat as Frank entered the room and the door wasclosed and locked behind him; but, seeing who it was, he sat down againwith his face averted. 

"Shall I tell him?" thought Frank. "No; it would be like triumphingover him to show him I have found out that he has been trying to cheatme into going off. "

The boy felt so satisfied and at ease that he was more and moreunwilling to hurt his fellow-prisoner's feelings, and after a while hespoke. 

"I suppose they'll give us something to eat, " he said. 

Andrew looked up at him in astonishment, but only to frown the nextmoment and turn his head away again. 

Frank went to the window and stood looking out, one corner commanding aview of the Park; and after watching the people come and go for sometime, he suddenly turned to his companion:

"Here are the Horse Guards coming, Drew. Want to see them?"

"No. Will you have the goodness to leave me in peace?"

"No, " said Frank quietly. "How can I? We're shut up together hereperhaps for ever so long, and we can't keep up that miserable quarrelnow. Hadn't we better shake hands?"

"What do you suppose I'm made of?" said Andrew fiercely. 

"Same stuff as I am, " replied Frank almost as sharply; "and as I'veshown myself ready to forgive and forget what has happened, you ought todo the same. "

But it was of no use. Try how he would to draw Andrew intoconversation, the latter refused to speak; and at last the boy gave upin despair, and began to look about the captain's room for something outof which he could drag some amusement. This last he had to extract fromone of the books on a shelf; but it proved dry and uninteresting, thoughit is doubtful whether one of the most cheery nature would have held hisattention long. For he had so much to think about that his mind refusedto grasp the meaning of the different sentences, and one minute he waswondering whether his father would venture to the house, the next he wasgoing over the scene of the quarrel in the antechamber. Then he thoughtsadly about his interview with his mother, but only to feel elated andhappy, though it was mingled with sorrow at having given her so muchpain. 

A little resentment began to spring up, too, against Andrew, as the truecause of it all, but it did not last; he felt far too much at rest forthat, and the anger gave way to pity for the high-spirited, excitablelad seated there in the deepest dejection, and he began to wish now thathe had not called him a liar and struck him. 

"I shall go melancholy mad, " muttered Frank at last, "if they keep usshut up long, and Drew goes on like this. But I wonder whether therewill really be a rising against the King?"

Curiosity made him try to be communicative, and he turned to his silentcompanion. 

"Think there really will be any fighting?" he said. 

Andrew turned to him sharply. 

"Why do you ask?" he said. 

"Simple reason: because I want to know. "

"You have some other reason. "

"Because I want to send word to the Prince that you are a rebel, andintend to go and join the Pretender's followers, of course, " said Franksarcastically. "Don't be so spiteful, Drew. We can't live here likethis. Why don't you let bygones be bygones?"

"What interest can it be to you?" said Andrew, ignoring the latter partof his fellow-prisoner's remark. 

"Do you suppose such a rising can take place without its being ofinterest to every one? There, we won't talk about it unless you like. Look here, I can't sit still doing nothing; it gives me pins and needlesin my hands and feet. I'll ring and ask Captain Murray to let us have adraught board if you'll play. "

"Pish!" cried Andrew contemptuously; and Frank sighed and gave up again, to take refuge in staring out of the window for some time. 

Then his tongue refused to be quiet, and he cried to his silentcompanion:

"There is something going on for certain. I've counted twelve officersgo by since I've been standing here. "

There was no heed paid to his remark, and at last the boy drew a breathfull of relief, for he heard steps on the stairs, the sentry's piecerattled, and then the key turned in the lock, and Captain Murrayentered, looking very stern. 

"Frank Gowan, " he said, "you give me your _parole d'honneur_ that youwill not do anything foolish in the way of attempting to escape?"

"Oh yes, of course, sir, " said the boy. "I don't want to escape. "

"That's right. And you, Andrew Forbes?"

"No; I shall make no promises, " was the reply. 

"Don't be foolish, my lad. You ought to have cooled down by this time. Give me your word: it will make your position bearable, and mine easy. "

"I shall give no promises, " said Andrew haughtily. "I have beenarrested, and brought here a prisoner, and I shall act as a prisonerwould. "

"Try to escape? Don't attempt to do anything so foolish, my lad. Iwill speak out like a friend to you. There has been some important newsbrought to the Palace; the guard has been quadrupled in number, doublesentries have been placed, and they would fire at any one attempting topass the gates without the word to-night. Now, give me your promise. "

"I--will--not, " said Andrew, speaking firmly, and meeting the captain'seyes without shrinking. 

"Don't be so foolish, Drew, " whispered Frank. 

"I shall do as I think best, " was the reply. "You are at liberty to dothe same, sir. "

"Very well, " said Captain Murray, interrupting them. "Perhaps you willbe more sensible and manly after a night's rest. I did not expect tofind a lad of your years behaving like a spiteful girl. "

Andrew's eyes flashed at him; but the captain paid no heed, and went on:

"I have spoken to the colonel, Frank, and for your father's sake he willbe glad to see you at the mess table this evening. You are free of itwhile you are under arrest. I will come for you in half an hour. Bythe way, I have told my man to come to you for instructions aboutgetting your kit from your room. You will use him while you are aprisoner. "

"Oh, thank you, Captain Murray, " cried the boy eagerly. 

"Pray make use of my servant, Mr Forbes, and order him to fetch whatyou require. "

Andrew bowed coldly, and the captain left the room, his servant tappingat the door directly after, and entering to receive his orders fromFrank. 

"Now, Drew, " he said at last, "tell him what to fetch for you. "

"I do not require anything, " said the youth coldly. "Yes, look here. There is a little desk on the table in my room; bring me that. "

"Hadn't you better give in, and make the best of things?" said Frank, assoon as they were alone. 

"Had you not better leave me to myself, Frank Gowan?" said Andrewcoldly. "We are no longer friends, but enemies. "

"No, we can't be that, " cried Frank. "Come; once more, shake hands. "

Andrew looked at him for a few moments fixedly, and then said slowly:

"Come, that's better. "

"On the day when your King George is humbled to the dust, and you are, with all here, a helpless prisoner. I'll shake hands and forgive youthen. "

"Not till then?" cried Frank, flushing. 

"Not till then. "

"Which means that we are never to be friends again, Drew. Nonsense!You are still angry. Captain Murray is right. "

"That I speak like a spiteful girl!" cried the lad sharply. 

"No, I did not mean that, " said Frank quietly; "but if I had meant it, Ishould not have been very far from right. I hope that you will thinkdifferently after a night's rest. Come, think differently now, and giveup all those mad thoughts which have done nothing but make us fall out. It isn't too late. Captain Murray is trying to make things pleasant forus; tell him when he comes that you'll dine with him. "

Andrew made an angry gesture, and Frank shrugged his shoulders, wentinto the adjoining room to wash his hands, and came back just as thetramp of soldiers was heard outside, the order was given for them tohalt, and then followed their heavy footsteps on the stairs. 

The next minute Captain Murray entered the room. 

"Ready, bloodthirsty prisoner?" he said, smiling. 

"Yes, sir, quite, " replied Frank; while Andrew sat at the other end ofthe room with his back to them. 

Frank glanced in his fellow-prisoner's direction, and then turned backto the captain, and his lips moved quickly as he made a gesture inAndrew's direction. 

The captain read his meaning, nodded, walked up to the lad, and touchedhim on the shoulder, making him start to his feet. 

"Life's very short, Andrew Forbes, " he said quietly, "and soldiers areobliged to look upon it as shorter for them than for other men. Itisn't long enough to nurse quarrels or bear malice. I think I haveheard you say that you hope to be a soldier some day. "

"Yes, I do, " said the lad, with a meaning which the captain could notgrasp. 

"Very well, then; act now like a frank soldier to another who says toyou, try and forget this trouble, and help every one to make it easierfor you. There's care enough coming, my lad; and I may tell you thatthe Prince has enough to think about without troubling himself any moreover the mad prank of two high-spirited boys. There, I'll wait for you;go into my room, and wash your hands and smooth your face. I venture tosay that you will both get a wigging to-morrow, and then be told to goback to your duties. "

Andrew did not budge, and the captain's face grew more stern. 

"Come on, Drew, " cried Frank; but the lad turned away. 

"Yes, come along, " cried the captain; "a good dinner will do you bothgood, and make you ready to laugh at your morning's quarrel. Do youhear?"

There was no reply. 

"You are not acting like a hero, my lad, " said the captain, smiling oncemore. 

Still there was no reply. 

"Very well, sir; you refuse your parole, and I can say no more. I havemy duty to do, and I cannot offer you my hospitality here. You arestill under arrest. "

He walked to the door, threw it open, made a sign, and a corporal andtwo Guardsmen marched in. 

"Take this gentleman to the guardroom, " he said. "Your officer has hisinstructions concerning him. "

"Oh, Drew!" whispered Frank; but the lad drew himself up, and took a fewsteps forward, placing himself between the Guards, and kept step withthem as they marched out and down the stairs. 

The next minute their steps were heard on the paving-stones without, andFrank darted to the window, to stand gazing out, feeling half chokedwith sorrow for his friend. 

A touch on the arm made him remember that Captain Murray was waiting. 

"It's a pity, Frank, " he said; "but I did all I could. He's a bit toohigh-spirited, my lad. The best thing for him will be the army; thediscipline would do him good. "

Frank longed to speak, but he felt that his lips were sealed. 

"Well, we must not let a bit of hot temper spoil our dinner, my lad. Bythe way, what news of your father?"

"None, sir, " said the boy sadly, though the thought of what AndrewForbes had said made him wince. 

"Humph!" said Captain Murray, looking at the boy curiously. "There, Idon't want to pump you. Tell him next time you write that there will bea grand night at the mess when he comes back to his old place. Now, then, we shall be late. "

"Would you mind excusing me, sir?" said Frank. 

"Yes, very much. Nonsense! You must be quite hungry by now. "

"No: I was; but it's all gone. "

"Hah!" said the captain, gripping him by the shoulder; "you're yourfather's own boy, Frank. I like that, but I can't have it. Youaccepted the invitation, and I want you, my lad. Never mind AndrewForbes; he only requires time to cool down. He'll be ready to shakehands in the morning. Come, or we shall get in disgrace for beinglate. "

Frank was marched off to the messroom; but he felt as if every mouthfulwould choke him, and that he would have given anything to have gone andshared Andrew Forbes's confinement, even if he had only received hardwords for his pains. 

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. 

A NIGHT ALARM. 

It was very plain to Frank that the officers did not look upon hisoffence in a very serious light, for the younger men received him with acheer, and the elders with a smile, as they shook hands, while thedoctor came and clapped him on the shoulder. 

"Hallo, young fire-eater!" he cried; "when are you coming to stay?"

"To stay, sir?" said the boy, feeling puzzled. 

"Yes, with your commission. We've lost your father. We must have youto take his place. "

"No, sir, " said Frank, flushing. "I don't want to take my father'splace. I want to see him back in it. "

"Well said!" cried the colonel; "what we all want. But get to be a bitmore of a man, and then coax the Prince to give you a commission. Ithink we can make room for Robert Gowan's son in the corps, gentlemen?"

There was a chorus of assent at this; and the colonel went on:

"Come and sit by me, my lad. We can find a chair for you and yourguest, Murray, at this end. Why, you're not fit for a page, my lad;they want soft, smooth, girlish fellows for that sort of thing. A youngfirebrand like you, ready to whip out his sword and use it, is the stufffor a soldier. "

Frank wished the old officer would hold his tongue, and not drawattention to him, for every one at the table was listening, and CaptainMurray sat smiling with grim satisfaction. But the colonel went on:

"Very glad to see you here this evening, my boy. Why, I hear that youare quite a favourite with the Prince. "

"It does not seem like it, sir, " said Frank, who was beginning to feelirritated. "I am a prisoner. "

There was a laugh at this, which ran rippling down the table. 

"Not bad quarters for a prisoner, eh, gentlemen?" said the colonel. "Pooh! my lad, you are only under arrest; and we are very glad you are, for it gives us the opportunity of having the company of Robert Gowan'sson. "

Frank flushed with pleasure to find how warmly his father's name wasreceived; and the colonel went on:

"Don't you trouble your head about being under arrest, boy. The Princewas obliged to have you marched off. It wouldn't do for him to haveevery young spark drawing and getting up a fight in the Palace. By theway, what was the quarrel about? You struck young Forbes?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Well, of course he would draw upon you; but how came you to strikehim?"

The boy hesitated; but the colonel's keen eyes were fixed upon him sosteadfastly, that he felt that he must speak and clear himself of thesuspicion of being a mere quarrelsome schoolboy, and he said firmly:

"He said insulting things about my father, sir. " There was a chorus ofapproval at this; and as soon as there was silence, the colonel lookedsmilingly round the table:

"I think we might forgive this desperate young culprit for committingthat heinous offence, gentlemen. What do you say?"

There was a merry laugh at this; and the colonel turned to the lad. 

"We all forgive you, Mr Gowan. It is unanimous. Now, I think we are alittle hard upon you; so pray go on with your dinner. "

"I don't think his arrest will last long, sir, " said Captain Murray, after a while. 

"Pooh! No: I'm afraid not, " said the colonel; "and we shall lose ouryoung friend's company. The Prince is a good soldier himself, even ifhe is a German. Gowan will hear no more of it, I should say; and Idon't want to raise his hopes unduly, but on the strength of thisrising, when we want all good supporters of his Majesty in their places, I should say that the occasion will be made one for sending word toCaptain Sir Robert Gowan to come back to his company. "

Frank flushed again, and looked at Captain Murray, who smiled andnodded. 

"By the way, Murray, " said the colonel, "why did you not bring the otheryoung desperado to dinner?" The captain shrugged his shoulders. "A bitsulky, " he said. "Feels himself ill-used. "

"Oh!" ejaculated the colonel; and seeing Frank's troubled face, hechanged the conversation, beginning to talk about the news of a risingin the north, where certain officers were reported to have landed, andwhere the Pretender, James Francis, was expected to place himself attheir head, and march for London. 

"A foolish, mad project, I say, gentlemen, " exclaimed the colonel; "andwhatever my principles may have been, I am a staunch servant of hisMajesty King George the First, and the enemy of all who try and disturbthe peace of the realm. "

A burst of applause followed these words; and the conversation becamegeneral, giving Frank the opportunity for thinking over the colonel'swords, and of what a triumph it would be for his father to return andtake up his old position. 

"Poor old Drew!" he said to himself, with a sigh. "What would he thinkif he heard them talking about its being a mad project?"

Then he went on thinking about how miserable his old companion must bein the guardroom, watched by sentries; and as he kept on eating forform's sake, every mouthful seemed to go against him, and he wished thedinner was over. For, in addition to these thoughts, others terriblypainful would keep troubling him, the place being full of sad memories. He recalled that he was sitting in the very seat occupied by the Germanbaron upon that unlucky evening; and the whole scene of the angryencounter came vividly back, even to the words that were spoken. Thenatural sequence to this was his being called by Andrew Forbes in thedull grey of the early morning to go and witness that terrible swordfight in the Park; and he could hardly repress a shudder as he seemed tosee the German's blade flashing and playing about his father's breast, till the two thrusts were delivered, one of which nearly brought thebaron's career to a close. 

Nothing could have been kinder than the treatment the young guestreceived from the officers; but nothing could have been more painful tothe lad, and again and again he wished himself away as the dinnerdragged its slow length along, and he sat there feeling lonely, occupiedtoward the end almost entirely with thoughts of his father, Andrew'sfalse charge about him being generally uppermost, and raising theindignant colour to his cheeks. 

"I wonder where he is now, " he thought, "and what he is doing?"

Then once more about what delight his mother would feel if the colonel'sideas came to pass, and Sir Robert came back in triumph. 

"Oh, it's too good to be true, " thought the boy; but he clung to thehope all the same. 

The only time when he was relieved from the pressure of his sad thoughtswas when the conversation around grew animated respecting theprobabilities of the country being devastated by civil war; but eventhen it made his heart ache on Andrew Forbes's account, as he heard thequiet contempt with which the elder officers treated the Pretender'sprospects, the colonel especially speaking strongly on the subject. 

"No, " he said, "England will never rise in favour of such a monarch asthat. It is a mad business, that will never win support. The poorfellow had better settle down quietly to his life in France. The reignof the Stuarts is quite at an end. "

"Poor old Drew, " thought Frank. "I wish he could have heard that; buthe would not have believed if he had. "

Then the officers went on talking of the possibility of their regimentbeing called upon for active service, and the boy could not help afeeling of wonder at the eager hopes they expressed of having to takepart in that which would probably result in several of those presentlosing their lives or being badly wounded. 

"I wonder whether I shall be as careless about my life when I amgrown-up and a soldier?" he thought. 

The regular dinner had long been over, and the members of the mess hadbeen sitting longer than usual, the probability of the regiment goinginto active service having supplied them with so much food fordiscussion that the hour was getting late, and the young guest hadseveral times over felt an intense longing to ask permission to leavethe table, his intention being to get Captain Murray to let him joinAndrew Forbes. But he felt that as a guest he could not do this, andmust wait till the colonel rose. 

He was thinking all this impatiently for the last time, feeling weariedout after so terribly exciting a day as he had passed through, when thecolonel and all present suddenly sprang to their feet; for a shot rangout from close at hand, followed by a loud, warning cry, as if from asentry; then, before any one could reach the door to run out and seewhat was wrong, there was another shot, and again another, followed by afaint and distant cry. 

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. 

A WATCH NIGHT. 

"What is it--an attack?"

"Quick, gentlemen!" cried the colonel; "every man to his quarters. "

He had hardly spoken before a bugle rang out; and as Frank was hurriedout with the rest into the courtyard, it was to see, by the dim light ofthe clouded moon and the feeble oil lamps, that the guard had turnedout, and the tramp of feet announced that the rest of the men gatheredfor the defence of the Palace and its occupants were rapidly hurryingout of their quarters, to form up in one or other of the yards. 

Frank felt that he was out of place; but in his interest and excitementhe followed Captain Murray like his shadow, and in very few minutes knewthat no attack had been made upon the Palace, but that the cause of thealarm was from within, and his heart sank like lead as the captain saidto him:

"Poor lad! He must be half crazy to do such a thing. Come with me. "

Frank followed him, and the next minute they met, coming from the gateon the Park side, a group of soldiers, marching with fixed bayonetstoward the guardroom, two of the men within bearing a stretcher, onwhich lay Andrew Forbes, apparently lifeless. For the lad had been madenough to make a dash for his liberty, in spite of knowing what wouldfollow, the result being that the sentry by the guardroom had challengedhim to stop, and as he ran on fired. This spread the alarm, and thesecond sentry toward the gate had followed his comrade's example as hecaught a glimpse of the flying figure, while the third sentry outsidethe gate, standing in full readiness, also caught sight of the lad as hedashed out and was running to reach the trees of the Park. 

This shot was either better aimed, or the unfortunate youth literallyleaped into the line of fire, for as the sentry drew trigger, just asthe lad passed between two of the trees, Drew uttered a sharp cry ofagony and fell headlong to the earth. 

"Poor lad! poor lad!" muttered Captain Murray; and he made a sign to thesoldiers not to interfere, as Frank pressed forward to catch hisfriend's hand. Then aloud, "Where is the doctor?"

"Here, of course, " said that gentleman sharply from just behind them. "Always am where I'm wanted, eh? Look sharp, and take him to theguardroom. "

"No, no--to my quarters, " said Captain Murray quickly. "Tut--tut--tut!What were they about to let him go?"

In a few minutes the wounded lad was lying on Captain Murray's bed, withthe colonel, Captain Murray, and two or three more of the officerspresent, and Frank by the bedside, for when the colonel said to the lad, "You had better go, " the doctor interfered, giving Frank a peculiar cockof the eye as he said, "No, don't send him away; he can help. "

Frank darted a grateful look at the surgeon, and prepared to busyhimself in undressing the sufferer. 

"No, no; don't do that now--only worry him. I can see what's wrong, andget at it. "

The position of the injury was plain enough to see from the blood on thelad's sleeve, and the doctor did not hesitate for a moment; but, takingout a keen knife from a little case in his pocket, he slit the sleevefrom cuff to shoulder, and then served the deeply stained shirt sleevethe same. 

"Dangerous?" said the colonel anxiously. "Pooh! no, " said the doctorcontemptuously. "Nice clean cut. Just as if it had been done with aknife, " as he examined the boy's thin, white left arm. "You ought togive that sentry a stripe, colonel, for his clever shooting. Hah! yes, clean cut for two inches, and then buried itself below the skin. Notenough powder, or it would have gone through instead of stopping inhere. No need for any probing or searching. Here we are. "

As he spoke he made a slight cut with his keen knife through the whiteskin, where a little lump of a bluish tint could be seen, pressed withhis thumbs on either side, and the bullet came out like a round buttonthrough a button-hole, and rolled on to the bed. 

"Better save that for him, Gowan, " said the doctor cheerfully. "He'lllike to keep it as a curiosity. Stopped its chance of festering andworrying him and making him feverish. Now we'll have just a stitch hereand a stitch there, and keep the lips of the wound together. "

As he spoke he took a needle and silk from his case, just as if he hadbrought them expecting that they would be wanted, took some lint fromone pocket, a roll of bandage from another, and in an incredibly shorttime had the wound bound up. 

"Likely to be serious?" said Captain Murray. 

"What, this, sir? Pooh! not much worse than a cut finger. Smart a bit. Poor, weak, girlish sort of a fellow; feeble pulse. Good thing he hadfainted, and didn't know what I was doing. Well, squire, how are you?"

Andrew Forbes lay perfectly still, ghastly pale, and with his eyesclosely shut, till the doctor pressed up first one lid and then theother, frowning slightly the while. 

"Can I get anything for you, doctor?" said Captain Murray. 

"Eh? Oh no! He'll be all right. Feels sick, and in a bit of pain. Let him lie there and go to sleep. "

"But he is fainting. Oughtn't you to give him something, or to bathehis face?"

"Look here!" cried the doctor testily, "I don't come interfering andcrying `Fours about, ' or `By your right, ' or anything of that kind, whenyou are at the head of your company, do I?"

"Of course not. "

"Then don't you interfere when I'm in command over one of my gang. I'vetold you he's all right. I ought to know. "

"Oh yes; let the doctor alone, Murray, " said the colonel. "There, I'mheartily glad that matters are no worse. Foolish fellow to attempt sucha wild trick. You will want a nurse for him, doctor. "

"Nurse! for that? Pooh! nonsense! I'm very glad he was so considerateas not to disturb me over my dinner. I shouldn't have liked that, Squire Gowan. Didn't do it out of spite because he was not asked todinner, did he?"

"Pish! no; he was asked, " said Captain Murray. "Yes; you wanted to saysomething, Gowan?"

"Only that I will have a mattress on the floor, sir, and stay with him. "

"Not necessary, boy, " said the doctor sharply. 

"Let him be with his friend, doctor, " said Captain Murray. 

"Friend, sir? I thought they were deadly enemies, trying hard to giveme a job this morning to fit their pieces together again. I don't wantto stop him from spoiling his night's rest if he likes; but if he stays, won't they begin barking and biting again?"

"Not much fear of that--eh, Frank? There, stay with your friend. I'min hopes that you will do him more good than the doctor. "

"Oh, very well, " said that gentleman. 

"Then you don't think there is anything to be alarmed about?" said Frankanxiously. 

"Pooh! no; not a bit more than if you had cut your finger with a sharpknife. Now, if the bullet had gone in there, or there, or there, orinto his thick young head, " said the doctor, making pokes at the lad'sbody as he lay on the bed, "we should have some excuse for beinganxious; but a boy who has had his arm scratched by a bullet! The ideais absurd. I say, colonel, are boys of any good whatever in the world?"

"Oh yes, some of them, " said the colonel, smiling and giving Frank akindly nod. "Good night, my lad. There will be no need for you to situp, I think. "

"Not a bit, Gowan, " said the doctor quietly. "Don't fidget, boy. He'llbe all right. "

Frank looked at him dubiously. 

"I mean it, my lad, " he said, in quite a different tone of voice. "Youmay trust me. Good night. "

He shook hands warmly with the boy, and all but Captain Murray left thechamber, talking about the scare that the shots had created in thePalace. 

"I hear they thought the Pretender had dropped in, " said the doctorjocosely. Then the door was shut, and the sound cut off. 

"I'll leave you now, Frank, my lad, " said Captain Murray. "Take one ofthe pillows, and lie down in the next room on the couch. There's anextra blanket at the foot of the bed. I will speak to my servant to beon the alert, and to come if you ring. Don't scruple to do so, if youthink there is the slightest need, and he will fetch the doctor at once. You will lie down?"

"If you think I may, " said Frank, as he walked with him to the door ofthe sitting-room, beyond earshot of the occupant of the bed. 

"I am sure you may, my boy. The doctor only confirmed my ownimpression, and I feel sure he would know at a glance. "

"But Drew seems quite insensible, sir. "

"Yes--seems, " said Captain Murray. "There, trust the doctor. I doimplicitly. I think he proved his knowledge in the way he saved BaronSteinberg's life. Good night. You will have to be locked in; but thesentry will have the key, and you can communicate with him as well asring, so you need not feel lonely. There, once more, good night. "

The captain passed out, and Frank caught sight of a tall sentinel on thelanding before the door was closed and locked, the boy standing pale andthoughtful for some moments, listening to the retiring steps of hisfather's old friend, before crossing the room, and entering the chamber, which looked dim and solemn by the light of the two candles upon thedressing table. He took up one of these, and went to the bedside, tostand gazing down at Andrew's drawn face and bandaged arm, his brownhair lying loose upon the pillow, and making his face look the whiter bycontrast. 

"In much pain, Drew?" he said softly; but there was no reply. 

"Can I do anything for you?"

Still no reply, and the impression gathered strength in the boy's mindthat his companion could hear what he said but felt too bitter to reply. 

This idea grew so strong, that at last he said gently:

"Don't be angry with me, Drew. It is very sad and unfortunate, and Iwant to try and help you bear it patiently. Would you like me to doanything for you? Talk to you--read to you; or would you like me towrite to your father, and tell him of what has happened?"

But, say what he would, Andrew Forbes made no sign, and lay perfectlystill--so still, that in his anxiety Frank stretched out his hand totouch the boy's forehead and hands, which were of a pleasanttemperature. 

"He is too much put out to speak, " thought Frank; "and I don't wonder. He must feel cruelly disappointed at his failure to escape; but I'm gladhe has not got away; for it would have been horrible for him to havegone and joined the poor foolish enthusiasts who have landed in thenorth. "

He stood gazing sadly down at the wounded lad for some minutes, and thensoftly took the extra pillow and blanket from the bed, carried them tothe little couch in the next room, returned for the candles, and, afterholding them over the patient for a few minutes, he went back quietly tothe sitting-room, placed them on the table, took a book, and sat down toread. 

He sat down to read, but he hardly read a line, for the scenes of thepast twenty-four hours came between his eyes and the print, and at theend of a quarter of an hour he wearily pushed the book aside, took upone of the candles, and looked in the chamber to see how Andrew appearedto be. 

Apparently he had not moved; but now, as the boy was going to ask himagain if he could do anything for him, he heard the breath coming andgoing as if he were sleeping calmly; and feeling that this was the verybest thing that could happen to him, he went softly back to his seat, and once more drew the book to his side. 

But no; the most interesting work ever written would not have taken hisattention, and he sat listening for the breathing in the next room, thento the movements of the sentry outside as he moved from time to time, changing feet, or taking a step or two up and down as far as the size ofthe landing would allow. Then came a weary yawn, and the clock chimedand struck twelve, while, before it had finished, the sounds of otherclocks striking became mingled with it, and Frank listened to thestrange jangle, one which he might have heard hundreds of times, butwhich had never impressed him so before. 

At last silence, broken only by the pacings of other sentries; and oncemore came from the landing a weary yawn, which was infectious, for inspite of his troubles Frank yawned too, and felt startled. 

"I can't be sleepy, " he said to himself; "who could at such a time?"And to prove to himself that such a thing was impossible, and show histhorough wakefulness, he rose, and once more walked into the chamber, looked at the wounded lad, apparently sleeping calmly, and returned tohis seat to read. 

And now it suddenly dawned upon him that, in spite of his desire to bethoroughly wakeful, nature was showing him that he could not go throughall the past excitement without feeling the effects, for, as he bentfirmly over his book to read, he found himself suddenly readingsomething else--some strange, confused matter about the house in QueenAnne Street, and the broken door. 

Then he started up perfectly wakeful, after nodding so low that his facetouched the book. 

"How absurd!" he muttered; and he rose and walked up and down the room. The sentry heard him, and began to pace the landing. 

Frank returned to his seat, looked at the book, and went off instantlyfast asleep, and almost immediately woke up again with a start. 

"Oh, this won't do, " he muttered. "I can't--I won't sleep. "

The next minute he was fast, but again he woke up with a start. 

"It's of no use, " he muttered; "I must give way to it for a few minutes. I'll lie down, and perhaps that will take it off, and I shall be quiteright for the rest of the night. "

Very unwillingly, but of necessity, for he felt that he was almostasleep as he moved about, he rose, took up the blanket from the couch, threw it round him like a cloak, punched up the pillow, and lay down. 

"There!" he said to himself; "that's it. I don't feel so sleepy thisway; it's resting oneself by lying down. I believe I could read now, and know what I am reading. How ridiculous it makes one feel to be sohorribly sleepy! Some people, they say, can lie down and determine towake up in an hour, or two hours, or just when they like. Well, I'd dothat--I mean I'd try to do that--if I were going to sleep; but I won'tsleep. I'll lie here resting for a bit, and then get up again, and goand see how Drew is. It would be brutal to go off soundly, with himlying in that state. How quiet it all seems when one is lying down!It's as if one could hear better. Yes, I can hear Drew breathing quiteplain; and how that sentry does keep on yawning! Sentries must get verysleepy sometimes when on duty in the night, and it's a terribly severepunishment for one who does sleep at his post. Well, I'm a sentry at mypost to watch over poor Drew, and I should deserve to be very severelypunished if I slept; not that I should be punished, except by my ownconscience. "

He lay perfectly wakeful now, looking at the candles, which both wantedsnuffing badly, and making up his mind to snuff them; but he beganthinking of his father, then wondering once more where he could be, andfeeling proud of the way in which the officers talked about him. 

"If the King would only pardon him!" he thought, "how--I must get up andsnuff those candles; if I don't, that great black, mushroom-like bit ofburnt wick will be tumbling off and burning in the grease, and be whatthey call a thief in the candle. How it does grow bigger and bigger!"

And it did grow bigger and bigger, and fell into the tiny cup of moltengrease--for in those days the King's officers were not supplied with waxcandles for their rooms--and it did form a thief, and made the candlegutter down, while the other slowly burned away into the socket, andmade a very unpleasant odour in the room, as first one and then theother rose and fell with a wanton-looking, dancing flame, which finallydropped down and rose no more, sending up a tiny column of smokeinstead. 

Then the sentry was relieved, and so was Frank, for, utterly worn out, he was sleeping heavily, with nature hard at work repairing the waste ofthe day, and so soundly that he did not know of the reverse ofcircumstances, and that Andrew Forbes had risen to enter the outer room, and look in, even coming close to his side, as if to see why it was hedid not keep watch over him and come and see him from time to time. 

History perhaps was repeating itself: the mountain would not go toMahomet, so Mahomet had to go to the mountain. 

CHAPTER THIRTY. 

A STRANGE AWAKENING. 

There is not much room in a bird's head for brains; but it has plenty ofthinking power all the same, and one of the first things a bird thinksout is when he is safe or when he is in danger. As a consequence ofthis, we have at the present day quite a colony of that shyest of wildbirds, the one which will puzzle the owner of a gun to get withinrange--the wood-pigeon, calmly settled down in Saint James's Park, andfeeding upon the grass, not many yards away from the thousands of busyor loitering Londoners going to and fro across the enclosure, which thebirds have found out is sacred to bird-dom, a place where no gun is everfired save on festival days, and though the guns then are big andmanipulated by artillerymen, the charges fired are only blank. 

But Saint James's Park from its earliest enclosure was always a placefor birds--even the name survives on one side of the walk devoted byCharles the Second to his birdcages, where choice specimens were kept;so that a hundred and eighty years ago, when the country was much closerto the old Palace than it is now, there was nothing surprising in the_chink_, _chink_ of the blackbird and the loud musical song of thrushand lark awakening a sleeper there somewhere about sunrise. And to aboy who loved the country sights and sounds, and whose happiest days hadbeen spent in sunny Hampshire, it was very pleasant to lie there in ahalf-roused, half-dreamy state listening to the bird notes floating inupon the cool air through an open window, even if the lark's note didcome from a cage whose occupant fluttered its wings and pretended to flyas it gazed upward from where it rested upon a freshly cut turf. 

The sweet notes set Frank Gowan thinking of the broad marshy fields downby the river, bordered with sedge, reed, and butter-bur, where the clearwaters raced along, and the trout could be seen waiting for thebreakfast swept down by the stream--where the marsh marigolds studdedthe banks with their golden chalices, the purple loosestrife grew inbrilliant beds of colour, and the creamy meadow-sweet perfumed themorning air. Far more delightful to him than any palace, more musicalthan the choicest military band, it all sent a restful sense of joythrough his frame, the more invigorating that the window was wide, andthe odour of the burned-down candles had passed away. 

He lay imbibing the sweet sounds and freshness through ear and nostril;but for a time his eyes remained fast closed. Then, at a loud thrillingburst from the lark's cage in the courtyard, both eyes opened, and helay staring up at the whitewashed ceiling, covered with cracks, andlooking like the map of Nowhere in Wonderland. For the lark sang verysweetly to charm the wished-for mate, which never came, and Frank smiledand gradually lowered his eyes so that they were fixed upon theuncurtained window till the lark finished its lay. 

Then, and then only, did he begin to think in the way a boy muses whenhis senses grow more and more awake. First of all he began to wonderwhy it was that the window was wide-open--not that it mattered, for theair was very cool and sweet; then why it was his bedroom looked sostrange; then why it was that the blanket was close up to his facewithout the sheet; and, lastly, he sat up feeling that horrible sense ofdepression which comes over us like a cloud when there has been troubleon the previous day--trouble which has been forgotten. 

For a moment or two he felt that he must be dreaming. But no, he wasdressed, this was Captain Murray's room, there was the door open leadinginto the chamber where Andrew Forbes lay, and yes--Then it all came withcrushing force--he lay wounded after that mad attempt to escape, whilethe friend who had offered to sit with him and watch had calmly laindown and gone to sleep. 

"Oh, it is monstrous!" panted the boy, as he threw the blanket aside, and stepped softly, and trembling with excitement, toward the chamber. For now the dread came that something might have happened during thenight, in despite of the doctor's calm way of treating the injury. 

The idea was so terrible that, as he reached the door, he stopped short, and turned a ghastly white, not daring to look in. But recalling nowthat he had heard his friend's breathing quite plainly over-night, helistened with every nerve on the strain. Not a sound, till the larkburst forth again. 

He hesitated no longer, but, full of shame and self-reproach for thatwhich he could not help, he stepped softly into the room, and then stoodstill, staring hard at the bed, and at a blood-stained handkerchieflying where it had been thrown upon the floor. 

For a few moments the lad did not stir--he was perfectly stunned; andthen he began to look slowly round the room for an explanation. 

The bed was without tenant. Had Captain Murray, or some other officer, come with a guard while he slept and taken the prisoner away?

Then the truth came like a flash:--

The window in the next room--it was open!

He darted back and ran to the window to thrust out his head and lookdown. Yes, it was easy enough; he could himself have got out, hung byhis hands, and dropped upon the pavement, which would not have beenabove eight feet from the soles of his boots as he hung. 

But the wound! How could a lad who was badly wounded in the arm manageto perform such a feat?

He must have been half wild, delirious from fever, to have done such athing. No. 

Fresh thoughts came fast now. It stood to reason that if Drew had beenhalf wild with delirium he must have been roused; and he now recalledhow coolly the doctor had taken the injury, and Captain Murray'shalf-contemptuous manner, which he had thought unfeeling. Then, too, itwas strange that Drew should have lain as he did, with his eyes tightlyclosed, just as if he were perfectly insensible, and never making theslightest sign when he had spoken to him. 

For a few minutes Frank battled with the notion; but it grew strongerand stronger, and at last he was convinced. 

"Then he was shamming, " he muttered indignantly, "pretending to be worsethan he really was, so as to throw people off their guard, and then tryagain to escape. "

Once more he tried to prove himself to be in the wrong and thoroughlyunjust to the wounded lad; but facts are stubborn things, and one afterthe other they rose up, trifles in themselves, but gaining strength asthe array increased, and at last a bitter feeling of anger filled theboy's breast, as he felt perfectly convinced of the truth that Drew hadlain there waiting till he was asleep, and then, in spite of his wound, had crept out of the window, dropped, and gone. 

But how could he? The sentries had stopped him before; why did they notdo so at the second attempt?

And besides, there was the sentry just outside the door. Why had not heheard?

Frank went to the window again, and looked out, to find that it was notdeemed necessary to place a guard over the guardroom and the officers'quarters, save that there was one man at the main doorway, and this wasbeyond an angle from where he stood, while the next sentries were in thecourtyard to his left, and the stable-yard, to his right. So that, covered by the darkness, it was comparatively an easy task to drop downunnoticed, though afterwards it was quite a different thing. 

"Then he has gone!" said Frank softly; and he shrank away from thewindow, to stand thinking about how the lad could have managed to getaway unseen by the sentries. 

Thoughts came faster than ever; and he, as it were, put himself in hiscompanion's position, and unconsciously enacted almost exactly what hadtaken place. For Frank mentally went through what he would have doneunder the circumstances if he had been a prisoner who wished to getaway. 

He would have waited till all was still, and when the sentry at the doorwas pacing up and down, and his footsteps on the stone landing wouldhelp to dull any noise he made, he would slip out of the window, drop onto his toes, and then go down on all fours, and creep along close to thewall beneath the windows, right for the piazza-like place, and alongbeneath the arches, making not for either of the entrance gates, but forthe private garden. There he would be stopped by the wall; but therewas a corner there with a set of iron spikes pointing downward to keeppeople from climbing over, but which to an active lad offered goodfoot-and hand-hold, by means of which he felt that he could easily getto the top. From there he could drop down, go right across the gardento the outer wall, which divided it from the Park, and get on thatsomewhere by the help of one of the trees. Once on the top, he couldchoose his place, and crawl to it like a cat. Then all he had to do wasto lower himself by his hands, and drop down, to be free to walkstraight away, and take refuge with his friends. 

"Oh, I could get out as easily as possible, if I wanted to, " mutteredFrank. "Poor Drew! what's to become of him now?"

Frank stood thinking still, and saw it all more and more plainly. Drewwould know where his father was, and go and join him. And then?

Frank shuddered, for he seemed to see ruin and misery, and thedestruction of all prospects for his friend; and, in spite of theindignation he felt against him for his deceit, his heart softened, andhe muttered, as he turned to go once more into the bed-chamber:

"Poor old Drew! I did like him so much, after all. "

As the boy entered the bedroom something caught his eye on the dressingtable, and he looked at it wonderingly. It was the book he had beenreading in the other room; the book, he knew, was there on the tablewhen he lay down. Could he have taken it into the bed-chamber? No, hewas sure he had not. Besides, there was a pen laid upon it, and it wasopen at the fly-leaf. Frank panted with excitement, for there, writtenin his friend's hand, were the words:

 "_Good-bye, old Frank. We'll shake hands some day, when I come back in triumph. I can't forget you, though we did fall out so much. You'll be wiser some day. I can't write more; my wound hurts so much. I'm going to escape. If they shoot me, never mind; I shall have died like a man, crying, `God save King James_!'

 "_Drew F_. "

The tears rose to Frank's eyes, and he did not feel ashamed of them, ashe closed the book and thrust it into his pocket. 

"Poor old Drew!" he said softly; "he believes he is doing right, and itis, after all, what his father taught him. My father taught medifferently, so we can't agree. "

What should he do? He must speak out, and it could make no differencenow, for Drew must be safe away. He did not like to summon the sentry, and he shrank too, for he felt that he might be accused of aiding in theescape; but while he was thinking he heard steps crossing the open spacein front, and glancing through the chamber window, he saw Captain Murrayand the doctor coming toward the place. 

The next minute their steps were on the stairs, the sentry challenged, the key rattled in the door, and the doctor entered first, to sayjocularly as Frank advanced from the chamber:

"Morning, Gowan. Wounded man's not dead, I hope. "

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. 

IN MORE HOT WATER. 

Frank gazed sharply at the doctor, but remained silent, his countenancebeing so fixed and strange that Captain Murray took alarm. 

"Hang it, Frank lad, what's the matter? Why don't you speak?"

He did not wait to hear the boy's answer, but rushed at once into hisbed-chamber and returned directly. 

"Here, what is the meaning of this?" he cried. "Where is young Forbes?"

"Gone, sir, " said Frank, finding his voice. 

"Gone? What do you mean?"

"I sat up watching him till I could not keep my eyes open. Then I laydown, and when I awoke this morning the window was open, and he hadescaped. "

"Impossible!" cried Captain Murray angrily. 

"Humph! I don't know so much about that, Murray, " said the doctor, after indulging in a grunt. "The young rascal was gammoning us lastnight, pretending to be so bad. "

"But there was no deceit about the wound. "

"Not a bit, man; but he was making far more fuss about it than was real. It was only a clean cut, especially where I divided the skin and letout the ball. By George! though, the young rascal could bear a bit ofpain. "

"But do you mean to tell me that he could escape alone with a wound likethat to disable his arm?"

"Oh yes. It would hurt him terribly; but a lad with plenty of couragewould grin and bear that, and get away all the same. I'm glad of it. "

"What! Glad the prisoner has escaped?"

"Oh, I don't mean that, " said the doctor. "I mean glad he had so muchstuff in him. It was a clever bit of acting, and shows that he musthave the nerve of a strong man. I beg his pardon, for last night Ithought him as weak as a girl for making so much fuss over a merescratch. It was all sham, that insensibility. I knew in a moment--youremember I said so to you when we went away. "

The captain nodded. 

"But I thought it was the weak, vain, young coxcomb making believe so asto pose as a hero who was suffering horribly. "

"But once more, " cried Captain Murray warmly, "do you mean to tell methat, with one arm disabled, that boy could have managed to escape fromthe window without help?"

"To be sure I do. Give him a pretty good sharp, cutting pain while hewas using his arm. Did you hear him cry out, Gowan?"

"No, sir, " said Frank sharply; and he turned angrily upon the captain:"You said something very harsh about Drew Forbes not being able to getaway without help. You don't think I helped him to get away?"

"Yes, I do, boy, " said the captain, with soldierly bluntness. "I thinkyou must have known he wanted to escape, and that you helped him to getout of the window; and I consider it a miserably contemptible return forthe kindness of your father's old friend. "

"It is not true, Captain Murray, " cried Frank hotly. "You have no rightto doubt my word. Doctor, I assure you I did not know till I woke thismorning, when I was utterly astonished. "

"And ran to the door, and gave notice to the sentry, " said CaptainMurray coldly. 

"No, I did not do that. I see now that I ought to have done so, and Iwas hesitating about it when you both came. But I had only just foundit out then. "

"And I suppose I shall be called to account for letting him go, " saidthe captain bitterly. "Why didn't you go with him? Were you afraid?"

"Oh, come, come, Murray, " cried the doctor reproachfully; "don't talk soto the boy. He's speaking the truth, I'll vouch for it. Afraid? RobGowan's boy afraid? Pooh! he's made of the wrong sort of stuff. "

"Yes, sir, " cried the boy, in a voice hoarse with emotion, "I wasafraid, --not last night, for I did not know he was going; but when hebegged and prayed of me to run away with him, and join the people risingfor the Pretender, I was afraid to go and disgrace my mother andfather--and myself. "

"Well done! well said, Frank, my lad!" cried the doctor, taking him byone hand to begin patting him on the back. "That's a knock down foryou, Murray. Now, sir, you've got to apologise to our young friendhere--beg his pardon like a man. "

"If I have misjudged him, I beg his pardon humbly--like a man, " saidCaptain Murray coldly. "I hope I have; but I cannot help thinking thathe must have been aware of his companion's flight. Mr Gowan, yourparole is at an end, sir. You will keep closely to these rooms. "

"Bah!" cried the doctor; "why don't you say you are going to have himlocked up in the black hole. Murray, I'm ashamed of you. It's bile, sir, bile, and I must give you a dose. "

"I am going now, doctor, " said the captain coldly. 

"Which means I am to come away, if I don't want to be locked up too. Very well, I have nothing to do here. There, shake hands, Frank. Don'tyou mind all this. He believes this now; but he'll soon see that he iswrong, and come back and shake hands. Your father knew how to choosehis friends when he chose Captain Murray. He's angry, and, more thanthat, he's hurt, because he thinks you have deceived him; but you havenot, my lad. Doctors can see much farther into a fellow than a soldiercan, and both of your windows are as wide-open and clear as crystal. There, it will be all right. "

He gave the boy's shoulder a good, warm, friendly grip, and followed thecaptain out of the room. The door was locked, some orders were given tothe sentry, Frank heard the descending steps, and after standing gazinghard at the closed door for some minutes he dropped into the chair bythe table, the one in which he had had such a struggle to keep awake. Then he placed his arms before him, and let his head go down upon them, feeling hot, bitter, and indignant against Captain Murray, and as if hewere the most unhappy personage in the whole world. 

A quarter of an hour must have passed before he started up again with aproud look in his eyes. 

"Let him--let everybody think so if they like, " he said aloud. "I don'tcare. She'll believe me, I know she will. Oh! if I could only go toher and tell her; but I can't. No, " he cried, in an exultant tone; "sheknows me better and I know she'll come to me. "

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. 

A BIG WIGGING. 

"I won't show that I mind, " thought Frank; and in a matter-of-fact wayhe went into the bedroom, and made quite a spiteful use of the captain'sdressing table and washstand, removing all traces of having passed thenight in his clothes, and he had just ended and changed his shoes, whichhad been brought there, when the outer door was unlocked, and thecaptain's servant came in to tidy up the place. 

The servant was ready to talk; but Frank was in no talking humour, andwent and stood looking out of the window till the man had gone, when theboy came away, and began to imitate Andrew Forbes's caged-animal-likewalk up and down the room, in which health-giving exercise to a prisonerhe was still occupied when there were more steps below--the tramp ofsoldiers, the guard was changed, and Frank felt a strong desire to lookout of the window to see if another sentry was placed there; but he felttoo proud. It would be weak and boyish, he thought; so he began walkingup and down again, till once more the door was unlocked, and thecaptain's servant entered, bearing a breakfast tray, and left again. 

"Just as if I could eat breakfast after going through all this!" he saidsadly. "I'm sure I can't eat a bit. " But after a few minutes, when hetried, he found that he could, and became so absorbed in the meal andhis thoughts that he blushed like a girl with shame to see what aclearance he had made. 

The tray was fetched away, and the morning passed slowly in theexpectation that Lady Gowan would come; but midday had arrived withoutso much as a message, and Frank's heart was sinking again, when he oncemore heard steps, and upon the door being opened, Captain Murrayappeared. 

"He has come to say he believes me, " thought the boy, as his heartleapt; but it sank again upon his meeting his visitor's eyes, for thecaptain looked more stern and cold than ever, and his mannercommunicated itself to the boy. 

"You will come with me, Gowan, " said the captain sternly. 

"Where to?" was upon the boy's lips; but he bit the words back, andswallowed them. He would not have spoken them and humbled himself thenfor anything, and rising and taking his hat, he walked out and acrossthe courtyard, wondering where he was being taken, for he had halfexpected that it was to the guardroom to be imprisoned more closely. But a minute showed him that the growing resentment was unnecessary, forhe was not apparently to submit to that indignity; and now the bloodbegan to flush up into his temples, for he grasped without having had toask where his destination was to be. 

In fact, the captain marched him to the foot of the great staircase, past the guard, and into the long anteroom, where he spoke to one of theattendants, who went straight to the door at the end leading into thePrince's audience chamber. 

And now for a few moments the captain's manner changed, and he bent hishead down to whisper hastily:

"The Prince has sent for you, boy, to question you himself. ForHeaven's sake speak out frankly the simple truth. I cannot tell you howmuch depends upon it. Recollect this: your mother's future is at stake, and--"

The attendant reappeared, came to him, and said respectfully:

"His Royal Highness will see you at once. "

There was no time for the captain to say more--no opportunity offeredfor Frank to make any indignant retort concerning the truth. For thecurtain was held back, the door opened, and Captain Murray led the wayin, slowly followed by his prisoner, who advanced firmly enough towardwhere the Prince sat, his Royal Highness turning his eyes upon him atonce with a most portentous frown. 

"Well, sir, " he said at once, "so I find that I have fresh bad news ofyou. You are beginning early in life. Not content with what haspassed, you have now turned traitor. "

The Prince's looks, if correctly read, seemed to intimate that heexpected the boy to drop on his knees and piteously cry for pardon; butto the surprise of both present he cried indignantly:

"It is not true, your Royal Highness. "

"Eh? What, sir? How dare you speak to me like this?" cried the Prince. "I have heard everything about this morning's and last night'sbusiness, and I find that I have been showing kindness to a young viperof a traitor, who is in direct communication with the enemy, and playingthe spy on all my movements so as to send news. "

"It is not true, your Highness!" cried the boy warmly. "You have beendeceived. Just as if I would do such a thing as that!"

"Do you mean to pretend that this young Forbes, your friend andcompanion, is not in correspondence with the enemy?"

"No, your Royal Highness, " said the lad sadly. 

"You knew it?"

"Yes. "

"Then, as my servant, why did you not inform me, sir?"

"Because I was your servant, sir, and not a spy, " said the boy proudly. 

"Very fine language, upon my honour!" cried the Prince. "But you arefriends with him; and last night, after his first failure, you helpedhim to escape. "

"I did not, sir!" cried the boy passionately. 

"Words, words, sir, " said the Prince; "even your friend here, CaptainMurray, feels that you did. "

"And it is most unjust of him, sir!" cried the boy. 

"Don't speak so bluntly to me, " said the Prince sternly. "Now attend. You say you did not help him?"

"Yes, your Royal Highness. "

"Mind this. I know all the circumstances. Give me some proof that youknew nothing of his escape. "

"I can't, sir, " cried the boy passionately. "I was asleep, and when Iwoke he was gone. "

"Weak, weak, sir. Now look here; you say you are my servant, and wantme to believe in you. Be quite open with me; tell me all you know, andfor your mother's sake I will deal leniently with you. What do you knowabout this rising and the enemy's plans?"

"Nothing, your Highness. "

"What! and you were hand and glove with these people. That wretched boymust have escaped to go straight to his father and acquaint him witheverything he knows. What reason have I to think you would not do thesame?"

"I!" cried the boy indignantly; "I could not do such a thing. Ah!" hecried, with a look of joy, making his white face flush and growanimated. "Your Royal Highness asked me for some proof;" and he luggedat something in his pocket, with which, as he let his hands fall, onehad come in contact. 

"What have you there, sir?"

"A book, your Highness, " panted the boy; "but it won't come out. Hah!that's it. Look, look! I found that on the table when I woke thismorning. See what he has written here. "

Frank was thinking nothing about royalty or court etiquette in hisexcitement. He dragged out the book, opened the cover, went close up tothe Prince, and banged it down before him, pointing to the words, whichthe Prince took and read before turning his fierce gaze upon the lad'sglowing face. 

"There!" cried the boy, "that proves it. You must see now, sir. Hecheated me. I thought he was very bad. But you see he was well enoughto go. That shows how he wanted me to join him, and I wouldn't. Oh, don't say you can't see!"

"Yes, I can see, " said the Prince, without taking his eyes off him. "Did you know of this, Captain Murray?"

"I? No, your Royal Highness. It is fresh to me. "

"Read. "

Captain Murray took the book, read the scrap of writing, and, forgettingthe Prince's presence, he held out his hands to his brother-officer'sson. 

"Oh, Frank, my boy!" he cried, "forgive me for doubting your word. "

"Oh yes, I forgive you!" cried the lad, seizing and clinging to hishands. "I knew you'd find out the truth. I don't mind now. "

"Humph!" ejaculated the Prince, looking on gravely, but with his facesoftening a little. "The boy's honest enough, sir. But you occupy avery curious position, young gentleman, a very curious position, andeverything naturally looked very black against you. "

"Did it, your Highness? Yes, I suppose so. "

"Then you had been quarrelling with that wretched young traitor aboutjoining the--the enemy?" said the Prince. 

Frank winced at "wretched young traitor"; but he answered firmly:

"Yes, sir; we were always quarrelling about it, but I hoped to get himto think right at last. "

"And failed, eh?" said the Prince, with a smile. 

"Yes, sir. "

"And pray, was it about this business that you fought out yonder?"

"It had something to do with it, sir, " said Frank, flushing up. "Hesaid--"

Frank stopped short, looking sadly confused, and grew more so as hefound the questioner had fixed his eyes, full now of suspicion, uponhim. 

"Well, what did he say, sir?"

Frank was silent, and hung his head. 

"Do you hear me, sir?"

"Must I speak, Captain Murray?" said the boy appealingly. 

"Yes, the simple truth. "

"He said, your Royal Highness, that my father had joined the enemy, andwas a general in the rebel army, and I struck him for daring to uttersuch a lie--and then we fought. "

"Why?" said the Prince sternly, "for telling you the truth?"

"The truth, sir!" cried the boy indignantly. "Don't say you believethat of my father, sir. There is not a more faithful officer in theKing's service. "

"Your father is not in the King's service, but holds a high command withthe rebels, boy. "

"No, sir, no!" cried the lad passionately; "it is not true. " At thatmoment, when he had not heard the rustling of a dress, a soft hand waslaid upon Frank's shoulder, and, turning sharply, he saw that it was thePrincess who had approached and now looked pityingly in his face, andthen turned to the Prince. 

"Don't be angry with him, " she said gently; "it is very brave of him tospeak like this, and terrible for him, poor boy, to know the truth. "

"No, no, your Highness, it is not true!" cried Frank wildly; and hecaught and kissed, and then clung to the Princess's hand. 

"My poor boy!" she said tenderly. 

"No, no; don't you believe it, madam!" he cried. "It is not--it can'tbe true. Some enemy has told you this. "

"No, " said the Princess gently, "no enemy, my boy. It was told me byone who knows too well. I had it from your mother's lips. "

Frank gazed at her blankly, and his eyes then grew full of reproach, asthey seemed to say, "How can you, who are her friend, believe such athing?"

"There boy, " said the Prince, interposing; "come here. "

Frank turned to him, and his eyes flashed. 

"Don't look like that, " continued the Prince. "I am not angry with younow. I believe you, and I like your brave, honest way in defending yourfather. But you see how all this is true. "

"No!" cried the boy firmly. "Your Royal Highness and the Princess havebeen deceived. Some one has brought a lying report to my poor mother, who ought to have been the last to believe it. I cannot and will notthink it is true. "

"Very well, " said the Prince quietly. "You can go on believing that itis not. I wish, my boy, I could. There, you can go back to yourduties. You will not go over to the enemy, I see. "

The boy looked at the speaker as if about to make some angry speech; buthis emotions strangled him, and, forgetting all etiquette, he turned andhurried from the room. 

"Look after him, Captain Murray, " said the Prince quietly; "true gold istoo valuable to be lost. "

The captain bowed, and hurried into the antechamber; but Frank had gone, one of the gentlemen in attendance saying that he had rushed through thechamber as if he had been half mad, and leaped down the stairs three orfour at a time. 

"Gone straight to his mother, " thought the captain; and he went on downthe staircase, frowning and sad, for he was sick at heart about the newshe had that morning learned of his old friend. 

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. 

FRANK'S FAITH. 

Frank went straight to his mother's apartments. 

"I don't think my lady is well enough to see you to-day, sir, " said herwoman. 

"Tell her I must see her, " cried the boy passionately; and a few minutesafter, looking very white and strange, Lady Gowan entered the room. 

She looked inquiringly in the boy's eyes, and a faint sob escaped herlips as she caught him in her arms, kissed him passionately, and thenlaid her head upon his shoulder, while for some minutes she sobbed soviolently that the boy dared not speak, but tried to caress her intocalmness once more. 

"Oh, Frank, Frank!" she sighed at last; and he held her more tightly tohis breast. 

"I was obliged to come, mother, " he said; "and now that I have come Idare not speak. "

"Yes, speak, dear, speak; say anything to me now, " she sighed. 

"But it seems so cruel, mother, while you are ill like this!"

"Speak, dear, speak. I ought to have sent to you before; but I was soheart-broken, so cowardly and weak, that I dared not confess it even tomy own child. "

"Mother, " cried the boy passionately, "it is not true. "

Lady Gowan heaved a piteous sigh. 

"The Prince sent for me, thinking I helped Drew Forbes to escape. "

"Ah! He has escaped?"

"Yes, gone to join his father with the rebels; but the Prince believesme now. He asked me first if I were going to join my father with therebels too. "

"And--and--what did you say?" faltered Lady Gowan. 

"I?" cried the boy proudly. "I told him that he had no more faithfulservant living than my father, though he was dismissed from the Guards. "

Lady Gowan uttered a weary sigh once more. 

"Oh, mother!" cried Frank, "shame on you to believe this miserable lie!How can you be so weak!"

"Ah, Frank, Frank, Frank!" she sighed wearily. 

"It seems too horrible to imagine that you could so readily think such athing. The Prince believes it, and the Princess too, and she said thenews came from you. "

"Yes, dear, I was obliged to tell her. Frank, my boy, I knew it when Isaw you last--when I was in such trouble, and spoke so angrily to you. I could not, oh, I could not tell you then. "

"No. I am very glad you could not, mother, " said the boy firmly. "Youcannot, and you shall not, believe it. Can't you see that it isimpossible? There, don't speak to me; don't think about it any more. You are weak and ill, and that makes you ready to think things which youwould laugh at as absurd at another time. Oh, I wish I had said what Iought to have said to the Prince, " he cried excitedly. "I did not thinkof it then. "

"What--what would you have said?" cried Lady Gowan, raising her pale, drawn face to gaze in her son's eyes. 

"That he could soon prove my father's truth by sending him orders tocome back and take his place in the regiment. "

"Ah!" sighed Lady Gowan; and she let her head fall once more upon herson's shoulder. 

Frank started impatiently. 

"Oh!" he cried, "and you will go on believing it. There, I can't beangry with you now, you are so ill; but try and believe the truth, mother. Father is the King's servant, and he would not--he could notbreak his oaths. There, you will see the truth when you get better; andyou must, you must get better now. It was this news which made you soill?"

"Yes, my boy, yes, " she said, in a faint whisper; "and I blame myselffor not going with him. If I had been by his side, he would not havechanged. "

"He has not changed, mother, " said the lad firmly. "But how did you getthe news?"

"It came through Andrew Forbes's father--Mr George Selby, as he callshimself now. He sent it to--to one of the gentlemen in the Palace. Imust not mention names. "

"Ha--ha--ha!" laughed Frank scornfully. "I thought it was somemiserable, hatched-up lie. Mr George Selby has been playing acontemptible, spy-like part, trying to gain over people in the Palace. He and his party tried to get me to join them. "

"You, my boy?" cried Lady Gowan, in wonder; "and you did not tell me. "

"No; conspiracies are not for women to know anything about, " said theboy, talking grandly. "But I did tell my father. "

"Yes; and what did he say?"

"Almost nothing. I forget now, mother. Treated it with contempt. There, I must go now. "

"Back under arrest?"

"Arrest? No, dear. I am the Prince's page, and he knows now that I amno rebel. I am to go back to my duties as if nothing had happened. "

Lady Gowan uttered a sigh full of relief. 

"But I'm going to prove first of all how terribly wrong you have been, mother, in believing this miserable scandal. It is because my poorfather is down, and everybody is ready to trample upon him. But we'llshow them yet. You must be brave, mother, and look and speak as if nowyou did not believe a word about the story. Do as I will do: go back toyour place with the Princess, and hold up your head proudly. "

"No, no, no, my boy; I have been praying the Princess to let us both goaway from the court, for that our position here was horrible. "

"Ah! and what did she say?" cried Frank excitedly. 

"That it was impossible; that we were not to blame, and that I was moreher friend than ever. "

"Oh, I do love the Princess!" cried the boy enthusiastically. "There, you see, she does not at heart believe the miserable tale. No, youshall not go away, mother; it would be like owning that it was true. Bebrave and good and full of faith. Father said I was to defend you whilehe was away, and I'm going to--against yourself while you are weak andill. Oh, what lots of things you've taught me about trying to be braveand upright and true; now I'm going to try and show you that I will. Wecannot leave the court; it would be dishonouring father. Good-bye tillto-morrow. Oh, mother, how old all this makes me feel. "

"My own boy!"

"Yes, but I don't feel a bit like a boy now, mother. It's just as if Ihad been here for years. There, once more kiss me--good-bye!"

"My darling! But what are you going to do?"

"Something to show you that father has been slandered. Good-bye!To-morrow I shall make you laugh for joy. "

And tearing himself away from his mother's clinging arms, the boyhurried out, down the stairs, and out into the courtyard, full of theplan now in his mind. 

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. 

A STIRRING ENCOUNTER. 

More sentries were about the Palace, and the guardroom was full ofsoldiers, but no one interfered with the Prince's page, who wentstraight to the gates, and without the slightest attempt at concealmentwalked across to the banks of the canal, along by its edge to the end, passed round, and made for his father's house. 

Twice over he saw men whom his ready imagination suggested as belongingto the corps of spies who kept the comers and goers from the Palaceunder observation, but he would not notice them. 

"Let them watch if they like. I'm doing something I'm proud of, and notashamed. "

In this spirit he made for the house, and reached it, to find that thebattered door had been replaced by a new one, which looked bright andglistening in its coats of fresh paint. 

He knocked and rang boldly, and as he waited he glanced carelessly toright and left, to see that one of the men he had passed in the Park hadfollowed, and was sauntering slowly along in his direction. 

"How miserably ashamed of himself a fellow like that must feel!" hethought. 

At that moment there was the rattling of a chain inside, and the doorwas opened as far as the links would allow. 

"Oh, it's you, Master Francis, " said the housekeeper, whose scared andtroubled face began to beam with a smile; and directly after he wasadmitted, and the door closed and fastened once more. 

Frank confined his words to friendly inquiries as to the old servant'shealth, and she hesitated after replying, as if expecting that he wouldbegin to question her; but he went on upstairs, and shut himself in thegloomy-looking room overlooking the Park. Then, obeying his firstimpulse, he walked to the window to throw back the shutters. 

"No. Wouldn't do, " he said to himself. "There is sure to be some onewatching the house from the back, and it would show them that I camestraight here for some particular reason. I can manage in the dark. "

It was not quite dark to one who well knew the place; and with beatingheart he went across to the picture, and, familiar now with theingenious mechanism, he pressed the fastening, and then stood still, with the picture turned so that the closet stood open before him. 

He hesitated, for though he was so full of hope that he felt quitecertain that there would be some communication from his father, he didnot like to put it to the test for fear of disappointment. That hefelt--after his brave defence of his father, and his belief that hewould be able to find a letter which would sweep away all doubt andprove to his mother that she was wrong--would be almost unbearable, andso he waited for quite two minutes. 

"Oh, what a coward I am, " he muttered at last; and running his handalong the bottom shelf, he felt for the letter he hoped to find. 

His heart sank, for there was nothing there, and he hesitated once more, feeling that half his chance was gone. But there was the upper shelf, and once more with beating heart he began to pass his hand over it veryslowly, and the next moment he touched a packet, which began to glidealong the shelf. Then he started back, thrust to the canvas-coveredpanel and fastened it almost in one movement, turning as he did so toface the door, which was slowly opened, and a dimly seen figure steppedforward, to stand gazing in. 

"Why didn't I lock the door after me?" thought the boy, who was halfwild now with excitement and dread, as he tried to make out by the fewrays which struck across from the shutters who the man could be. 

That was too hard; but it seemed from the attitude that his back washalf turned to him, and that he was trying to see what was going on inthe room. 

The next moment he had proof that he was right, for the dimly seenfigure softly turned and gazed straight at where he stood. 

"He must see me, " thought the boy; and in his excitement he felt that hemust take the aggressive, and began the attack. 

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he cried sharply. "A thief?"

"Oh no, young gentleman, " said a voice. "What are you doing here?"

For answer Frank stepped quickly to the window and threw open one of theshutters, the light flashing in and showing him the face of the man hehad passed in the Park, the man who had followed him into the street, and seen him enter the house. 

"Oh, I see, " said Frank contemptuously, --"a spy. "

"A gentleman in the King's service, boy, holding his Majesty's warrant, and doing his duty. Why have you come here?"

"Why have I come to my own house? Go back out of here directly. Howcame the housekeeper to let you in?"

"She did not, my good boy, " said the man quietly; "and she did not putup the chain. "

"Then how did you get in, sir?"

"With my key of course--into _your_ house. "

"Oh, this is insufferable!" panted Frank. "While my father is away itis my house. I am his representative, and I don't believe his Majestywould warrant a miserable spy to use false keys to get into people'shomes. "

"You have a sharp tongue for a boy, " said the man coolly; "but I mustknow why you have come, all the same. "

"Watch and spy, and find out then, you miserable, contemptible hound!"cried Frank in a rage--with the man for coming, and with himself for nothaving taken better precautions. For it was maddening. There was theletter waiting for him; he had touched it; and now he could not get atit for this man, who would not let him quit his sight, and perhaps afterhe was gone would search until he found it. 

The man looked hard at him for a few moments, but not menacingly. Itwas in the fashion of a man who was accustomed to be snubbed, bullied, and otherwise insulted, but did not mind these things in the least, solong as he could achieve his ends. He made Frank turn cold, though, with dread, for he began to look round the room, noticing everything inturn in search of the reason for the boy's visit, for naturally he feltcertain that there was some special reason, and he meant to find it out. 

Frank stood watching him for a while, and then, as the man did not walkstraight at the picture, and begin to try if he could find anythingbehind, the boy began to pluck up courage, and, drawing a long breath byway of preparation, he said, as he stepped forward:

"Now, sir, I don't feel disposed to leave you here while I go upstairsto my old room, so have the goodness to leave. "

"When you do, Mr Gowan--not before. "

"What!" cried Frank fiercely; and he clapped his hand to where his swordshould hang, but it had not been returned to him by the officer whoarrested him, and he coloured with rage and annoyance. 

"Ah, you have no sword, " said the man coolly. "Just as well, for youwould not be able to use it. At the least attempt at violence, one callfrom this whistle would bring help to the back and front of the house, and you would be arrested. I presume you do not want to be in prisonagain?"

"What do you know about my being arrested?"

"There is not much that I do not know, " said the man, with a laugh. "Itis of no use to kick, my good sir. I only wish you to understand thatviolence will do no good. "

"Bah!" ejaculated Frank angrily; and he walked straight out of the roomon to the landing, trying to bang the door behind him; but the mancaught it, and came out quickly and quietly after him. 

"What shall I do?" thought Frank; and for a moment he was disposed todescend and leave the house, but he felt that he could not without firstgaining possession of the letter. It would be impossible to bear thestrain, especially with the accompaniment of the dread of its beingdiscovered and placing information which might prove disastrous to hisfather in the hands of a spy. 

The next minute his mind was made up. He determined to weary out theman if he could, while he on his part went up to his own old bedroom, which he used to occupy when he came home from school while his fatherand mother were in town. He would go up to it, and sit down and read ifhe could. The man should not come in there, of that he was determined;and he felt that he must risk the fellow's searching the place they hadleft. 

"For if he has a key, he could come in at any time, and hunt about theplace. But how did he get a key to fit the door?"

Frank thought for a few moments, and then it was plain enough: he hadobtained it from the people who made the new door to the house. 

"I must get the letter before I go, " thought the boy now, "so as to sendword to father that he must not venture to come again, because the placeis so closely watched; and I must tell him of this piece of miserableintrusion. "

He took a few steps down, and the man followed; but before the landingwas reached, he turned sharply round, and began to ascend rapidly. 

The man still followed close to his elbow, and in this way the secondfloor was reached, where the door of Frank's bedroom lay a little to theright. 

The last time he was up there he was in company with his father in thedark, on the night of the escape, and a faint thrill of excitement ranthrough him as he recalled all that had passed. 

He turned sharply to the spy, and said indignantly:

"Look here, fellow, this is my bedroom;" and he pointed to the door. 

"Yes, I know, " said the man coolly; "but it's a long time since youslept there. "

"And what's that to you? Go down. You are not coming in there. "

"I have the warrant of his Majesty's Minister to go where I please onsecret service, sir, " said the man blandly; "and you, as one of thePrince's household, dare not try to stop me. "

"Oh!" ejaculated the boy fiercely; and seizing the door knob he turnedit quickly, meaning to rush in, bang the door in the fellow's face, andlock him out. 

"Let him do his worst, " thought Frank, who was now beside himself withrage; but he did not carry out his plan, for the door did not yield. Itwas locked, and as he rattled the knob his fingers rubbed against thehandle of the key. 

Perhaps it was the friction against the steel which sent a flash ofintelligence to his brain; but whether or no the flash darted there, andlit up that which the moment before was very dark with something akin todespair. 

He rattled the handle to and fro several times; and uttering anejaculation full of anger, he threw himself heavily against the door, but it did not of course yield. 

"Pooh!" he cried; and letting go of the door knob, he seized the handleof the key, and dragged and dragged at it, making it grate and rattleamong the wards, each moment growing more excited, and ended bysnatching his hand away, and stamping furiously on the floor. 

"Don't stand staring there, idiot!" he cried, with a flash of anger. "Can't you see that key won't turn?"

"Not if you drag at it like that, " said the man, smiling blandly. "Thatis good for locksmiths, not for locks;" and stepping calmly forward, hetook hold of the key, turned it slowly so that the bolt shot back with asharp snap; then, turning the knob, he opened the door, walked into thelittle bedroom, and stood back a little, holding it so that there wasroom for Frank to pass in. 

"Bah!" ejaculated Frank savagely; and he stepped in, raising his righthand, and making a quick menacing gesture, as if to strike the man aheavy blow across the face. 

Taken thoroughly by surprise by Frank's feint, the spy made a step back, when, quick as thought, the boy seized the handle, drew it to him, banging the door and turning the key, and stood panting outside, hisenemy shut safely within. 

"Here, open this door!" cried the man; and he began to thump heavilyupon the panels. "Quick! before I break it down. "

"Break it down, " cried the boy tauntingly. "How clever for a spy towalk into a trap like that. "

There was a moment's silence, and then--as if long coming--somethingwhich resembled the echo of Frank's angry stamp on the floor was heard, followed by a heavy bump. The man had thrown himself against the door. 

"He won't break out in a hurry, " muttered the boy; and he ran to thestaircase, and in familiar old fashion seized the rail, threw himselfhalf over, and let himself slide down the polished mahogany to the firstfloor, where he rushed in, closed and locked the door of the room, hurried excitedly to the picture door of the closet, the portrait of hisancestor seeming to his excited fancy to smile approval, and, as heapplied his hand to the fastening, he heard faintly a noise overhead. The next moment a chill ran through him, for the window of his bedroomhad evidently been thrown open, and a clear, shrill whistle twicerepeated rang out. 

"That means help, " thought Frank, and he hesitated; but it was now ornever, he felt, and opening the closet, he snatched the desired letterfrom the shelf, thrust it into his breast, and closed the closet oncemore. 

The whistle was sounded again, and a fresh thought assailed the boy. 

"They'll seize me, search me, and take the letter away. What shall Ido?"

He ran to the window in time to see a strange man climb the rails, anddrop into the garden, run toward the house, stoop down, and pick upsomething. 

"The key that opens the front door, " cried Frank in despair. "He musthave thrown it out. "

For a moment or two he stood helpless, unable to move; then, recallingthe fact that the man would have to run round to the front door, hedarted out of the room, bounded down the staircase, reached the halldoor, and with hands trembling from the great excitement in which hewas, he slipped the top and bottom bolts. 

"Hah!" he ejaculated; "the key won't open them. "

Then, darting to the top of the stairs leading down to the housekeeper'sroom, he ran almost into the old servant's arms. 

"Oh, Master Frank, was that you whistling, sir?" she cried. 

"No; that man upstairs. "

"What man upstairs, my dear?"

"Hush! Don't stop me. Have you a fire there?"

"Yes, my dear; it is very chilly down in that stone-floored room, that Iam obliged to have one lit. "

"That's right. Go away; I want to be there alone. And listen, Berry; Ihave bolted the front door. If any one knocks, don't go. "

"Oh, my dear, don't say people are coming to break it down again!"

"Never you mind if they are. Get out of my way. "

There was the rattling of a key faintly heard, and then _bang, bang, bang_, and the ringing of the bell. 

"They've come, " said Frank. "But never mind; I'll let them in beforethey break it. "

There was a faint squeal from the kitchen just then. 

"Oh!" cried the housekeeper wildly, "that girl will be going into fitsagain. "

"Let her, " said Frank. "Stop! Is the area door fastened?"

"Oh yes, my dear. I always keep that locked. "

Frank stopped to hear no more, but ran into the housekeeper's room, whose window, well-barred, looked up a green slope toward the Park. 

There was a folding screen standing near the fire, a luxury affected bythe old housekeeper, who used it to ward off draughts, which camethrough the window sashes, and the boy opened this a little to make surethat he was not seen by any one who might come and stare in. Then, standing in its shelter, he tore the letter from his breast pocket, broke the seal, opened it with trembling fingers, and began to read, with eyes beginning to dilate and a choking sensation rising in hisbreast. 

For it was true, then--the charge was correct. Andrew Forbes's wordshad not been an insult, the Prince had told the simple fact. 

"Oh, the shame of it!" panted the boy, as he read and re-read the wordscouched in the most affectionate strain, telling him not to think ill ofthe father who loved him dearly, and begged of him to remember thatfather's position, hopeless of being able to return from his exile, knowing that his life was forfeit, treated as if he were an enemy. Sothat in despair he had yielded to the pressure put upon him by oldfriends, and joined them in the bold attempt to place the crown upon thehead of the rightful heir. 

"Whatever happens, my boy, I leave your mother to you as your care. "

Frank's hands were cold and his forehead wet as he read these lastwords, and the affectionate, loving way in which his father concludedhis letter, the last information being that he was in England, and hadgone north to join friends who would shortly be marching on London. 

"Burn this, the last letter I shall be able to leave for you, unless wetriumph. Then we shall meet again. "

"`Burn this, '" said Frank, in a strange, husky whisper. "Yes, I meantto burn this;" and in a curious, unemotional way, looking white and wanthe while, he dropped the letter in the fire, and stood watching it asit blazed up till the flame drew near the great red wax seal bearing hisfather's crest. This melted till the crest was blurred out, the wax ranand blazed, and in a few moments there was only a black, crumpled patchof tinder, over and about which a host of tiny sparks seemed to bechasing each other till all was soft and grey. 

"I needn't have burned it, " said the boy, in a low, pained voice. "Whatdoes it matter now?"

He stood looking old and strange as he spoke. It did not seem a boy'sface turned to the fire, but that of an effeminate young man in somegreat suffering, as he said again, in a voice which startled him andmade him shiver:

"What does it matter now?"

He turned his head and listened then, before stooping to take up thepoker and scatter the grey patch of ashes that still showed letters andwords; for he appeared to have suddenly awakened to the fact that thethundering of the knocker was still going on and the bell pealing. 

"Hah!" he sighed; "I must go back and tell her I was wrong. Poormother, what she must feel!"

He moved slowly toward the door of the room, and then encountered thehousekeeper standing at the foot of the stairs. 

"Oh, my dear, my dear!" she moaned; "what shall we do? I heard themsend for hammers to break in again. "

"They will not, Berry, " he said quietly. "I will go up and let themin. "

"Oh, my dear!" cried the woman, forgetting the noise at the front door. "Don't speak like that. What is the matter? You're white as ashes. "

"Matter?" he said, looking at the old woman wistfully. "Matter--ashes--yes, ashes. I can't tell you, Berry. I'm ill. I feel as if--as if--"

He did not finish the sentence aloud, but to himself, and he said:

"As if my father I loved so were dead. " He walked quietly upstairs nowinto the hall, where there was the buzzing of voices coming in from thestreet, where people were collecting, and he distinctly heard some onesay:

"Here they come. "

It did not seem to him to matter who was coming; and he walked quietlyto the door, shot back the bolts, and threw it open, for half a dozenmen to make a dash forward to enter; but the boy stood firmly in theopening, with his face flushing once more, and looking more like his oldself. "Well, " he cried haughtily. "What is it?"

"Mr Bagot--Mr Bagot! Where is he?"

"Bagot? Do you mean the spy who insulted me?" At the word "spy" therewas an angry groan from the gathering crowd, and the men began to pressforward. 

"The fellow insulted me, " said Frank loudly, "and I locked him in one ofthe upstairs rooms. "

"Hooray!" came from the crowd. "Well done, youngster!" And then therewas a menacing hooting. "Go and fetch him down, " continued Frank. "Yah! Spies!" came from the mob, and the men on the step gladly obeyedthe order to go upstairs, and rushed into the house. 

"Shall we fetch 'em out, sir, " cried a big, burly-looking fellow, "andtake and pitch 'em in the river?"

"No; leave the miserable wretches alone, " said the boy haughtily. "Don't touch them, if they go quietly away. "

"Hooray!" shouted the crowd; and then all waited till Bagot camehurriedly down, white with anger, followed by his men, and seized Frankby the shoulder. 

"You're my prisoner, sir. "

"Stand off!" cried the lad fiercely; and he wrenched himself free, justas the mob, headed by the burly man, dashed forward. 

"You put a finger on him again, and we'll hang the lot of you to thenearest lamps!" roared the man fiercely; and the party crowded together, while Frank seized the opportunity to close the door. 

"Look here, fellow, " he said haughtily. "I am going back to the Palace. You can follow, and ask if you are to arrest me there. " Then turningto the crowd:

"Thank you, all of you; but they will not dare to touch me, and if youwish me well don't hurt these men. "

"Ur-r-ur!" growled the crowd. 

"Look here, you, " cried Frank, turning to the leader of the little riot. "I ask you to see that no harm is done to them. "

"Then they had better run for it, squire, " cried the man. "If they'rehere in a minute, I won't answer for what happens. "

"Then let your lads see me safely back to my quarters, " said the boy, asa happy thought; and starting off, the crowd followed him cheering tothe Palace gates, where they were stopped by the sentries; and theycheered him loudly once more as he walked slowly by the soldiery. 

"Arrested again!" said Frank softly. "Well, if I can only go and seeher first, it does not matter now. "

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. 

FRANK ASKS LEAVE TO GO. 

"Yes, " said Lady Gowan sadly, after her meeting with her son, "it isterrible; but after all my teaching, telling you of your duty to beloyal to those whom we serve and who have been such friends to us, Icould not nerve myself to tell you the dreadful truth. You are right, my boy. More than ever now we are out of place here; we must go. "

"Yes, mother, " said the boy gravely, "we must go. "

"Let me read the letter, Frank. "

"Read it, mother? I have repeated every word. It wanted no learning. I knew it when I had read it once. "

"Yes; but I must read your father's letter to you myself. "

"How could I keep it?" he said, almost fiercely. "I expected to bearrested and searched. It is burned. "

Lady Gowan uttered a weary sigh, and clung to her boy's hand. 

"Going, dear?" she said; "so soon?"

"Yes, mother; I have so much to do. I can't stay now. Perhaps I shallbe a prisoner again after this business, and coming back here protectedby a riotous crowd. "

"No, no, dear; the Prince, however stern his father may be, is just, andhe will not punish you. "

"I don't know, " said the boy drearily. "I want to do something before Iam stopped;" and he hurried away, looking older and more careworn thanever, to go at once to the officers' quarters, intending to see CaptainMurray; but the first person he met was the doctor, who caught him bythe arm, and almost dragged him into his room. 

"Sit down there, " he cried sharply, as he scanned the boy with hissearching gaze. 

"Don't stop me, sir, please, " said Frank appealingly. "I am very busy. Do you want me?"

"No; but you look as if you want me. "

"No, sir--no. "

"But I say you do. Don't contradict me. Think I don't know what I'msaying? You do want me. A boy of your years has no business to looklike that. What have you been doing? Why, your pulse is gallopingnineteen to the dozen, and your head's as hot as fire. You've beeneating too much, you voracious young wolf. It's liver and bile. Allright, my fine fellow! Pill hydrarg, to-night, and to-morrow morning adelicious goblet before breakfast--sulph mag, tinct sennae, dittocalumba. That will set you right. "

Frank looked at him for a moment piteously, and then burst into astrange laugh. 

"Eh, hallo!" cried the doctor; "don't laugh in that maniacal way, boy. Have I got hold of the pig by the wrong tail? Bah! I mean the wrongtail by the pig. Nonsense! nonsense! I mean the wrong pig by--Oh, Isee now. Why, Frank, my boy, of course. Ah, poor lad! poor lad!Murray has been telling me. Well, it's a bad job, and I shouldn't havethought it of Rob Gowan. But there, I don't know: _humanum est errare_. Not so much erroring in it either. Circumstances alter cases, and Idare say that if I were kicked out of the army, and I had a chance to bemade chief surgeon to the forces of you know whom, I should accept thepost. "

The boy's head sank down upon his hands, and he did not seem to hear thedoctor's words. 

"Poor lad!" he continued; "it's a very sad affair, and I'm very sorryfor you. I always liked your father, and I never disliked you, which issaying a deal, for I hate boys as a rule. Confounded young monkeys, andno good whatever, except to get into mischief. There, I see now--oughtto have seen it with half an eye. There, there, there, my lad; don'ttake on about it. Cheer up! You're amongst friends who like you, andthe sun will come out again, even if it does get behind the black cloudssometimes. "

He patted the boy's shoulder, and stroked his back, meaning, oldbachelor as he was, to be very tender and fatherly; but it was clumsilydone, for the doctor had never served his time to playing at beingfather, and begun by practising on babies. Hence he only irritated theboy. 

"He talks to me and pats me as if I were a dog, " said Frank to himself;and he would have manifested his annoyance in some way to one who wasdoing his best, when fortunately there was a sharp rap at the door, anda familiar voice cried:

"May I come in, doctor?"

"No, sir, no. I'm particularly engaged. Oh, it's you, Murray!--Mindhis coming in, Gowan?"

"Oh no; I want to see him!" cried the boy, springing up. 

"Come in!" shouted the doctor. 

"You here, Frank?" said the captain, holding out his hands, in which theboy sadly placed his own, but withdrew them quickly. 

"Yes, of course he is, " said the doctor testily. "Came to see hisfriends. In trouble, and wants comforting. "

"Yes, " said Captain Murray quietly, as he laid his hand upon the boy'sshoulder. "Then you know the truth now, Frank?"

"Yes, sir, " said the boy humbly. "I was coming to apologise to you, when the doctor met me and drew me in here. "

"Yes; looked so ill. Thought I'd got a job to tinker him up; but heonly wants a bit of comforting, to show him he's amongst friends. "

"You were coming to do what, boy?" said the captain, as soon as he couldget in a word, --"apologise?"

"Yes, sir; I was very obstinate and rude to you. "

"Yes, thank goodness, my lad!" cried the captain, holding the boy byboth shoulders now, as he hung his head. "Look up. Apologise! Why, Frank, you made me feel very proud of my old friend's son. I alwaysliked you, boy; but never half so well as when you spoke out as you didto the Prince. So you know all now?"

"Yes, " said the boy bitterly. 

"How?"

"My father has written to me telling me it is true. "

"Hah! Well, it's a bad job, my lad; but we will not judge him. RobertGowan must have suffered bitterly, and been in despair of ever comingback, before he changed his colours. But we can't see why, and howthings are. I want no apology, Frank, only for you to come to me asyour father's old friend. "

Frank looked at him wonderingly. 

"Come with me, boy. "

Frank looked at him still, but his eyes were wistful now and full ofquestion. 

"I want you to come with me to the Prince. "

"Yes, sir, " said Frank gravely. "I want to beg for an audience before Igo. "

"Before you go, Frank?"

"Yes, sir. Of course we cannot stay here now. "

"Humph! Ah, yes, I see what you mean, " said the captain quietly. "Well, come. You are half a soldier, Frank, and the Prince is asoldier, I want you to come and speak out to him, and apologise as youdid to me--like a man. "

"Yes, sir, " replied Frank, "that is what I wished to do. "

"Then forward!" cried the captain. "Let's make our charge, even if weare repulsed. "

"Good-bye, and thank you, doctor, " said Frank. 

"What for? Pooh! nonsense, my lad; that's all right. And, I say, people generally come and see me when they want something, physic orplasters, or to have bullet holes stopped up, or arms and legs sewn onagain. Don't you wait for anything of that sort, boy; you comesometimes for a friendly bit of chat. "

Frank smiled gratefully, but shook his head as he followed CaptainMurray out into the stable-yard. 

"Come along, Frank; there's nothing like making a bold advance, andgetting a trouble over. We may not be able to get an audience with somany officers coming and going; but I'll send in my name. "

Frank followed him into the anteroom, the place looking strange to him, and seeming as if it were a year since he had been there last, a fancyassisted by the fact that some five-and-twenty officers, whose faceswere strange, stood waiting their turns when Captain Murray sent in hisname by a gentleman in attendance. 

But, bad as the prospect looked, they did not have long to wait, for, atthe end of about a quarter of an hour, the attendant came out, passingover all those who looked up eagerly ready to answer to their names, andwalked to where Captain Murray was seated talking in a low voice toFrank. 

"His Royal Highness will see you at once, gentlemen. "

Frank did not feel in the slightest degree nervous as he entered, butfollowed the captain with his head erect, ready to speak out and saythat for which he had come, when the Prince condescended to hear; but hetook no notice of the boy at first, raising his head at last from hiswriting, and saying:

"Well, Captain Murray, what news?"

"None, your Royal Highness, " said the soldier bluffly. "I have onlycome to bring Frank Gowan, your page, before you. "

"Eh? Oh yes. The boy who was so impudent, and told me I was no speakerof the truth. "

"I beg your Royal Highness's pardon. "

"And you ought, boy. What more have you to say?"

"That I was wrong, sir. I believed it could not be true. I have foundout since that it was as you said. "

"Hah! You ought always to believe what a royal personage says--eh, Murray?"

The captain bowed, and smiled grimly. 

"Don't agree with me, " said the Prince sharply. "Well, boy, you arevery sorry, eh?"

"Yes, your Royal Highness, I am very sorry, " said Frank firmly. "I knowbetter now, and I apologise to you. "

The Prince, moving himself round in his chair, frowning to hide afeeling of amusement, stared hard at the lad as if to look him down, andfrowned in all seriousness as he found the boy looked him full in theeyes without a quiver of the lid. 

"Humph! So you, my page, consider it your duty to come and apologise tome for doubting my word?"

"Yes, your Highness, and to ask your forgiveness. "

"And suppose I refuse to give it to so bold and impudent a boy, whatthen?" and he gazed hard once more in the lad's flushing face. 

"I should be very, very sorry, sir; for you and the Princess have beenvery good and kind to my poor mother and me. "

"Yes, yes, " said the Prince, "too kind, perhaps, to have such a returnas--"

He stopped short as he saw a spasm contract the boy's features. 

"But there, " he continued, "you are not to blame, and I do forgive you, boy. I liked the bold, brave way in which you showed your belief inyour father. "

Captain Murray darted a quick glance at his young companion, as much asto say, "I told you so. "

"Go on, my boy, as you have begun, and you will make a firm, strong, trustworthy man; and, goodness knows, we want them badly enough. There, I will not say any more--yes, I will one word, my boy. I am sorry thatyour father was not recalled some time back. He was a brave soldier, for whom I felt respect. "

Frank could bear no more, and he bent his head to conceal the workingsof his face. 

"There, take him away, Murray, and keep him under your eye. There'sgood stuff in the boy, and we must get him a commission as soon as he isold enough. "

"No, your Highness, " said Frank, recovering himself. 

"Eh? What?"

"I came to beg your Royal Highness's pardon, and to ask your permissionfor my mother and me to leave the royal service at once. We both feelthat it is not the place for us now. "

"Humph!" ejaculated the Prince, frowning; "and I think differently. Take him away, Murray; the boy is hurt--wounded now. --That will do, Gowan; go. No: I refuse absolutely. The Princess does not wish LadyGowan to leave; and _I_ want _you_. "

"There!" cried Captain Murray, as they crossed the courtyard on theirway back to the officers' quarters; "it is what I expected of thePrince. You can't leave us unless you run away, Frank; and you'veproved yourself too much of a gentleman for that. You see, everybodywants you here. "

Frank could not trust himself to speak, for he was, in spite of histroubles, some years short of manhood and manhood's strength. 

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. 

THE WORST NEWS. 

Next morning Frank rose in his old quarters, firmly determined to keepto his decision. It was very kind and generous of the Prince, he felt;but his position would be intolerable, and his mother would not be ableto bear an existence fraught with so much misery; and, full of theintention to see her and beg her to prevail on the Princess to let themleave, he waited his time. 

But it did not come that day. He had to return to his duties in thePrince's anteroom, and at such times as he was free he found that hismother was engaged with her royal mistress. 

The next day found him more determined than ever; but another, agreater, and more unexpected obstacle was in the way. He went to hismother's apartments, to find that, worn out with sorrow and anxiety, shehad taken to her bed, and the Princess's physician had seen her andordered complete rest, and that she should be kept free from everyanxiety. 

"How can I go now!" thought the boy; "and how can she be kept free fromanxiety!"

It was impossible in both cases, while with the latter every scrap ofnews would certainly be brought to her, for the Palace hummed with theexcitement of the troubles in the north; and as the day glided by therecame the news that the Earl of Mar had set up the standard of theStuarts in Scotland, and proclaimed Prince James King of Great Britain;but the Pretender himself remained in France, waiting for the promisedassistance of the French Government, which was slow in coming. 

Still the Scottish nobles worked hard in the Prince's cause, and bydegrees the Earl of Mar collected an army of ten thousand fighting men, including the staunch Highlanders, who readily assumed claymore andtarget at the gathering of the clans. 

It was over the English rising that Frank was the more deeplyinterested, and he eagerly hungered for every scrap of news which wasbrought to the Palace, Captain Murray hearing nearly everything, andreadily responding to the boy's questions, though he always shook hishead and protested that it would do harm and unsettle him. 

"You'd better shut up your ears, Frank lad, and go on with your duties, "he said one day. "But tell me first, what is the last news about LadyGowan?"

"Ill, very ill, " said the boy wearily. "All this is killing her. "

"Then the bad news ought to be kept from her. "

"Bad news!" gasped Frank. "Is it then so bad?"

"Of course; isn't it all bad?"

"Oh!" ejaculated the boy; "I thought there was something fresh--something terrible. But how can the news be kept from her? ThePrincess goes and sits with her every day, and then tells hereverything. She learns more than I do, and gets it sooner; but I can'tgo and ask her, for I always feel as if it were cruel and torturing herto make her speak about our great trouble while she is so ill. Now, tell me all you know. "

"It is not much, boy. The Duke of Argyle is busy; he is now appointedto the command of the King's forces in Scotland, and some troops arebeing landed from Ireland to join his clans. "

"Yes, yes; but in England?" cried the boy. "My father is not inScotland. It is about what is going on in England that I want to know. "

It was always the same, and by degrees, as the days went by, Franklearned that his father had, with other gentlemen, joined the Earl ofDerwentwater, and that they were threatening Newcastle. 

It seemed an age before the next tidings came, and Frank's heart sank, while those in the Palace were holding high festival, for thePretender's little army there had been beaten off, and was in retreatthrough Cumberland on the way to Lancashire. 

A little later came news that in the boy's secret heart made him rejoiceand brought gloom into the Palace. For it soon leaked out that thecounty militias had been assembled hastily to check the Pretender'sforces, but only to be put to flight and scattered in all directions. 

Then despatch after despatch reached the Palace from the north, allcontaining bad news. The rebels had marched on, carrying everythingbefore them till they neared Preston in triumph. 

"Then they'll go on increasing in strength, " whispered Frank, as he satwith Captain Murray on the evening of the receipt of that news, "andmarch right on to London!"

"Want them to?" said the captain drily. 

"Yes--no--no--yes--I don't know. "

"Nice loyal sort of a servant the Prince has got, " said the captain. 

"Don't talk to me like that, Captain Murray, " said the boy passionately. "I feel that I hate for the rebels to succeed; but how can I helpwishing my father success?"

"No, you cannot, " said the captain quietly. "But he will not succeed, my lad. He and the others are in command of a mere rabble ofundisciplined men, and before long on their march they will be met bysome of the King's forces sent to intercept them. "

"Yes, yes, " cried the boy, with his cheeks flushing, "and then?"

"What is likely to happen in spite of the training of the leaders? Theundrilled men cannot stand against regular troops, even if they areenthusiastic. No: disaster must come sooner or later, and then there isonly one chance for us, Frank. "

"For us? I thought you said that the King's troops would win. "

"Yes, and they will. I as a soldier feel that it must be so. We shallwin; but I say there is only one chance for us as friends--a quickescape for your father to the coast and taking refuge in France. Wemust not have him taken, Frank, come what may. "

"Thank you, Captain Murray, " said the boy, laying his hand on hisfriend's sleeve. "You have made me happier than I have felt for days. "

"And it sounds very disloyal, my boy; but I can't help my heart turningto my old friend to wish him safe out of the rout. "

"Then you think it will be a rout?" panted Frank. 

"It must be sooner or later. They may gain a few little advantages bysurprise, or the cowardice of the troops; but those successes can'tlast, and when the defeat comes it will be the greater, and mean acomplete end to a mad scheme. "

"But the Prince must be with them by this time, sir. "

"The Pretender? No; he is still in France without coming forward, andleaving the misguided men who would place him on the throne to beslaughtered for aught he seems to care. "

Captain Murray proved to be a true prophet, for he had spoken on thebasis of his experience of what properly trained men could do againsttroops hastily collected, and badly armed men whose discipline was ofthe rudest description. 

Sooner even than the captain had anticipated the news came in a despatchbrought from the north of England. The Pretender's forces, under LordsDerwentwater, Kenmuir, and Nithsdale, were encountered by the King'stroops; and before the two bodies joined battle a summons was sent tothe rebel army calling upon the men to lay down their arms or beattacked without mercy. 

The Pretender's generals tried to treat the summons to surrender withcontempt, laughed at it, and bade their followers to stand fast and thevictory would be theirs. But, in spite of the exhortations of theirofficers, the sight of the King's regular troops drawn up in battlearray proved too much for the raw forces. Probably they were weariedwith marching and the many difficulties they had had to encounter. Their enthusiasm leaked out, life seemed far preferable to death, andthey surrendered at discretion. 

There was feasting and rejoicing at Saint James's that night, when thenews came of the bloodless victory; while in one of the apartmentsmother and son were shut up alone in the agony of their misery anddespair, for whatever might be the fate of the common people of thePretender's army, the action of the King toward all who opposed him wasknown to be of merciless severity. The leaders of the rebellion couldexpect but one fate--death by the executioner. 

"But, mother, mother! oh, don't give way to despair like that, " criedFrank. "We have heard so little yet. Father would fight to the lastbefore he would fly; but when all was over he would be too clever forthe enemy, and escape in safety to the coast. "

"No, " said Lady Gowan, in tones which startled her son. "Your father, Frank, would never desert the men he had led. It would be to victory ordeath. It was not to victory they marched that day. "

"But his name is not mentioned in the despatch. "

"No, " said Lady Gowan sadly. "Nor is that of Colonel Forbes. "

"Ah!" cried Frank; "and poor Drew, he would be there. "

At last he was compelled to quit the poor, suffering woman; but beforegoing to his own chamber, he went over to the officers' quarters, to tryand see Captain Murray. 

There was a light in his room, and the sound of voices in earnestconversation; and Frank was turning back, to go and sit alone in hisdespair, when he recognised the doctor's tones, and he knocked andentered. 

The eager conversation stopped on the instant, as the two occupants ofthe room saw the boy's anxious, white face looking inquiringly from oneto the other. 

"Come in and sit down, " said Captain Murray, in a voice which told ofhis emotion; "sit down, my boy. "

Frank obeyed in silence, trying hard to read the captain's thoughts. 

"You have come from your mother?"

"Yes; she is very ill. "

"She has heard of the disaster, then?"

"Yes. The Princess went and broke it to her as gently as she could. "

"And she told you?"

"Yes; she sent for me as soon as she heard. "

"Poor lady!" said the captain. 

"Amen to that, " said the doctor huskily; and he pulled out hissnuff-box, and took three pinches in succession, making himself sneezeviolently as an excuse for taking out his great red-and-yellow silkhandkerchief and using it to a great extent. 

"Hah!" he said at last, as he looked across at Frank, with his eyesquite wet; "and poor old Robert Gowan! Rebel, they call him; but wehere, Frank, can only look upon him more as brother than friend. "

"But, " cried the boy passionately, "there is hope for him yet. He isnot taken, in spite of what my mother said. He would have escaped tothe coast, and made again for France. "

"What did your mother say?" asked Captain Murray, looking at the boyfixedly. 

"My mother say? That my father would never forsake the men whom he wasleading to victory or death. "

"Yes; she was right, Frank, my lad. He would never turn his back on hismen to save himself. "

"Of course not, till the day was hopelessly lost. "

"Not when the day was hopelessly lost, " said Captain Murray, so sternlythat Frank took alarm. 

"Why do you speak to me like that?" he cried, rising from his seat. "His name was not in the despatch. Ah! you have heard. There issomething worse behind. Oh, Captain Murray, don't say that he waskilled. "

"I say, " said that officer sadly, "it were better that he had beenkilled--that he had died leading his men, as a brave officer shoulddie. "

"Then he did not, " cried Frank, with a hoarse sigh of relief. 

"No, he escaped that. "

"And to liberty?"

"No, my boy, no, " said the doctor, uttering a groan. 

"But I tell you that his name was not in the despatch. He couldn't havebeen taken prisoner. "

There was silence in the room, and the candles for want of snuffing werevery dim. 

"Why don't you speak to me?" cried Frank passionately. "Am I such a boythat you treat me as a child?"

"My poor lad! You must know the truth, " said Captain Murray gently. "Your father's and Colonel Forbes's names are both in the despatch asprisoners. "

"No, no, no!" cried Frank wildly. "The Princess--"

"Kept the worst news back, to try and spare your poor mother pain. Itis as I always feared. "

"Then you are right, " moaned Frank; and he uttered a piteous cry. "Yes, it would have been better if he had died. "

For the headsman's axe seemed to be glimmering in the black darknessahead, and he shuddered as he recalled once more what he had seen onTemple Bar. 

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. 

UNDER THE DARK CLOUD. 

There was no waiting for news now. Despatch succeeded despatch rapidly, and the occupants of the Palace were made familiar with the proceedingsin the north; and as Frank heard more and more of the disastrous tidingshe was in agony, and at last announced to Captain Murray that he couldbear it all no longer. 

"I must go and join my father, " he said one day. "It is cruel andcowardly to stay here in the midst of all this luxury and rejoicing, while he is being dragged up to London like a criminal. "

"Have you told Lady Gowan of your intentions?" said the captain quietly. 

"Told her? No!" cried Frank excitedly. "Why, in her state it wouldhalf kill her. "

"And if you break away from here and go to join your father, it wouldquite kill her. "

Frank looked at him aghast, and the captain went on:

"We must practise common sense, Frank, and not act madly at a time likethis. "

"Is it to act madly to go and help one's father in his great trouble?"

"No; you must help him, but in the best way. "

"That is the best way, " said the boy hotly. 

"No. What would you do?"

"Go straight to him and try and make his lot more bearable. Think howglad he would be to see me. "

"Of course he would, and then he would blame you for leaving yourmother's side when she is sick and suffering. "

"But this is such a terrible time of need. I must go to him; but Iwanted to be straightforward and tell you first. "

"Good lad. "

"Think what a terrible position mine is, Captain Murray. "

"I do, boy, constantly; but I must, as your friend and your father's, look at the position sensibly. "

"Oh, you are so cold and calculating, when my father's life is atstake. "

"Yes. I don't want you to do anything that would injure him. "

"I--injure him!"

"Yes, boy. "

"But I only want to be by his side. "

"Well, to do that you would run away from here, for the Prince would notlet you go. "

"No, he will not. I asked him. "

"You did?"

"Yes, two days ago. "

"Then if you go without leave, you will make a good friend angry. "

"Perhaps so; but I cannot stay away. "

"You must, boy, for it would be injuring your father; and, look here, ifyou went, you could not get near the prisoners. Those who have them incharge would not let you pass. "

"But I would get a permission from the King. "

"Rubbish, boy! He would not listen to you. He might as a man be readyto pardon your father; but as King he would feel that he could not. No;I must speak plainly to you: his Majesty will deal sternly with theprisoners, to make an example for his enemies, and show them the follyof attempting to shake his position on the throne. "

"Oh, Captain Murray! Captain Murray!" cried the boy. 

"Look here, Frank lad. Your journey to meet the prisoners would be anutter waste of energy, and you would most likely miss them, for to avoidthe possibility of attempts at rescue their escort would probably takeall kinds of byways and be constantly changing their route. "

"But I should have tried to help my father, even if I failed. "

"Don't run the risk of failure, boy, " said the captain earnestly. "Ouronly hopes lie in the Prince and Princess. The Prince would, I feelsure, spare your father's life if he could, for the sake of his wife'sfriend. But he is not king, only a subject like ourselves, and he willbe governed by his father and his father's Ministers. Now you see thatyou must not alienate our only hope by doing rash things. "

Frank looked at him in despair. 

"Now do you see why I oppose you?"

"Yes, yes, " said the boy despondently. "Oh, how I wish I were wise!"

"There is only one way to grow wise, Frank: learn--think and calculatebefore you make a step. Now, look here, my boy. The Prince has plentyof good points in his character. He likes you; and he shall be appealedto through your mother and the Princess. Now, promise me that you willdo nothing rashly, and that you will give up this project. "

"Should I be right in giving it up?"

"Yes, " said the captain emphatically. 

"But what will my father think? I shall seem to be forsaking him in hisgreat trouble. "

"He will think you are doing your duty, and are trying hard to save hislife. Come, don't be down-hearted, for we are all at work. There isour regiment to count upon yet--the King's own Guards, who will, to aman, join in a prayer to his Majesty to spare the life of the mostpopular officer in the corps. "

"Ah! yes, " cried Frank. 

"I don't want even to hint at mutiny; but the King at a time like thiswould think twice before refusing the prayer of the best regiment in hisservice. "

"Oh, Captain Murray!" cried the lad excitedly. "I will promiseeverything. I will go by your advice. "

"That's right, my lad; my head is a little older than yours, you know. Now, go back to your duties, and let the Prince see that his page iswaiting hopefully and patiently to see how he will help him. Go to yourmother, too, all you can, and tell her, to cheer her up, that we are allhard at work, and that no stone shall be left unturned to save SirRobert's life. "

Frank caught the captain's hands in his, and stood holding them for afew moments before hurrying out of the room. 

Then more news came of each day's march, and of the slow approach of theprisoners--the leaders only, the rest being imprisoned in Cheshire andLancashire to await their fate. 

It was hard work, but Frank kept his word, trying to be more energeticthan ever over his duties, and finding that he was not passingunnoticed, for every morning the Prince gave him a quiet look ofrecognition, or a friendly nod, but never once spoke. 

The most painful part of his life in those days was in his visits to hismother. These were agony to him, feeling as he did more and more howutterly insignificant and helpless he was; but he had one satisfactionto keep him going and make him look forward longingly for the nextmeeting--paradoxical as it may sound--so as to suffer more agony anddespair, for he could plainly see that his mother clung to him now asher only stay, and that she was happiest when he was with her, andbegged and prayed of him to come back to her as soon as he possiblycould, now that she was so weak and ill. 

"I believe, my darling, " she whispered one evening, "that I should havedied if you had not been here. "

"Yes, my lad, " said the Princess's physician to him as well; "you mustbe with Lady Gowan as much as you can. Her illness is mental, and youcan do more for her now than I can. Ha--ha! I shall have to resign mypost to you. "

"Yes, " said the boy to himself, "Captain Murray is quite right;" and hewent straight to his friend's quarters, as he often did, to give him anaccount of his mother's state. 

"Yes, sir, " he said; "you were quite right: it would have killed her ifI had gone away. "

"Come, you are beginning to believe in me, Frank. Now I have some newsfor you. "

"About Drew Forbes?" cried Frank eagerly. 

"No; I have made all the inquiries I can, but I can hear nothing of thepoor fellow. His father is with yours; but the lad seems to havedropped out of sight, and I have my fears. "

"Oh, don't say that, " cried Frank excitedly; "he was so young. "

"Yes, " said the captain grimly; "but in a fight young and old run equalchances, while in the exposure and suffering of forced marches the youngand untried fare worse than the old and seasoned. Drew Forbes was aweak, girlish fellow, all brain and no muscle. I am in hopes, though, that he may have broken down, and be lying sick at some cottage orfarmhouse. "

"Hopes!" cried Frank. 

"Yes, he may get well with rest. Better than being well and strong, andon his way to suffer by the rope or axe. "

Frank shuddered. 

"Now then, " cried the captain sharply, to change the conversation; "youfound my advice good?"

"Yes, yes, " said Frank. 

"Then take some more. Look here, Frank; the doctor and I were talkingabout you last night, and he is growing very anxious. He said the bladewas wearing out the scabbard, and that you were making an old man ofyourself. "

"Not a young one yet, " said the boy, smiling sadly. 

"Never mind that. You'll grow old soon enough. He says what I think, that you never go out, and that you will break down. "

"Oh, absurd! I don't want exercise. "

For answer the captain clapped him on the shoulder, and twisted himround. 

"Look at your white face in the glass, my boy. Don't risk illness. Youwill want all your strength directly in the fight for life to come. Your father will, in all probability, reach London to-morrow. "

"Ah!" cried Frank excitedly. 

"Yes; we had news this morning by the messenger who brought the royaldespatches. The colonel had a brief letter. Get leave to go outto-morrow, and come with me. "

"Yes, where?"

"We'll try and meet the escort, and see your father, even if we cannotspeak. "

"Oh!" ejaculated Frank; and, utterly worn out with anxiety and want ofproper food, he reeled, a deathly feeling of sickness seized him, andhis eyes closed. 

When he opened them again he was lying upon the captain's couch, withhis temples and hair wet, and he looked wonderingly in the face of hisfather's friend. 

"Better?"

"Yes; what is it? Oh my head! the room's going round. "

"Drink, " said the captain. "That's better. It will soon go off. "

"But why did I turn like that?"

"From weakness, lad. Shall I send for the doctor?"

"No, no, " cried Frank, struggling up into a sitting position. "I'mbetter now. How stupid of me!"

"Nature telling you she has been neglected, my lad. You have not eatenmuch lately?"

"I couldn't. "

"Nor slept well?"

"Horribly. I could only lie and think. "

"And you have not been outside the walls?"

"No; I have felt ashamed to be seen, and as if people would look at meand say, `His father is one of the prisoners. '"

"All signs of weakness, as the doctor would say. Now you want to bestrong enough to go with me to-morrow--mounted?"

"Of course. "

"Then try and do something to make yourself fit. I shouldn't perhaps beable to catch you as I did just now if you fainted on horseback, and ina London crowd; for we should be under the wing of the troops sent tomeet the prisoners coming in. "

"I shall be all right, sir, " said the boy firmly. 

"Go and have a walk in the fresh air, then, now. "

"Must I?" said Frank dismally. 

"If you wish to go with me. "

"Where shall I go, then?"

"Anywhere; go and have a turn in the Park. "

"What, go and walk up and down there, where people may know me!"

"Yes, let them. Don't take any notice. Try and amuse yourself. Be aboy again, or a man if you like, and do as Charles the Second used todo: go and feed the ducks. Well, what's the matter? there's no harm infeeding ducks, is there?"

"Oh no, " said the boy confusedly; "I'll go;" and he hurried out. 

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. 

FEEDING THE DUCKS AGAIN. 

"Go and feed the ducks, " said Frank to himself, as he obtained somebiscuits, and, in his readiness to obey his elder's wishes, went slowlytoward the water-side; "how little he knows what a deal that means;"and, almost unconsciously, he strolled on down to the side of the canal, thinking of Mr George Selby and Drew, and of the various incidentsconnected with his walks out there, which, with the duel, seemed in hisdisturbed state of mind to have taken place years--instead of months--ago, when he was a boy. 

He went slowly on, forgetting all about the biscuits, till he noticedthat several of the water-fowl were swimming along, a few feet from thebank, and watching him with inquiring eyes. 

He stopped short, turned to face the water, which was sparkling brightlyin the sunshine, and taking a biscuit out of his capacious "salt-boxpocket, " he began to break it in little bits and throw them to thebirds. 

"Ah, what a deal has happened since we were here doing this that day, "thought the boy; and his mind went back to his first meeting with Drew'sfather, the invitation to the dinner, and the scene that evening in thetavern. 

"Please give me a bit, good gentleman, " said a whining voice at hiselbow. "I'm so hungry, please, sir. Arn't had nothing since yes'daymorning, sir. "

Frank turned sharply, to see that a ragged-looking street boy, whom hehad passed lying apparently asleep on the grass a few minutes before, was standing close by, hugging himself with his arms, and holding hisrags as if to keep them from slipping off his shoulders. He wore adismally battered cocked hat which was a size too large for him, andcame down to his ears over his closely cropped hair. His shirt wasdirty and ragged, and his breeches and shoes were of the mostdilapidated character, the latter showing, through the gaping orificesin front, his dirty, mud-encrusted toes. 

Frank saw all this at a glance; but the poor fellow's face took hisattention most, for it was pitiable, thin, and careworn, and would havebeen white but for the dirt with which it was smudged. 

Frank looked at him with sovereign contempt. 

"So hungry that you can't stoop down by the water's edge to wash yourfilthy face and hands, eh?"

"Wash, sir?" said the lad piteously; "what's the good? Don't matter forsuch as me. You don't know. "

"Miserable wretch!" thought Frank; "what a horribly degraded state for apoor fellow to be in. " Then aloud: "Here, which will you have--thebiscuit or this?"

He held out a coin that would have bought many biscuits in one hand, thebroken piece in the other. 

"Biscuit, please, gentleman, " whined the lad. "I am so hungry, youdon't know. "

"Take both, " said Frank; and they were snatched from his hands. 

"Oh, thank you, gentleman, " whined the lad, as some one passed. "Youdon't know what trouble is;" and he began to devour the biscuitravenously. 

"Not know what trouble is!" cried Frank scornfully. "Do you think fineclothes will keep that out? Oh, I don't know that I wouldn't changeplaces with you, after all. "

"Poor old laddie!" said the youth, looking at him in a peculiar way, andwith his voice seeming changed by the biscuit in his mouth; "and Ithought he was enjoying himself, and feeding the ducks, and not caring abit. "

"What!" exclaimed Frank wildly. 

"Don't you know me, Frank?"

"Drew!"

"Then the disguise is as right as can be. Keep still. Nonsense! Don'ttry to shake hands. Stand at a distance. There's no knowing who may bewatching you. Give me another biscuit. I am hungry, really. There, goon feeding the ducks. How useful they are. Sort of co-conspirators, innocent as they look. I'll sit down behind you as if watching you, andI can talk when there's no one near. "

Frank obeyed with his face working, and Drew Forbes threw himself on thegrass once more. 

"Drew, old fellow, you make me feel sick. "

"What, because I look such a dirty wretch?"

"No, no. I'm ill and faint, and it's horrible to see you like this. "

"Yes; not much of a macaroni now. "

"We--we were afraid you were dead. "

"No; but I had a narrow squeak for my life. I and two more officersescaped and rode for London. I only got here yesterday, dressed likethis, hoping to see you; but you did not come out. "

"No; this is the first time I have been here since you left. How is thewound?"

"Oh, pooh! that's well enough. Bit stiff, that's all. I say, is it allreal?"

"What?"

"Me being here dressed like this. "

"Oh, it's horrible. "

"Not it. Better than being chopped short, or hung. I am glad you'vecome. I want to talk to you about your father and mine. They'll be intown to-morrow, I should say. "

"Yes, I know. Tell me, what are you going to do?"

"Do? We're going to raise the mob, have a big riot, and rescue them. Iwant to know what you can do to help. "

"We are trying to help in another way, " said Frank excitedly. 

"How?"

"Petitioning the King through the Prince. "

"No good, " said Drew shortly. "There's no mercy to be had. Our way isthe best. "

"But tell me: you are in a terrible state--you want money. "

"No. We've plenty, and plenty of friends in town here. Don't thinkwe're beaten, my good fellow. "

Frank's supply of biscuit came to an end, and to keep up appearances hebegan to delude the ducks by throwing in pebbles. 

"There's one of those spy fellows coming, Frank, " said Drew suddenly. "Don't look round, or take any notice. "

Frank's heart began to beat, as he thrust his hand into his pocket, forhis fingers to come in contact with one little fragment of biscuitpassed over before, and, waiting till he heard steps close behind him, he threw the piece out some distance, and stood watching the rush madeby the water-fowl, one conveying the bit off in triumph. 

Frank searched in vain for more, and he was regretting that he had beenso liberal in his use of the provender, and racking his brains for ameans of keeping up the conversation without risk to his companion, whenabout half a biscuit fell at his feet, and he seized it eagerly. 

"He's pretty well out of hearing, Frank; but speak low. I don't want tobe taken. You'd better move on a bit, and stop again. I'll go off theother way after that spy, and work round and come back. You go and sitdown a little way from the bushes yonder, and I'll creep in behind, andlie there, so as to talk to you. Got a book?"

"No, " said Frank sadly. 

"Haven't you a pocket-book?"

"Oh yes. "

"Well, that will do. Take it out after you've sat down, and pretend tomake a sketch of the trees across the water. "

"Ah, I shouldn't have thought of that. "

"You would if you had been hunted as I have. There, don't look round. I'm off. "

"But if we don't meet again, Drew? I want to do something to help you. "

"Then do as I have told you, " said the lad sharply; and he shuffledaway, limping slightly, while, after standing as if watching thewater-fowl for about ten minutes, and wondering the while whether he wasbeing watched, Frank strolled on very slowly in the opposite direction, making for a clump of trees and bushes about a couple of hundred yardsaway, feeling that this must be right, and upon reaching the end, goingon about half its length, and then carelessly seating himself on thegrass about ten feet from the nearest bush. 

After a short time, passed in wondering whether Drew would be able toget hidden behind him unseen, he took out his pocket-book and pencil, and with trembling fingers began to sketch. Fortunately he had takenlessons at the big Hampshire school, and often received help from hismother, who was clever with her pencil, so that to give colour to hisposition there he went on drawing, a tiny reproduction of the landscapeacross the water slowly growing up beneath his pencil-point. But it wasdone almost unconsciously, for he was trembling with dread lest hisobject there should be divined and result in Andrew being captured, nowthat a stricter watch than ever was kept about the surroundings of thePalace. 

One moment he felt strong in the belief that no one could penetrate hisold companion's disguise; the next he was shuddering in dread of whatthe consequences would be, and wishing that Drew had not come. At thesame time he was touched to the heart at the lad running such a riskwhen he had escaped to safety among his London friends. For Drew hadevidently assumed this pitiful disguise on purpose to come and see him. There could be no other object than that of trying to see his friend. Would he be able to speak to him again?

"I say, they're keeping a sharp look-out, Franky, " came from behind in asharp whisper, making him start violently. 

"Don't do that. Go on sketching, " whispered Drew; and Frank devotedhimself at once to his book. "That fellow went on, and began talking toanother. I saw him, but I don't think he saw me. I say, I shall haveto go soon. "

"Yes, yes; I want you to stay, Drew, but pray, pray escape!"

"Why?"

"Because I wouldn't for worlds have you taken. "

There was a few moments' pause, and then Drew spoke huskily. 

"Thank ye, " he said. "I was obliged to come and see you again. Iwanted to tell you that I'm sorry I didn't shake hands with you, Frank. "

"Ah!--I'll slip back to where you are and shake hands now, " cried theboy excitedly. 

"No, no; pray don't move. It's too risky; I don't want to be caught. Imust be with those who are going to rescue my father and yoursto-morrow. --Think that you are shaking hands with me. Now, there's myhand, old lad. That's right. Yes, I can believe we have hold again. Perhaps I shall never see you again, Franky; perhaps I shall be taken. If I am, please think that I always looked upon you as a brother, andupon Lady Gowan as if I were her son. "

"Yes, Drew, yes, Drew, " whispered Frank in a choking voice, as he bentover his open book. 

"Give my love to dear Lady Gowan, and tell her how I feel for her in hergreat trouble. "

"Yes, yes, I will, " whispered Frank, as he shaded away vigorously at hissketch, but making some curious hatchings. 

"Tell her that there'll be a hundred good, true men making an effort tosave Sir Robert to-morrow, and we'll do it. I'd like you to come andhelp, but you mustn't. It would be too mad. "

"No. I'll come, " whispered the boy excitedly. 

"No, you will not come, " said Drew. "You can't, for you don't know whenand where it will be. "

"Then tell me, " whispered Frank, with his face very close to his paper. 

"I'd die first, old lad, " came back. "Lady Gowan has suffered enoughfrom what has happened. She shan't have another trouble through me. Itried to get you away; but I'm sorry now, for her sake. You stop andtake care of her. Your father said--"

"Yes, what did he say?"

"He told me it was his only comfort in his troubles to feel that his sonwas at his mother's side. "

"Ah!" sighed Frank; and then he uttered a warning, "Hist! Some onecoming;" and he gazed across the water and went on sketching, for he hadsuddenly become aware of some one coming from his left over the grass, and he trembled lest his words should have been heard, for every one nowseemed likely to be a spy. 

It was hard work to keep from looking up, and to appear engrossed withhis task; but he mastered the desire, even when he was conscious of thefresh-comer being close at hand, his shadow cast over the paper, and heknew that he was passing between him and the clump of shrubs. 

Then whoever it was paused, and Frank felt that he was looking down atthe drawing, while the boy's heart went on thumping heavily. 

"He must have heard me speaking, " he thought; and then he gave a violentstart and looked up, for a voice said:

"Well done, young gentleman. Quite an artist, I see. "

The speaker's face was strange, and he had keen, searching eyes, whichseemed as if they were reading the boy's inmost thoughts as he faltered:

"Oh no, only a little bit of a sketch. "

Then he started again, for there was the sound of a blow delivered by astick, a sharp cry, a scuffle, and Drew bounded out from the bushes, followed by Frank's old enemy whom he had trapped at the house. ButDrew would have escaped if it had not been for the stranger, who, actingin collusion with Bagot, caught the lad by the arm and held him. 

Frank had sprung to his feet, to stand white and trembling, and drewsword ready to interfere on behalf of his old companion, who, however, began to act his part admirably. 

"Don't you hit me, " he whined; "don't you hit me. "

"You young whelp!" cried Bagot. "What are you doing here?"

"I dunno, " whined Drew. "Must go somewheres. Only came to lie down andhave a snooze. "

"A lie, sir, a lie. I've had my eye upon you for hours. I saw you herelast night. "

"That you didn't, sir. It was too cold, and I went away 'fore eighto'clock. "

"Lucky for you that you did, or you'd have found yourself in the roundhouse. "

"Don't you hit me; don't you hit me, " cried Drew, writhing. 

"I'll cut you to pieces, " snarled Bagot. "I watched him, " he continuedto the man who held the lad in a firm grip in spite of his struggles toget away. "He was sneaking up to this young gentleman, begging andtrying to pick his pocket. "

"That I wasn't, " whined Drew. "I was orfle 'ungry, and he was pitchingaway cake things to the ducks. I only arksed for a bit because I was so'ungry--didn't I, sir?"

"Yes, " said Frank hoarsely. "I gave him a biscuit. "

"Then what's this?" said the man who held him, wrenching open Drew'shand, in spite of a great show of resistance, and seizing a shilling. "You managed to rob him, then. "

"No, no, " said Frank. "I gave him the money. "

That disarmed suspicion. 

"But he'd sneaked round behind you. I watched him, and found him herewhere he had crawled, and lay pretending to be asleep. I wager you hadnot seen him. "

"No, " said Frank sharply. "I had not seen him since he came up to beg;"and the boy drew a breath of relief, for he had shivered with the dreadthat the man was going to ask him if he knew that Drew was there. 

"Better take your shilling back, sir, " said the man. 

"I? No, " said Frank proudly. "Let the poor, shivering wretch go. Hewants it badly enough. "

"Then thank your stars the young gentleman speaks for you, " said Bagotsharply. "Off with you, and don't you show your face this way again. "

"Don't you hit me then, " whimpered Drew. "Don't you hit me;" and helimped off, repeating the words as he went, while Frank stood lookingafter him, feeling as if he could not stir a step. 

"That was a clever trick of yours, young gentleman, " said Bagot, with abroad grin. "But I don't bear any malice. King's service, sir. Yousee, I can take care of you as well as watch. "

"Yes. Thank you, " said Frank coldly; and with a sigh of relief he torethe leaf bearing the sketch out of his pocket-book, and then turnedcold, for he felt that he had made a false move. The other man waswatching him. 

"Spoiled my sketch, " he said, with a half laugh. "Made me start so thatmy pencil went right across it. "

Fortunately this was quite true, and it carried conviction. 

"Don't tear it up, sir, " said the second man respectfully. "I shouldlike to take that home to please my little girl. She'd know the place. She often comes to feed the ducks. "

The man was human, then, after all, even if he was a spy, and Frank'sheart softened to him a little as he gave him the sketch. 

"Thank ye, sir, " said the man, who looked pleased; and the lad stoppedand listened to him, feeling that it was giving Drew time to get away. 

"I can tell her I saw a young gentleman drawing it. She's quite cleverwith her pencil, sir; but she can't, of course, touch this. "

Frank hesitated for a few moments as to which way he should go, inclination drawing him after his friend; but wisdom suggested the otherdirection, and he strolled off without looking back till he could do soin safety, making the excuse of throwing in the remains of the biscuitDrew had returned to the ducks. 

He had been longing intensely to look back before and see if the menwere following his friend; but to his great relief he found that theywere not very far from where he now stood. 

Then he walked quietly back toward the Palace gates with his headbeginning to buzz with excitement at the news he had heard. 

"They're going to rescue him to-morrow, " he thought. 

"Ought I to tell Captain Murray? No; impossible. He might feel that itwas his duty to warn the King. It would be giving him a task to fightagainst duty and friendship. I dare not even tell my mother, for fearthe excitement might do her harm. No, I must keep it to myself, and Ishall be there--I shall be there. "

He did not see where he was going, for in his imagination he was onhorseback, looking on at a mighty, seething crowd making a bold rush atthe cavalry escort round some carriages. But he was brought to himselfdirectly after by a bluff voice saying:

"Don't run over me, Frank, my lad. But that's right; the walk hasbrought some colour into your cheeks. "

The colour deepened, as the speaker went on:

"I've arranged for a quiet horse to be ready with mine, my lad, and Ihave a good hint or two as to where we ought to go so as to be in theroute. It will not be till close on dusk, though. "

"Oh, if I could tell exactly the way they will come, and the time, andlet Drew know, it might mean saving my father's life, " thought Frank. "I must tell Captain Murray then. 

"No, it would not do, " he mused; "for if I did, he would not move aninch. How to get the news, and go and find Drew! But where? Ah! Imight hear of him from some one at the tavern where they have thatclub. "

"Why, Frank lad, what are you thinking about?" said the captain. "I'vebeen talking to you for ever so long, and you don't answer. "

"Oh, Captain Murray, " said the boy sadly, "you must know. "

"Yes, my lad, " said the captain sadly, "of course I know. "

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. 

AT THE LAST MOMENT. 

There was not much sleep for the boy that night, for he was in the hornsof a terrible dilemma. What should he do? He turned from side to sideof his bed, trying to argue the matter out, till his father's fate, hisduty to the King and Prince, the natural desire to help, his love forhis mother, Captain Murray and his duty to the King and friendship forhis brother-officer and companion, were jumbled up in an inextricabletangle with Drew Forbes and the attempt at rescue. 

"Oh!" he groaned, as day broke and found him still tossing restlesslyupon his pillow; "I often used to tell poor Drew that he was going mad. I feel as if I were already gone, for my head won't work. I can't thinkstraight, just too when I want to be perfectly clear, and able to makemy plans. "

It would have prostrated a cleverer and more calculating brain thanFrank's--one of those wonderful minds which can see an intricate game ofchess right forward, the player's own and his adversary's moves inattack or defence--to have calmly mapped out the proper course for thelad through the rocks, shoals, and quicksands which beset his path. Asit happened, all his mental struggles proved to be in vain; for, as isfrequently the case in life, the maze of difficulties shaped themselvesinto a broad, even path, along which the boy travelled till the excitingtimes were past. 

To begin with, nature knew when the brain would bear no more; and justat sunrise, when Frank had tried to nerve himself for a fresh struggleby plunging face and a good portion of his head into cold water previousto having a good brisk rub, and then lain down to think out hisdifficulty once more, unconsciously choosing the best attitude for clearthought, a calm and restful sensation stole over him. One moment he wasgazing at the bright light stealing in beside his blind; the next he wasin profound mental darkness, wrapped in a deep, restful slumber, whichlasted till nearly ten o'clock, when he was aroused by a knocking at hisdoor, and leaped out of bed, confused and puzzled, unable for a fewmoments to collect his thoughts into a focus and grasp what it meant. 

"Yes, " he said at last. "What is it?"

"Will you make haste and go across to Lady Gowan's apartments, sir?"said a voice. "She has been very ill all night, and wishes to see you. "

"Oh!" groaned Frank to himself. Then aloud: "Yes; come over directly. "

He began to dress rapidly, with all the troubles of the night magnifiedand made worse by the mental lens of reproach through which he waslooking at his conduct. 

"How can I be such a miserable, thoughtless wretch!" he thought. "Howcould I neglect everything which might have helped to save my poorfather for the sake of grovelling here, and all the time my mother ill, perhaps dying, while I slept, not seeming to care a bit!"

He had a few minutes of hard time beneath the unsparing lashes hementally applied to himself as he was dressing; and then, ready to sinkbeneath his load of care, and feeling the while that he ought to haveobtained from Captain Murray the route the prisoners would take, andthen have found Drew Forbes and told him, so as to render the attempt atrescue easier, he hurried across the first court, and then into thelesser one to his mother's apartments. 

"The doctor's with her, sir, " whispered the maid. 

"How is she now?" asked Frank. 

"Dreadfully bad, sir. Pray make haste to her; she asked for you againwhen the doctor came. "

Frank hurried up, to find the quiet physician who attended her and anurse in the room, while the patient lay with her eyes looking dim, andtwo hectic spots in her thin cheeks, gazing anxiously at the door. 

A faint smile of recognition came upon her lips, and she raised one handto her son, and laid it upon his head as he sank upon his knees by thebedside. 

"Oh, mother darling!" he whispered, in a choking voice, "forgive me fornot coming before. "

She half closed her eyes, and made a movement of the lips for him tokiss her. Then her eyes closed, as she breathed a weary sigh. 

Frank turned in horror to the physician, who bent down and whispered tohim. 

"Don't be alarmed; it is sleep. She has, I find, been in a terriblyexcited state, and I have been compelled to administer a strongsedative. She will be calmer when she wakes. Sleep is everything now. "

"You are not deceiving me, sir?" whispered Frank. 

"No. That is the simple truth, " replied the physician, very firmly. "Your mother may wake at any time; but I hope many hours will firstelapse. I find that she has expressed an intense longing for you tocome to her side, and, as you saw, she recognised you. "

"Oh yes, she knew me, " said Frank eagerly. "But pray tell me--she isnot dying?"

"Lady Gowan is in a very serious condition, " replied the doctor; "but Ihope she will recover, and--"

"Yes, yes; pray speak out to me, sir, " pleaded the boy. 

"Her ailment is almost entirely mental; and if the news can be broughtto her that the King will show mercy to her husband, I believe that herrecovery would be certain. "

"Then you think I ought to go at once and try to save my father?"

"No, " said the physician gravely. "I know all the circumstances of thecase. You can do no good by going. Leave that to your friends--thosehigh in position. Your place is here. Whenever Lady Gowan wakes, shemust find you at her bedside. There, I will leave you now. Absolutequiet, mind. Sleep is the great thing. I will come in again in aboutthree hours. The nurse knows what to do. "

The physician went out silently, and Frank seated himself by hismother's pillow, to hold the thin hand which feebly clung to his andwatch her, thinking the while of how his difficulties had been solved bythese last orders, which bound him there like the endorsement of hisfather's commands to stay by and watch over his mother. 

He could think clearly now, and see that much of that which he haddesired to do was impossible. Even if he had set one duty aside, thatto the Prince, his master, and let his love for and desire to save hisfather carry all before them, he could see plainly enough that it wasnot likely that he would have found Drew Forbes. A visit to the tavernclub would certainly have resulted in finding that the occupants weredispersed and the place watched by spies. Then, even if he had foundDrew, wherever he and his friends were hiding, it was not likely thatthey would have altered their plans for any information which he couldgive them. Everything would have been fixed as they thought best, andno change would have been made. 

Clearer still came the thought that he had no information to give themfurther than that the prisoners would probably be brought into Londonthat evening, which way Captain Murray might know, but he would neverdepart from his duty so far as to supply the information that it mightbe conveyed to the King's enemies. He was too loyal for that, gladly ashe would strive to save his friend. 

It was then with a feeling of relief that Frank sat there by hismother's bed, holding her hand, and thinking that he could do no more, while upon the nurse whispering to him that she would be in the nextroom if wanted, and leaving him alone, he once more sank upon his kneesto rest his head against the bed, and prayed long and fervently in notutored words, but in those which gushed naturally and simply from hisbreast, that the lives of those he loved might be spared and theterrible tribulation of the present times might pass away. 

Hour after hour passed, and the nurse came in and out softly from timeto time, nodding to the watcher and smiling her satisfaction at findingher patient still plunged in a sleep, which, as the day went on, grewmore and more profound. 

Then when alone Frank's thoughts went wandering away along the greatnorth road by which the prisoners must be slowly approaching London, tofind their fate. And at such times his thoughts were busy about hismother's friends. What were they doing to try and save his father?

Then his thoughts went like a flash to his meeting with Drew the daybefore; and his words came full of hope, and sent a feeling of elationthrough him. The rebels were not beaten, as Drew had said, and therewas no doubt about their making a brave effort to rescue the prisonersbefore they were shut up in gaol. 

And in imagination Frank built up what would in all probability be done. Small parties of the Jacobites would form in different places, and witharms hidden gradually converge upon some chosen spot which the prisonerswith their escort must pass. Then at a given signal an attack would bemade. The escort would be of course very strong; but the Jacobiteswould be stronger, and in all probability the mob, always ready for adisturbance, would feel sympathy with the unfortunate prisoners, andhelp the attacking party, or at least join in checking the Guards, resenting their forcing their horses through the crowd which would havegathered; so that the prospects looked very bright in that direction, and the boy felt more and more hopeful. 

Twice over the servant came to the door to tell the watcher that firstbreakfast, and then lunch, was waiting for him in the room below; but hewould not leave the bedside, taking from sheer necessity what wasbrought to him, and then resuming his watch. 

The physician came at the end of three hours as he had promised, butstayed only a few minutes. 

"Exactly what I wished, " he said. "Go on watching and keeping herquiet, and don't be alarmed if she sleeps for many hours yet. I willcome in again this afternoon. "

Frank resumed his seat by the bed, and then hastily pencilled a fewlines to Captain Murray, telling him that it would be impossible toleave the bedside, and sent the note across by the servant, who broughta reply back. 

It was very curt and abrupt. 

"Of course. I see your position. Sorry, for I should have liked him tosee you. "

The note stung Frank to the quick. 

"He thinks I am trying to excuse myself, when I would give the world togo with him, " he muttered. 

A glance at the pale face upon the pillow took off some of thebitterness, though, and he resumed his watch while the hours glided by. 

At four the physician came again. 

"Not awake?" he said; and he touched his patient's pulse lightly, andthen softly raised one of Lady Gowan's eyelids, and examined the pupil. 

"Nature is helping us, Mr Gowan, " he said softly. "But she ought tohave awoke by now, sir?"

"I expected that she would have done so; but nothing could be better. She is extremely weak, and if she could sleep like this till to-morrowher brain would be rested from the terrible anxiety from which she issuffering. I will look in once more this evening. "

Frank was alone again with his charge, and another hour passed, duringwhich the lad dwelt upon the plans that had been made, and calculatedthat Captain Murray must be about starting on his mission to meet theescort bringing in the prisoners. And as this idea came to him, Franksat with his head resting upon his hands, his elbows upon his knees, trying hard to master the bitter sense of disappointment that afflictedhim. 

"And he will be looking from the carriage window to right and left, trying to make out whether I am there!" he groaned. "Oh, it seemscruel--cruel! and he will not know why I have not come. "

But one gleam of hope came here. Captain Murray might find anopportunity to speak with the prisoner, and he would tell him that hisson was watching by his suffering mother. 

"He will know why I have not come then, " Frank said softly; and after animpatient glance at the clock, he began again to think of Drew and hisplans for the rescue. 

But now, in the face of the precautions which would be taken, thisseemed to be a wildly chimerical scheme, one which was not likely tosucceed, and he shook his head sadly as a feeling of despair began toclose him in like a dark cloud. 

He was at his worst, feeling more and more hopeless, as he sat there, with his face buried in his fingers, when a hand was lightly placed uponhis head, and starting up it was to find that his mother was awake, andgazing wistfully at him. 

He bent over her, and her arms clasped his neck. 

"My boy! my boy!" she said faintly; and she drew him to her breast, tohold him there for some moments before saying quickly:

"Have I slept long, dear?"

"Yes, ever since morning, mother. "

"What time is it?"

"About half-past five. "

"All that time?" she said excitedly. "He must be near now. Frank, myboy, the prisoners were to reach London soon after dark. "

"Yes, mother, I know, " he said, looking at her wistfully, as he held herhand now to his cheek. 

"Is there any news?"

"No, mother, none. "

"Oh, " she moaned, "this terrible suspense! Frank, my darling, you mustnot stay here. Have you been with me all the time I have been asleep?"

"Yes, mother, all. You asked for me. "

"Yes, my darling, in my selfishness; but you ought to go and get thelatest tidings. Frank, it is your duty to be there when your fatherreaches this weary city. He ought not to be looking in vain for one ofthose he loves. You must go at once. Do you hear me? It is yourduty. "

"The doctor said it was my duty to watch by you, " said Frank, with hisheart beating fast, as he wondered whether Captain Murray had gone. 

"With me? Oh, what am I, if your being where he could see you, if onlyfor a moment, would give him comfort in his sore distress!"

"I was going, mother, " whispered the boy excitedly. "Captain Murray wasgoing to let me be with him, and he as an officer would have been ableto take me right up to the escort. "

"Then why are you here? Oh, go--go at once!"

"I was to stay with you, mother, so that you might see me when youawoke, " he said huskily, the intense longing to go struggling with thedesire to stay. 

"Yes, yes, and I have seen you; but I am nothing if we can contrive togive him rest. Go, then, at once. "

"But you are not fit to be left. "

"I shall not be left, " she said firmly. "Quick, Frank. You areincreasing my agony every moment that you stay. Oh, my boy, pray, praygo, and then come back and tell me that you have seen him. Go. Take norefusal; fight for a position near him if you cannot get there bypraying, and tell him how we are suffering for his sake--how we lovehim, and are striving to save him. Oh, and I keep you while I amtalking, and he must be very near! Quick! Kiss me once and go, and Iwill lie here and pray that you may succeed. "

"You wish it--you command me to go, mother?" he panted. 

"Yes, yes, my boy, " she cried eagerly; and he bent down over her, pressed his lips to hers, and darted to the door. 

"Nurse, nurse!" he said hoarsely, "come and stay with my mother. " Thento himself as he rushed down the stairs: "Too late--too late! He musthave gone. "

CHAPTER FORTY. 

ON THE GREAT NORTH ROAD. 

The heavy, leaden feeling of despair and disappointment increased asFrank Gowan ran across the courtyard, feeling that it was useless toexpect to find Captain Murray, but making for his quarters in the fainthope that he might have been detained, and cudgelling his brains as heran, to try and find a means of learning the route that the escort wouldtake, so that he might even then try and intercept the prisoners'carriages. 

But no idea, not the faintest gleam of a way out of his difficultyhelped him; and he felt ready to fling himself down in his misery anddespair, as he reached the officers' quarters. 

It was like a mockery to him in his agony to see the sentry, whorecognised him, draw himself up, and present arms to his old captain'sson, and it checked the question he would have asked the man as to whenCaptain Murray had passed, for he could not speak. 

"I must see if he is here, " he thought, as he ran up the stairs to theroom which had been his prison; and turning the handle of the door, herushed in and uttered a groan, for the room was, as he had anticipated, empty. But the bedroom door was closed, and he darted to that and flungit open. 

"Gone! gone! gone!" he groaned. "What shall I do? Will they take himto the Tower?"

He knew that there was no saying what might be the destination of theprisoners; but he rushed back to the staircase, meaning to go straightto the Tower by some means, and then he stopped short and uttered a halfhysterical cry, for there was Captain Murray ascending the stairs. 

"Not gone?" he cried. 

"No; but I am just off. I wish you could have gone with me, Frank. Itwould have done your poor father good. "

"I am going. She wishes it, and sends me. "

"Hah! Quick, then. Back to your room. "

"Oh, I'm ready, " cried the boy. 

"Nonsense! We are going to ride. Your boots and sword, boy. I'll lendyou a military cloak. "

"But it will be losing time, " panted Frank. 

"It will be gaining it, my boy. You cannot go through a London mob likethat. You are going to ride with soldiers, and you must not look like apage at a levee. Quick!"

"You will wait for me?"

"Of course. "

Frank ran to his rooms, drew on his high horseman's boots, buckled onhis sword, which had been returned to him, and ran back to where CaptainMurray was waiting for him with a cloak over his arm. 

"No spurs?" he said. "Never mind. You will have a well-trained horse. I have got passes for two, Frank; and, as it happens, I know the officerof the Horse Guards who is in command of the detachment going to meetthe escort, so that we can get close up to the prisoners. Let's see:you do ride?"

"Oh yes; my father taught me long ago, anything--bare-backed oftenenough. "

"Good. I am glad, boy. It was sorry work going without you. But Iknow why it was. Walk quickly; no time to lose. "

He hurried his companion to the stables of the Horse Guards, where acouple of the men were waiting, and a horse was ready saddled. 

"Quick!" he said to the men. "I shall want the second charger, afterall. "

It was rapidly growing dark, and one man lit a lanthorn, while the otherclapped the bit between the teeth of a handsome black horse, turned thedocile creature in its stall, and then slipped on a heavy militarysaddle with its high-peak holsters and curb-bit. 

Five minutes after they were mounted and making for Charing Cross. 

"Which way are we going?" asked Frank, whose excitement increased to afeeling of wild exhilaration, as he felt the beautifully elasticcreature between his knees, with a sensation of participating in itsstrength, and being where he would have a hundred times the chance ofgetting to speak to his father. 

"Up north, " said the captain abruptly. 

"North? Why not east? They will take him to the Tower. "

"No. Steady horse. Walk, walk! Hold yours in, boy. We must go at aslow pace till we get to the top of the lane. "

The horses settled down to their walk, almost keeping pace for pace, asthe captain said quietly:

"I have got all the information I required. No, they will not take theprisoners to the Tower, but to Newgate. "

"Newgate?" cried Frank; "why, that is where the thieves and murderersgo. "

"Yes, " said the captain abruptly. "Look here, Frank. They are not toreach the prison till nine, so we have plenty of time to get somedistance out. They will come in by the north road, and I don't think wecan miss them. "

"Why risk passing them?" said Frank. 

"Because, if we intercept the escort on the great north road somewherebeyond Highgate, you will be able to ride back near the carriage inwhich your father is, and, even if you cannot speak to him, you will seehim, and be seen. "

"But it will be horrible; I shall look like one of the soldiers guardinghim to his cell. "

"Never mind what you look like, so long as your father sees that he isnot forgotten by those who love him. "

The captain ceased speaking, and their horses picked their way over thestones, their hoofs clattering loudly, and making the people they passedturn to stare after the two military-looking cavaliers in cocked hat andhorseman's cloak, and with the lower parts of their scabbards seen belowto show that they were well armed. 

Saint Martin's Church clock pointed to seven as they rode by; and then, well acquainted with the way, the captain made for the north-east, breaking into a trot as they reached the open street where the trafficwas small, Frank's well-trained horse keeping step with its stablecompanion; and by the shortest cuts that could be made they reachedIslington without seeing a sign of any unusual excitement, so well hadthe secret been kept of the coming of the prisoners that night. 

"Not much sign of a crowd to meet them, Frank, " said the captain, asthey went now at a steady trot along the upper road. "Pretty good proofthat we are in time. "

"Why, what is a good sign?" asked Frank. 

"So few people about. If the prisoners and their escort had passed, half Islington would have been out gossiping at their doors. "

"Suppose they have come some other way?"

"Not likely. This was to be their route, and at half-past eight twotroops of Horse Guards will march up the road to meet the escort atIslington. That will bring out the crowd. "

Frank winced as if he had suddenly felt the prick of a knife, so sharpwas the spasm which ran through him. For the moment he had quiteforgotten the prospect of an attempt at rescue; now the mention of thesoldiery coming to meet the unhappy prisoners and strengthen the escortbrought all back, and with it the questioning thought:

"Would Drew's friends make the venture when so strong a force would bethere?"

"No--yes--no--yes, " his heart seemed to beat; then the rattle of thehorses' hoofs took it up--no, yes, no, yes; and now it seemed to be thetime to tell Captain Murray of the attempt that was to be made, orrather that was planned. 

"And if I tell him he will feel that it is his duty as a soldier to warnthe officer in command of the escort, and he will take them at a sharptrot round by some other way. Oh, I can't tell him! It would be likerobbing my father of his last chance. "

Frank felt more and more that his lips were sealed; and as to the dangerwhich Murray would incur--well, he was a soldier well mounted, and hemust run the risk. 

"As I shall, " thought Frank. "It will be no worse for him than for me. It is not as if I were going to try and save myself. I'll stand by him, weak boy as I am. Or no; shall I not be escaping with my father?"

He shook his head the next moment, and felt that he could not be of therescuing party. He must still be the Prince's page, and return to thePalace to bear his mother the news of the escape. 

"For he will--he must escape, " thought the boy. "Drew's friends will beout in force to-night, and I shall be able to go back and tell her thathe is safe. "

As they rode on through the pleasant dark night Frank thought more ofthe peril into which his companion was going, and hesitated abouttelling him, so that he might be warned; but again he shrank fromspeaking, for fear that it might mean disaster to Drew's projects. 

"And he has his father to save as well as mine. I can't warn him, " heconcluded. "I run the risk as well as he. "

He felt better satisfied the next minute, as he glanced sidewise at thebold, manly bearing of the captain, mounted on the splendid, well-trained charger. 

"Captain Murray can take care of himself, " he thought; and the feelingswhich were shut within his breast grew into a sensation of excitementthat was almost pleasurable. 

"Quite countrified out here, Frank, " said the captain suddenly, as theroad began to ascend; and after passing Highbury the houses grew scarce, being for the most part citizens' mansions. "Don't be down-hearted, mylad. The law is very curious. It is a strong castle for our defence, but full of loopholes by which a man may escape. "

"Escape?" cried Frank excitedly. "You think he may escape?"

"I hope so, and I'd give something now if my oaths were not taken, and Icould do something in the way of striking a blow for your father'sliberty. "

For a few minutes the boy felt eagerly ready to confess all he knew; butthe words which had raised the desire served also to check it. "If myoaths were not taken, " Captain Murray had said; and he was the very soulof honour, and would not break his allegiance to his King. 

"My father did, " thought the boy sadly. Then he brightened. "No, " hethought, "the King broke it, and set him free by banishing him from hisservice. "

"How do you get on with your horse, lad?--Walk. " The horses changedtheir pace at the word. The hill was getting steep. 

"Oh, I get on capitally. It's like sitting in an easy-chair. I haven'tbeen on a horse for a year. "

"Then you learned to ride well, Frank. Find the advantage of havingyour boots, though. Fancy a ride like this in silk stockings andshoes!--You ought to go into the cavalry some day. "

Frank sighed. 

"Bah! Don't look at the future as being all black, boy. Stick to Hope, the lady who carries the anchor. One never knows what may turn up. "

"No, one never knows what may turn up, " cried the boy excitedly; andthen he checked himself in dread lest his companion should read histhoughts respecting the rescue. But the captain's next words set him atrest. 

"That's right, my lad. Try and keep a stout heart. Steep hill this. Do you know where we are?"

"Only that we are on the great north road. "

"Yes. When we are on the top of this hill, we shall be in the villageof Highgate; and if it was daylight, we could see all London if welooked back, and the country right away if we looked forward. I proposeto stop at the top of the hill and wait. "

"Yes, " said Frank eagerly. 

"Perhaps go on for a quarter of a mile, so as to be where we are notobserved. "

The horses were kept at a walking pace till the village was reached, andhere a gate was stretched across, and a man came out to take the toll, Frank noticing that he examined them keenly by the light of a lanthorn. 

"Any one passed lately--horsemen and carriages?" said the captainquietly. 

The man chuckled. 

"Yes, a couple of your kidney, " said the man. "You're too late. "

A pang shot through Frank, and he leaned forward. 

"Too late? What do you mean, sir?" cried the captain sharply; and, ashe spoke, he threw back his horseman's cloak, showing his uniformslightly. 

"Oh, I beg your worships' pardon. I took you for gentlemen of theroad. "

"What, highwaymen?"

"Yes, sir. A couple of them went by not ten minutes ago. But I don'tsuppose they'll try to stop you. They don't like catching Tartars. Beas well to have your pistols handy, though. "

"Thank you for the hint, " said the captain, and they rode on. 

"What do you say, Frank?" said the captain. "Shall we go any farther?It would be an awkward experience for you if we were stopped byhighwaymen. Shall we stop?"

"Oh, we cannot stop to think about men like that, " said Frank excitedly. 

"Not afraid, then?"

"I'm afraid we shall not meet the prisoners, " said the boy sadly. 

"Forward, then. But unfasten the cover of your holsters. You will findloaded pistols there, and can take one out if we are stopped--I mean ifany one tries to stop us. But, " he added grimly, "I don't think any onewill. "

At another time it would have set the boy trembling with excitement; buthis mind was too full of the object of their expedition, and as thehorses paced on the warning about the gentlemen who infested the mainroads in those days was forgotten, so that a few minutes later it cameas a surprise to the boy when a couple of horsemen suddenly appearedfrom beneath a clump of trees by the roadside, came into the middle ofthe road, and barred their way. 

"Realm?" said one of the men sharply. 

"Keep off, or I fire, " cried Captain Murray. 

The two mounted men reined back on the instant, and, pistol in hand, thecaptain and Frank went on at a walk. 

"I don't think--nay, I'm sure--that those men are not on the road, Frank, " said the captain quietly. "That was a password. _Realm_. Canthey be friends of the prisoners sent forward as scouts?"

"Do you think so?" said Frank. 

"Yes, " replied the captain thoughtfully; "and if they are, we are quiteright. The prisoners have not passed, and I should not wonder if therewere an attempt made to rescue them before they reach town. "

Frank's head began to buzz, and he nipped his horse so tightly that theanimal broke into a trot. 

"Steady! Walk, " cried the captain; and the next minute he drew rein, tosit peering forward into the darkness, listening for the tramp ofhorses, which ought to have been heard for a mile or two upon so still anight. 

"Can't hear them, " he said in a disappointed tone. "But we will not goany farther. "

At that moment Frank's horse uttered a loud challenging neigh, which wasanswered from about a hundred yards off, and this was followed byanother, and another farther away still. 

"There they are, " said the captain, "halting for a rest to the horsesbefore trotting down. Forward!"

They advanced again; but had not gone far before figures were dimly seenin the road, and directly after a stern voice bade them halt. 

The captain replied with a few brief words, and they rode forward, tofind themselves facing a vedette of dragoons, a couple of whom escortedthem to where, upon an open space, in the middle of which was a pond, astrong body of cavalry was halted, the greater part of the mendismounted; but about twenty men were mounted, and sat with drawnswords, surrounding a couple of carriages, each with four horses--artillery teams--and the drivers in their places ready to start at amoment's notice. 

CHAPTER FORTY ONE. 

THE ATTEMPT AT RESCUE. 

Frank's eyes took all this in, and then turned dim with the emotion hefelt, and for a few moments everything seemed to swim round him. Hishorse, however, needed no guiding; it kept pace with its companion, andthe lad's emotional feeling passed off as he found himself in presenceof the officer in command of the escort and his subordinates, a warmgreeting taking place between Captain Murray and the principal officer, an old friend. 

"Don't seem regular, Murray; but with this note from the Prince, Isuppose I shall be held clear if you have come to help the prisonersescape, " said the officer lightly. 

"Escape!" said Captain Murray sharply. 

"No, no; nonsense, old fellow, " said the dragoon officer merrily. "Ofcourse I was bantering you. "

"Yes, I know, " said Captain Murray quickly; "but we were stopped by acouple of mounted men a quarter of a mile back. "

"Highway men?"

"I thought so at first; but they challenged us for a password. "

"Well! These fellows work hand and glove. "

"No, " said Captain Murray, "I feel sure they were scouts, ridden forwardto get touch with you, and then go back and give warning. "

"What for? Whom to? You don't think it means an attempt to rescue?"

"I do, " said Murray firmly. 

"Thanks for the warning, old fellow, " said the officer through histeeth. "Well, mine are picked men, and my instructions are that astrong detachment will be sent out to meet us, and vedettes planted allalong the road, to fall in behind us as we pass. Pity too. Whatmadness!"

Frank's heart sank as he heard every word, while his attention wasdivided between the two dark carriages with their windows drawn up, andhe sat wondering which held his father. 

"Yes, madness, " said the captain sadly. "I shall be very glad when myjob's at an end, " said the dragoon officer. "It's miserable work. "

"Horrible!" replied Murray; and then he turned to Frank. "Hold my reinfor a few moments, " he said; and, dismounting, he walked away with theofficers, to stand talking for a few minutes, while, as Frank satholding his companion's horse, and watching the well-guarded carriages, a distant neigh and the stamping of horses told of a strong detachmentguarding the rear. 

"If I only dared ride up to the carriages, " thought the boy; and he feltthat he did dare, only that it would be useless, for without permissionthe dragoons would not let him pass. 

But a light broke through the mental darkness of despair directly, forMurray came back with the officer in command, a stern, severe-lookingman, but whose harsh, commanding voice softened a little as he laid onehand on the horse's neck, and held out his other to the rider. 

"I did not know who you were, Mr Gowan. My old friend, Captain Murray, has just told me. Shake hands, my lad. I am glad to know the brave sonof a gallant soldier. Don't think hardly of me for doing my dutysternly as a military man should. I ought perhaps to send you bothback, " he continued in a low tone; "but if you and Captain Murray liketo ride by the door of the first carriage, you can, and I will instructthe officer and men not to hinder any reasonable amount of conversationthat may be held. "

"God bless you!" whispered Frank, in a choking voice. 

"Oh, don't say anything, my boy. Only give me your word, not as asoldier, but as a soldier's son, that you will do nothing to help eitherof the prisoners to escape. "

"Yes, I give you my word, " said Frank quickly. He would have givenanything to be near his father and speak to him for a few minutes. 

"That will do. --Murray, we shall go on at a sharp trot; but you are bothwell mounted, I see. " Then he said in an undertone: "I don't believethey will venture anything when they see how strong we are. If therascals do, I shall make a dash, standing at nothing; but at the firstthreatenings get the boy away. My instructions are that the prisonersare not to escape--_alive_!"

"I understand, " said Captain Murray; and he mounted his horse. 

The next minute an order was given in a low tone; it was passed on, andthe men sprang to their saddles. Then another order, "Draw swords!"There was a single note from a trumpet; and as Frank and Captain Murraysat ready, the officer in command led them himself, and placed one ateach door of the first carriage, a dragoon easing off to right and leftto make place for them. 

Frank's hand was on the glass directly, and the window was let down. 

"Father!" he cried in a low, deep voice, which was nearly drowned by thetrampling, crashing of wheels, and jingle of accoutrements, but heardwithin; and it was answered by a faint cry of astonishment, and therattle of fetters, as two hands linked together appeared at the window. 

"Frank, my dear boy! you here?"

The boy could not answer, but leaned over toward the carriage with hishand grasped between his father's. 

"Hah! this is a welcome home!" cried Sir Robert cheerily. "Gentlemen, my son. "

"There's Captain Murray at the other window, " gasped out Frank at last. 

"Ah! more good news, " said Sir Robert. "Murray, my dear old fellow, this is good of you. "

The prisoner's voice sounded husky, as he turned his head to the rightin the darkness. 

"I can't shake hands even if you wished to, for we are doubly fetterednow. "

"Gowan, I'm glad to meet you again, " said the captain hoarsely. 

"God bless you, old friend! I know you are. I see now; you broughtFrank here to meet me. Like you, old fellow. There, I cannot talk toyou. But you know what I feel. "

"Yes. Talk to your boy, " cried Murray. "Quick, while you can. Theorder to trot will come directly. "

"Yes. Thanks, " said Sir Robert; and he turned back to his son, whoclung to his hands. "Quick, Frank boy. Your mother--well?"

"Very, very ill. Heart-broken. "

"Hah!" groaned Sir Robert. 

"But, father, these handcuffs? Surely you are not--"

"Yes, yes. I'm a dangerous fellow now, my boy. We are all chained handand foot like the worst of criminals, my friends and I. "

"Oh!" groaned Frank. 

"Bah! Only iron, " said Sir Robert bitterly. "Never mind them now. Tell me of your mother. Are you still at the Palace?"

"Yes; the Princess--the Prince--will not hear of our leaving, and--"

Then a note from a trumpet rang out, the horses sprang forward at asharp trot, and the dragoon on Frank's left changed his sword to hisleft hand, so as to place his right on the rein of the boy's charger, though it was hardly needed, the well-trained horse bearing off a littleto avoid injury from the wheel, but keeping level with the window, sothat from time to time, though conversation was impossible, father andson managed to bridge the space between them and touch hands. 

It was fortunate for the lad that he was mounted upon a trained cavalrycharger, for he had nothing to do but keep his seat, his mount settlingdown at once to the steady military trot side by side with the horsenext to it, and keeping well in its distance behind the horse in front, so that the rider was able to devote all his attention to the occupantof the carriage, who leaned forward with his head framed in the darknessof the window, as if pictured in the sight of his son, possibly for thelast time, for in those hours Sir Robert Gowan had not the slightestdoubt as to what his fate would be. 

On his side, Frank sat in his saddle watching his father's dimly seenface, but ready to start and glance in any direction from which a freshsound was heard. 

The first time was on reaching the turnpike gate, where the toll-takerseemed disposed to hesitate about letting the advance guard pass. Theresult was an outcry, which sent Frank's heart with a leap toward hislips, for he felt certain that the attack had commenced. But theforemost men dismounted, seized the gate, lifted it off its hook hinges, and cast it aside, the troops and carriages thundered through, and madethe people of Highgate village come trooping out in wonder to see whatthis invasion of their quiet meant. 

Then the descent of the hill commenced, with the heavy old-fashionedcarriages swaying on their C-springs; but no slackening of speed tookplace, and the artillerymen hurried their horses along, as if the loadthey drew were some heavy gun or a waggon full of ammunition. 

Twice over Frank gazed at the foremost carriage in alarm, so nearly wasit upset in one of the ruts of the ill-kept road; but the rate at whichthey were going saved it, and they thundered along without accident towhere the gradient grew less steep. 

There was very little traffic on the road at that time of the night, andnot many people about, while before those who were startled by the noiseof the passing troops had time to come out the prisoners had gone by. 

Holloway and Highbury were passed, and Islington reached, but no sign ofan attempt at rescue caught Frank's anxious eyes; neither was there anyappearance of fresh troops till the head of the escort turned down theroad which entered the city at the west end of Cheapside. But here theboy started, for they passed between two outposts, a couple of dragoonsfacing them on either side of the road, sitting like statues till thewhole of the escort had passed, when they turned in after it, fourabreast, and brought up the rear, but some distance in front of the rearguard. 

At the end of another fifty yards two more couples were seen, and at theend of every similar interval four more dragoons turned in at the rear, strengthening the escort, while it was evident that they had previouslycleared the road of all vehicles, turning them into the neighbouringways, so that the cortege was enabled to continue its progress at thesame steady military trot as they had commenced with on leavingHighgate. 

Again and again Frank, now growing breathless, had hoped that thewalking pace would once more be renewed, so as to afford him a chance tospeak to his father; but he wished in vain, for, except at two sharpturnings, the whole body of dragoons swept along at the sharp trot, andwithout change, saving that as London was neared the men flanking thecarriages were doubled. 

But though no sign of rescue caught Frank's eyes, he saw that thestationing of the dragoons to keep the way and the turning of thetraffic out of the road had had their effect; for at every step thecollection of people along the sides and at the windows increased, till, when the road changed to a busy London street, there was quite a crowdlining the sides. 

"There will be no rescue, " sighed the lad; and he turned from sweepingthe sides of the street to gaze sadly at his father, whose face he couldnow see pretty plainly, as they passed one of the dismal street lampswhich pretended in those days to light the way. 

He could see that, brief as the time had been since he last saw hisfather, his countenance had sadly altered. There was a stern, carewornlook in his eyes, and he looked older, and as if he had been exposed toterrible hardships. He noted too that he did not seem to have had theopportunity given him of attending to his person, but had been treatedwith the greatest of severity. 

The lad's gloomy musings on the aspect of the face which beamed lovinglyupon him, the eyes seeming to say, "Don't be down-hearted, boy!" weresuddenly brought to an end by a check in their progress, for the advanceguard, from being a hundred yards ahead, had by degrees shortened thespace to fifty, twenty, and ten yards, and finally was only the front ofthe column. But still they had advanced at a trot, and the officer incommand sent orders twice over for the vanguard to increase theirdistance. 

"Tell him I can't, " said the officer in front. "It can only be done byriding over the people. "

And now the men stationed to keep the way had utterly failed, the peoplehaving crowded in from the side streets north of Saint Martin's-le-Grandtill the pairs of dragoons were hemmed in, and in spite of severalencounters with the crowd they were forced to remain stationary. 

The check that came was the announcement that the trot could no longerbe continued, and, perforce, the escort advanced at a walk; while, asFrank glanced round for a moment, it suddenly struck him that, save atthe windows of the houses, there was not a woman to be seen, the crowdconsisting of sturdy-looking men. 

The lad had no eyes for the crowd, though. The relapse into a walk hadgiven him the opportunity for grasping his father's hand again, and SirRobert said to him hurriedly:

"My dearest love to your mother, Frank lad. Tell her, whatever happens, I have but one thought, and that it is for her, that we may meet inhappier times. "

"Meet in happier times" rang through Frank like a death-knell, for hegrasped what his father meant, and tried to speak some words of comfort, but they would not come. Even if they had, they would have been drownedby a tremendous cheer which arose from the crowd and went rollingonward. 

"The wretches!" muttered Frank; and he turned to look round, with hiseyes flashing his indignation. Then, as the cheer went rolling awayforward, he repeated his words aloud, unconscious that they would beheard. 

"The wretches! It is not a sight. "

"They're a-cheering of 'em, sir, " said the dragoon at his elbow, "nothooting 'em, poor fellows!"

Frank darted a grateful look in the man's eyes, and his heart leapedwith excitement as the light flashed upon him. It was a manoeuvre, andthere would be an attempt to rescue, after all. 

"I believe we're in for a row, sir, " continued the man, leaning over tohim and speaking in a low voice. "Strikes me the best thing for you todo would be to step into the carriage to your friend before the fightbegins: I'll hold your horse. "

"I!" said Frank sharply. "I wouldn't be such a cur. "

"Well said, youngster. Then you try and stick by me. We shall be inthe thick of it, and nobody shall hurt you if I can help it. "

"Do--do you think, then, that there will be trouble?"

"Yes, for some of us, sir, " said the man. "They mean to try and get theprisoners, and the attack will be here. "

Frank was unconscious of a movement behind him, till a horseman forcedhis way in between him and the dragoon, and Captain Murray said sharply:

"Try and ease off, my man. "

"Not to be done, sir, " replied the dragoon. 

"There's going to be an attempt at rescue, Frank, " whispered thecaptain. "Shake hands with your father before we are forced away. "

At that moment word was passed along from the rear, running from man toman as they still kept on at a slow walk:

"Flats of your swords; drive them back. "

The next minute, just as a fresh cheer was being started, the trumpetrang out behind "Trot!" and the men put spurs to their horses, anddashed on, driving a road through the crowd; and, amidst a savageyelling and hooting which took the place of the hearty cheer for theprisoners, the escort literally forced their way for another fiftyyards, the men in advance striking to right and left with the flats oftheir heavy cavalry swords. 

But it was soon evident that they were slackening speed, and the trumpetrang out again, but with an uncertain sound, for it was nearly drownedby the angry yelling which arose. The command was _gallop_, but theexecution of the order was _walk_, and a minute later the whole escortcame to a stand, literally wedged in, with the frightened horsesstanding shivering and snorting, only one here and there trying to rearand plunge. 

"We're caught, Frank lad. Think of nothing but keeping your seat. Takeout a pistol, and point it at the first man who tries to drag you fromyour horse. Ah! I thought so. "

Orders were passed along now to the dragoons to defend themselves, forefforts were being made to drag some of the outside men from theirhorses. Blades flashed on high, cut and point were given, and amidsthowlings and savage execrations blood began to flow. 

And now, as if by magic, sticks and swords appeared among the crowd; menwho had forced their way under the horses' necks, or crept under them, appeared everywhere; and amidst a deafening roar, as the seething massswayed here and there, Frank caught sight of two men busy just beforehim, doing something with knives. One of the dragoons noticed it too, and he leaned forward to make a thrust at one of the two; but as he bentover his horse's neck a cudgel was raised, fell heavily across the backof his neck, and he dropped forward, and was only saved from falling bya comrade's help. 

"They've cut the traces, " said Captain Murray hoarsely. "It's anorganised attempt. "

As he spoke men were rising amongst them; and, before Frank couldrealise how it happened, a dozen filled up the little spaces about thecarriage, while moment by moment the dragoons were being rendered morehelpless. The blows they rained down were parried with swords; theywere dragged from their horses; and, in several cases, helped by theirfellows, men climbed up behind them, and pinioned their arms. 

Organised indeed it seemed to be, for while the greater part of therioters devoted their attention to rendering the great escort helpless, others kept on forcing their way till they had surrounded the carriages, trusting to their companions to ward off the blows directed at them, butin too many cases in vain. 

Frank tried his best to remain near his father, but he was perfectlyhelpless, and had to go as his horse was slowly forced along, till hewas several yards away from the carriage door, at which he could stillsee the prisoner watching him as if thinking only of the safety of hisboy, while the captain was still farther away, using his pistol to keepoff attempts made to dismount him. 

All attempts at combination were getting useless now for the troops, andit was every man for himself; but the mob did not seem vindictive onlywhen some dragoon struck mercilessly at those who hemmed him in, whenthe result rapidly followed that he was dragged from his horse andtrampled underfoot. 

Sir Robert was now shut out from his son's gaze by several men forcingthemselves to the carriage door, and Frank was rising in his stirrups totry and catch another glimpse of him, when in the wild swaying about ofthe crowd his horse was forced nearer to Captain Murray, an eddy sendingthe captain fortunately back to him, so that their horses made aneffort, and came side by side once more, snorting and trembling withfear. 

"The men are helpless, Frank lad, " said the captain, with his lips tothe lad's ear. "They can do nothing more. They are literally wedgedin. "

"My father?" panted Frank. 

"It will be a rescue, my lad. "

An exultant roar rose now from the dense mass of people which filled thewide street, and, separated from each other, as well as from theirofficers, the dragoons ceased to use their swords, while the men roundthem who held them fast wedged waved their sticks and hats, cheeringmadly. 

"Told you so, sir, " shouted some one close behind them; and Frankturned, to see a dragoon, capless and bleeding from a cut on hisforehead, sitting calmly enough on his horse. 

"Can't do any more, sir, " said the man, in answer to a frown fromCaptain Murray. "They've got my sword. It's the same with all of us. We couldn't move. "

The cheering went on, and in the midst of it the carriages began tomove, dragged by the crowd, for there was not a soldier within a dozenyards. The clumsy vehicles were being dragged by hand, and the horsesled away toward a side street, while the cheering grew more lusty thanever, and then changed into a yell of execration. 

"What does that mean?" said Captain Murray excitedly. 

"I don't know, " said Frank, having hard work to make himself heard. "Let's try and get to the carriage. "

"Impossible, my lad, " said Captain Murray. "Great heavens! what agehenna!"

The yelling rose louder than ever from the direction of Cheapside, anddirectly after the cause was known, for a heavy, ringing volley rang outclear and sharp above the roar of the crowd, and went on reverberatingfrom side to side of the street. 

Hardly had it died away when another rattling volley came from the otherdirection; and in answer to an inquiring look from Frank, Captain Murrayplaced his lips to the boy's ear. 

"The foot guards, " he cried; "the mob is between two fires. "

The pressure was now terrible, the crowd yielding to the attack fromboth directions, and yells, wild cries, and groans rose in one horriblemingling, as for a few minutes the seething mass of people were driventogether in the centre formed by the carriages; and from where he sat, gazing wildly at the chaos of tossing arms and wild faces, whose ownersseemed now to be thinking of nothing but struggling for their lives, Frank could see men climbing over their fellows' heads, dashing inwindows, and seeking safety by climbing into the houses, whose occupantsin many cases reached down to drag people up out of the writhing massbeneath. In half a dozen places streams could be seen setting into theside streets; and mingled with the attacking party, dragoons of theescort, perfectly helpless, were pressed slowly along, and in everyinstance with one, sometimes with two men mounted behind them. 

Frank caught these things at a glance, while his and the captain'smounts were being slowly forced farther away from the carriages, whichwere once more stationary, jammed in by the densest portion of thecrowd. 

And now, without a thought of his own safety, the boy's heart began tobeat high, for not a single dragoon was near the prisoners, and somestrange movement was evidently taking place there, but what, it was somemoments before he could see. 

It seemed to him that several people there had been injured, and thatthose between him and the first carriage had been crushed to death, while the crowd were passing the bodies over their heads face upwardtoward the narrow side street up which an effort had been made to dragthe carriages. 

As far as he could make out by the lamplight, that was it evidently, andso strangely interested was the lad, so fascinated by the sight, that hepaid no heed to a couple more volleys fired to right and left. For themoment he hardly knew why he was watching this. Then it came home tohim as he twice over saw a gleam as of metal on one of the bodies whichfloated as it were over a forest of hands and glided onward toward andup the side street. 

"Look, boy! Do you see?" said Captain Murray, with his lips close tothe lad's ear. "They have dragged the prisoners out, and are passingthem over the heads of the crowd. "

Frank nodded his head sharply without turning to the speaker, for hecould not remove his eyes from the scene till the last fettered figurehad passed from his sight. 

And now at length the awful pressure began to relax, for the half-dozenstreams were setting steadily out of the main street, while in severalspots where dragoons had sat wedged in singly two had drifted together. Then there were threes and fours, and soon after a little body of abouttwenty had coalesced, stood in something like order, and were able tomake a stand. Right away toward Cheapside there was now visible beneatha faint cloud of smoke, which looked ruddy in the torch- and lamplight, a glittering line above the heads of the still dense crowd, and Frankgrasped the fact that they were bayonets. Then turning in the otherdirection he saw, far up the street toward Islington, another glitteringline, showing that a second body of infantry barred the way. 

And now once more came the sound of firing, and Frank's heart resumedits wild beating, for it came rolling down the side street nearlyopposite to him, that up which he had seen the prisoners passed, and heknew that troops must be guarding the end. 

This was plain enough, for the steady stream passing up it grew slower, then stopped; there was a tremendous shouting and yelling, and the humantide came slowly rolling back, then faster and faster, till it set rightacross the main street, and joined one going off in the oppositedirection. 

Soon after, to the boy's horror, he caught sight of one of the prisonersbeing borne along over the heads of the returning crowd; then of anotherand another. And now, as the two lines of dimly seen bayonets drewnearer in both directions, there was once more the sound of the trumpet;and in half a dozen places the dragoons began to form up, and, minute byminute growing stronger in the power to move, swords were seen to flash, and they forced their way through the stream, cutting it right across, and hemming in the portion of the crowd over whose heads the perfectlyhelpless prisoners were being borne. 

This manoeuvre having been executed, the rest proved simple. Knot afterknot of the dragoons forced their way up to what had become theirrallying-point, the foot guards were steadily advancing up and down themain street toward the carriages, and another company was steadilydriving the people back along the side street up which the prisoners hadbeen borne. 

"A brave attempt, Frank, " said Captain Murray; "but they have failed. Come along;" and, dizzy with excitement, the boy felt his horse begin tomove beneath him toward the escort which formed a crescent round thecarriages in double rank, through which they passed slowly the men ofthe crowd they had entrapped, till some forty or fifty only remained, whose retreat was cut off by the bristling line of bayonets drawn acrossthe side street down which they had come. 

Frank had no eyes for the scene behind him, now shown by the light ofmany smoky torches, --the roadway littered with hats, sticks, and torngarments, trampled people lying here and there, others who had beenborne and laid down close to the houses, whose occupants were now comingout to render the assistance badly enough needed, for even here manywere wounded and bleeding from sword cuts: of the ghastly traces of thefiring, of course, nothing was visible there. He did not heed eitherthe state of the dragoons, who had not escaped scot free, many of thembeing injured by sword and cudgel; some had been dragged from theirhorses and trampled; others stood behind the double line, separated fromtheir mounts, which had gone on with the crowd; most of them werehatless, while several had had their uniforms torn from their backs. 

Frank had no eyes for all this; his attention was too fully taken up bythe proceedings near the carriages, where the fettered and handcuffedprisoners--five--were being passed in by men of the foot guards, whothen formed up round the vehicles, toward which the two teams of horseswere now brought back, the men roughly knotting together the cut traces, and fastening them ready for a fresh start toward the prison. 

"One of the prisoners has been carried off, Frank, " whispered CaptainMurray then; and in a weak voice the lad said:

"My father?"

"No, my lad; he is in the second carriage now. " The next minute orderswere given, and the dragoons advanced to clear the way for thecarriages, now surrounded by the bristling bayonets of half a regimentof foot guards, who refused passage to Captain Murray and the boy, sothat they had to be content with riding in front of the rear guard ofdragoons. 

And now once more the yelling of the crowd arose from the direction ofCheapside, where the mob had again gathered strongly; but no mercy wasshown. The heavy mass of dragoons that formed the advance guard hadreceived their orders to clear the way, and, finding a determinedopposition, the trumpet rang out once more, and they advanced at agallop, trampling down all before them for a few minutes till the crowdbroke and ran. The way was clear enough as at a double the Grenadierscame up, and passed round the angle at Newgate Street, the escortdriving the mob before it; and the wide space at the west end of the OldBailey was reached. 

This was packed with troops, who had preserved an opening for thecarriages, and into it the Grenadiers marched, and formed up round themassive prison gates. And now Frank made an effort, with CaptainMurray's assistance, to get to the carriage door again for one shortfarewell. But in the hurry and excitement of the time, the pass fromthe Palace and the military uniform the captain wore went for nothing, the dense mass of Grenadiers stood firm, and very few minutes sufficedfor the prisoners to be passed in and the gates closed. A strong forceof infantry was stationed within and without, for the authoritiesdreaded an attack upon the prison; and the regiment of dragoons that hadbeen detailed to meet the escort and guard the road to Islingtonpatrolled the approaches, while the rest marched off to their quartersamidst the hooting and yelling of the crowd. 

Captain Murray turned off at once into a side street, and rode besideFrank for some distance, respecting in silence his young companion'sgrief, hardly a word passing till they reached the Guards' stables andleft their horses, which looked, by the light of the men's lanthorns, asif they had passed through a river. Then the pair hurried across thePark, feeling half-stunned by their adventure, Frank so entirely, exhausted that he would have gladly availed himself of his friend's arm. 

But he fought hard, and just as the clock was striking twelve he madehis way to his mother's room, wondering whether he was to be called uponto face some fresh grief. But he found Lady Gowan lying awake, andready to stretch out her hands to him. 

"You saw him, Frank?" she whispered; and the disorder of his appearanceescaped her notice. 

"Yes, mother; I rode beside him, and he spoke to me. "

"Yes, yes; what did he say?" cried Lady Gowan. 

Frank delivered his father's loving message, and his mother's eyesclosed. 

"Yes, " she said softly, "to meet again in happier times. " Then, unclosing her eyes again, she moaned out, "Oh, Frank, Frank, my boy, myboy!" and he forgot his own weakness and suffering in his efforts toperform the sacred duty which had fallen to his lot. 

CHAPTER FORTY TWO. 

AFTER THE FAILURE. 

That next morning, after a long sleep, the result of exhaustion, FrankGowan awoke with the horrors of the previous night seeming to have grownso that they could no longer be borne. He hurried across to hismother's apartments, to find from the nurse that she was sleeping, andmust not of course be disturbed; so he went over to Captain Murray, whoreceived him warmly. 

"Better, my lad?" he said. 

"Better?" cried Frank reproachfully. 

"I mean rested. Frank lad, we had a narrow escape of our lives lastnight. I hear already that about fifty dragoons were more or lessinjured. "

"And how many of the people?" said Frank bitterly. 

"That will never be known, my boy. It is very horrible when orders aregiven to fire upon a crowd. Many fell, I'm afraid. But there, don'tlook so down-hearted. "

"Have you heard who was the prisoner that escaped?"

"Yes. They have not taken him again yet; but I don't think he will beable to get right away. "

"Not if he can reach the coast?" said Frank. 

"Ah! he might then. There, Frank lad, I want to be true to my duty--don't tell upon me--but I can't help feeling that we had bad luck lastnight, or some one we know might have been the lucky man. "

Frank caught at his hand and held it. "If I were the King, I'd pack theprisoners off to France, " continued Captain Murray. "I don't liketaking revenge on conquered enemies. "

"Ah, now you make me feel as if I can speak openly to you, " cried Frank. "Tell me, do you think there is still any hope of an escape?"

"There always is, my lad. One thing is very evident, and that is thatyour father and his companions have plenty of friends in London who areready to risk their lives to save them. Come, don't be down-hearted; wemust hope for the best. They have to be tried yet. A dozen things mayhappen. Besides, your father was not one of the leaders of therebellion. What's the matter with your arm?"

"My arm? Oh, I don't know. It's so stiff and painful I can hardly liftit. Yes, I remember now. Some one in the crowd struck me with a heavystick. I did not feel it so much then; it was only numbed. "

"You had better let the doctor see it. "

"Oh no, " replied Frank. "I have too many other troubles to think about. Captain Murray, what shall I do? I must see my father. Give me youradvice, or come with me to ask permission of the Prince. "

The captain sat frowning for a few moments, and then rose. 

"Yes, " he said abruptly; "come. "

Frank sprang after him as he moved toward the door, and in a few minutesthey were in the antechamber, where a knot of officers were discussingthe proceedings of the previous night, but ceased upon their attentionbeing directed to the son of one of the prisoners. 

The captain sent in his name as soon as he could; but his efforts togain an audience were not so successful as upon previous occasions. There were many waiting, and the Prince made no exception in CaptainMurray's favour. 

The order of precedence was rigidly adhered to, and hours had passedaway before the attendant came to where Frank and the captain wereseated waiting. 

"His Royal Highness will see you, sir, " said the gentleman-in-waiting. 

Frank sprang to his feet as the captain rose, and moved toward thecurtained door. 

"I am sorry, " said the attendant, with a commiserating look, "but hisRoyal Highness expressly said that Captain Murray was to come alone. "

Frank's lips parted as a look of anguish came into his pale face, and heturned his appealing eyes to the captain, who shook his head sadly. 

"I will beg him to see you, my boy, " he whispered. "I look to hisseeing you to get his consent. "

Frank sank back into his seat, and turned his face to the window to hideit from those present, and seemed to them to be gazing out at the gayshow of troops under arms and filling the courtyard; but, as he sat, hesaw only the interior of the Prince's room, with Captain Murrayappealing on his behalf: all else was non-existent. 

He had not moved, he had not heard the low buzz of eager conversationthat went on, new-comers being unaware of his presence. Fortunate itwas that he was deaf to all that was said, for the fate of the prisonerslodged like ordinary malefactors the previous night in Newgate waseagerly discussed, and his father's name was mentioned by several inconnection with the axe. 

He was still sitting in the same vacant way when, at the end of half anhour, a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and the captain's voice said ina low tone, "Come. "

"He will see me?" cried Frank, rising quickly. 

"Hush! Keep your sorrow to yourself, as an Englishman should, "whispered the captain. "The room is full of people. "

"But he will see me?"

"No. Come away, " said the captain quietly. 

Frank gave him a defiant look; then turned away and walked straighttoward the curtained door, which the attendant was about to open toadmit another gentleman to the Prince's presence. 

Before he was half-way there the captain's strong grasp was upon hisshoulder. 

"What are you going to do, boy?" he said sternly. 

"See the Prince myself. He must--he shall give me leave to go. "

"Do you wish to destroy the last chance? Frank, for your mother'ssake!"

"No; don't make me struggle before all these people to get free, " saidthe boy firmly; but as he spoke the captain's last words stood outbefore him in their real significance. 

"For your mother's sake!"

He turned back without another word, and walked with his companion outof the room and down into the courtyard without a word. 

"Take me somewhere, " he said, in a strange, dazed way. "My head feelsconfused. I hardly know what I am saying. "

Captain Murray drew the boy's hand through his arm, and made as if tolead him to his quarters; but it meant passing crowded-together troops, and, altering his mind, he walked with him sharply out into the Park, till they reached a secluded place where there was a seat. 

"Sit down, boy. "

"Yes, " said Frank obediently. "Now tell me, please. "

"I was in there long, but there is little to tell you, boy, " said thecaptain, in a harsh, brusque way to conceal the agony of disappointmenthe felt. "I appealed again and again to the Prince to give me an orderto admit us to the prison, but he sternly refused me, and I have angeredhim terribly by my obstinate return to the assault. Frank boy, it islike this. The Prince told me that, before your father joined thePretender, he had made a direct appeal, at his wife's wish, for yourfather's pardon, and been refused. He says that now, after this openact of rebellion, it is impossible for him to appeal again. That theKing is furious because one of the most important prisoners has beenallowed to escape--there is a rumour that it was Prince James Francishimself--and that it would be madness to ask for any permission. Menwho rebel against their lawful sovereign have no wives or children; theyare outlaws without rights. That it is sad for those who love them, butthat they must suffer, as they have made others suffer by causing somuch blood to be shed. "

"He said those cruel words?" said Frank, with his eyes flashing. 

"Yes, " said the captain sadly. 

"Knowing what my poor mother suffers, and my despair?"

"He was angry, and spoke more hardly than he meant, my boy. There isanother thing too; the Prince and his Majesty are not on friendly terms. I hear that they have quarrelled, and that they parted in great anger. Frank, you must wait and hope. "

"Wait and hope--wait and hope!" said Frank bitterly. "Is that the way ason should seek to comfort his father, and try to save his life? Sitstill, and do nothing but wait and hope! Oh, it is of no use! I cannotbear it. I will not stay chained up in this dreadful place. I cannot, I will not serve either the prince or king who would hurry my father tothe block. "

"Stop! Think what you are saying, boy. What rash thing are you goingto do?"

"Rash? Nothing can be rash at such a time. I am going to try and savemy father. "

"Once more, boy--your mother, have you forgotten her?"

"No, " said the lad firmly; "but I should be forgetting her if I made noeffort, but sat still and let things drift. "

Captain Murray sighed, and rose from his seat. 

"Frank, " he said gravely, "I never had a brother, but for years now yourfather seemed to fill a brother's place with me, and I tell you as a manthat there is nothing I would not do to save his life. I am a simplesoldier; I know my duties well, and if the need arose I could go andface death with the rest, feeling that it was the right thing to do; butI am not clever, I am no statesman--not one of those who can argue andfence--unless, " he said bitterly, "it is with my sword. I looked uponyou as a mere boy, but over this you are more the man than I. Youmaster me. I cannot do more than defend myself. Still, I think I amadvising you rightly when I beg and pray of you to do nothing rash. Don't take any step, I say once more, that will embitter the Princeagainst you. I will go now. Stay here for a while till you growcalmer, and then come to my quarters. I feel that I only irritate you, and must seem weak and cowardly to you. You will be better alone. I, too, shall be better alone. I want to try and think, and it is hardwork this morning, for I am in terrible pain. One of my ribs was brokenlast night in that crowd, and at times I am sick and faint. "

Frank heard his words, but did not seem to grasp them, and sat back inhis seat with his chin resting upon his breast as the captain walkedslowly away. Had he looked after him, he would have seen that twiceover he stopped to lean for a few minutes against a tree. 

But the boy neither looked up nor stirred. He sat for some time as ifcompletely stunned, till he heard steps approaching, and then, with animpatient movement, he turned a little in his seat, so as to hide hisface from whoever it was coming by. 

The next moment a familiar voice said distinctly behind him:

"Don't look up--don't move or speak. Be at your father's house at fourthis afternoon, holding the door ajar till I slip in. "

"Drew!" ejaculated Frank, in a sharp whisper, as he obeyed the order, thrilling the while as if with new life infused through his veins; andhis eyes followed the tall, slight figure of a jaunty-looking young man, dressed in the height of fashion, walking along as if proud of hisbearing and the gold-headed, clouded cane he flourished as he promenadedthe Park. 

Drew Forbes, whose life would probably be forfeit in those wild times ifhe were recognised by either of the spies who haunted the Palaceprecincts--Drew, wearing no disguise, though changed in aspect by hishair being so closely cropped behind! What his appearance might be faceto face Frank could not tell. 

CHAPTER FORTY THREE. 

A MEETING BETWEEN FRIENDS. 

"`Be at your father's house at four this afternoon, holding the doorajar till I slip in, '" said Frank, repeating his old companion's words, trembling with excitement the while, as he watched till the figure haddisappeared, when a feeling of resentment sent the hot blood to histemples. "No. I will not go. It only means more trouble. Oh, howmuch of it all is due to him!"

"No, " he said a few minutes later. "That is unjust. He must have beenwith the people who attempted the rescue last night. I will go. He isbrave and true, after all. Yes, it is to help again to save my father, and I will be there. "

It was like a fillip to him, and a few minutes after he rose, and wentback to the Palace, passing several officials whom he knew, all salutinghim in a kindly way, as if full of sympathy, but not attempting tospeak. 

His goal was his mother's room, and to his surprise he found herevidently anxiously expecting him, but very calm and resigned in hermanner. 

"Frank dear, " she said gently, "I feel as if it is almost heartless ofme to seem so, but I am better. I will not despair, my own boy, for Ifeel so restful. It is as if something told me that our prayers wouldbe heard. "

"And with him lying in irons in that dreadful gaol, " thought Frank, witha momentary feeling of resentment--momentary, for it passed away, and hesat with her, telling her, at her urgent prayer, of all the proceedingsof the past night, as well as of his ill-success that morning. 

He had prayed of her not to press him, but she insisted, and it was tofind that, in place of sending her into a fit of despondent weeping, shespoke afterwards quite calmly. 

"Yes, " she said gently, as she raised his hand to her cheek and held itthere; "all these things are the plans of men, kings, and princes, withtheir armies. But how insignificant it all seems compared with thegreatness of the Power which rules all. Frank dearest, we cannot--wemust not despair. "

He looked at her wonderingly, and with his heart very sore; but somehowshe seemed to influence him, the future did not look quite so solidlyblack as it had that morning, and he felt ready to tell her of hisencounter with Drew. But fearing to raise her hopes unduly on soslender a basis he refrained, and stayed with her till the time wasapproaching for his visit to the house across the Park. Then he lefther wondering at the feeling of lightness that came over him, and notattributing it to the fact that he had something to do--something whichcalled his faculties into action to scheme and contrive the meetingwithout being baffled by those who dogged the steps of every one aboutthe place. 

Hope was inspiring him too again, and he refrained from going nearCaptain Murray, setting quite at nought all thought of his duties at thePalace, and waiting in his room watching the clock till he felt that itwas time to go. 

He sat for a few moments longer, trying to come to a conclusion whichwould be the better plan--to go carefully to the house after takingevery precaution against being seen, or to go boldly without oncelooking back. 

The latter was the plan he determined to adopt; but to throw dust in theeyes of any watcher, he placed a couple of books under one arm, anddetermined to bring three or four different ones back, so as to make itappear that he had been to change some works in his father's library. 

Whether any spy was upon his track or no he could not tell, for, following out his plan, he went straight away to the house, thunderedloudly at the door, and dragged at the bell. 

The old housekeeper admitted him with her old precautions, and eagerlyasked after her ladyship's health. Her next question, whether he hadheard from Sir Robert, convinced the lad that, living her quiet, secluded life, she was in perfect ignorance of the stirring events ofthe past two or three weeks, and he refrained from enlightening her. 

"Now, Berry, " he said, "go down and stay there till I call you upagain. "

"Oh, my dear young master!" said the old woman, beginning to sob. 

"Why, what's the matter, Berry?" he cried. 

"Oh, my dear, my dear!" she sobbed, with her apron to her eyes; "it'sglad I am to see you when you come, but I do wish you'd stay away. "

"Stay away! Why?"

"Because it only means fresh trouble whenever you come over here. Idon't care for myself a bit, my dear; but as soon as I see your bonnyface, I begin to quake, for I know it means spies and soldiers comingafter you and I expect to see you marched off to the Tower, and broughtback with your head chopped off and put up along with the traitors. Don't do it, my dear; don't do it. "

"Don't do what?" cried Frank impatiently. 

"Don't go running dreadful risks, my dear, and meddling with suchmatters. Let 'em have which king they like, and quarrel and fight aboutit; but don't you have anything to do with it at all. "

"And don't you try to interfere with matters you can't understand, youdear old Berry, " cried the lad, kissing her affectionately. 

"Ah! that's like the dear little curly-headed boy who used to come andkiss me, and ask me to melt lumps of sugar in the wax candle to make himcandy drops. I often think now, Master Frank, that you have forgottenyour poor old nurse. Ah! I remember when you had the measles so badly, and your poor dear little face was red and dreadful--"

"Yes, yes, Berry; but I am so busy now. I expect some one to come. "

"Not the soldiers, my dear?"

"No, no, no!"

"Nor those dreadful spies?"

"I hope not, Berry. You go down, please, at once, and wait till I callyou up. "

"Yes, my dear, yes, " said the woman sadly. "You're master now poor dearSir Robert is away. I'll go; but pray, pray be careful. It would killme, my dear. "

"Kill you?" cried Frank. "What would?"

"I should--yes, I would do that!--I should crawl somehow as far as thecity to have one look at your poor dear head sticking on a spike, andthen I should creep down a side street, and lay my head on a doorstep, and die. "

"No, you shan't!" cried Frank, laughing in spite of his excitement, ashe hurried the weeping old woman to the top of the basement stairs. "I'll come here properly, with my head upon my shoulders. There, there;go down and wait. I don't think anything will happen to-day to frightenyou. Never mind; if any one comes I'll open the door. "

"Oh, my dear, I can't let you do that, " remonstrated the old woman. "What would my lady say?"

"That old Berry was a dear, good, obedient housekeeper, who always didwhat she was told. "

"Ah!" sighed the old lady, with a piteous smile; "you always did coaxand get the better of me, Master Frank; and many's the time I've madeyou ill by indulging you with pudding and cakes that you begged for. Yes, I'll go down, my dear; but I'll come the moment you call or ring. "

Frank stood watching her till she reached the foot of the stairs, andthen started and ran across the hall in his excitement, for a clock wasstriking, and he had hardly let down the chain and unfastened the doorto hold it ajar, when there was a step outside, it was pushed open, andDrew Forbes glided in, and thrust it to. 

"Frank, old lad!" he cried excitedly, as the chain was replaced; and heseized his companion by the shoulders, and shook him. "Oh, I am glad tosee you again. "

"And I you, " cried the lad, as full of excitement. 

"Hah! these are queer times. I am fit to touch now. Did you ever seesuch a miserable, dirty beggar as I was that day in the Park?"

"Don't talk about that, Drew, " cried Frank; "come upstairs. "

"Yes, we may as well sit down, for I'm nearly run off my legs. I say, did you get hurt in the crowd?"

"A little, " said Frank eagerly. "Were you there?"

Drew did not reply till they were in the room on the first floor lookingover the Park; and then he threw himself full length on one of thecouches, while Frank closed and locked the door. 

"Not laziness, old lad--fagged, and must rest when I can. Was I there?Of course I was. But oh, what a mess we made of it! Everything waswell thought out; but you were too strong for us. We should have gotthem all away if they had not trapped us with the foot guards. Somesoldier must have planned it all. Our fellows fought like lions tillthey began firing volleys and drove all before them with fixed bayonets. Poor dear old Frank! I am sorry for you. "

"And I'm as sorry for you, " said the boy sadly, as he pressed the thin, white, girlish hand which held his. 

"Sorry for me?" said Drew sharply. "I'm all right. "

"Then your father was not one of the prisoners?" said Frank eagerly. 

"Not with them? Didn't you see him there?"

"No; I only saw that two other gentlemen were in the carriage with myfather. I only had eyes for him. "

"That's natural enough, " said Drew; "I hardly saw your father till wegot them all out of the carriages, chained hand and foot. Oh, whatmiserable, cowardly tyranny! Gentlemen, prisoners of war, treated likethieves and murderers! Poor fellows! they could do nothing to helpthemselves. "

"But you rescued one, " said Frank. "Is he safe?"

"Safe as safe, " cried Drew joyously. 

"Ah!" said Frank with a sigh, "you are very loyal to your Prince. "

"I don't know so much about that, old lad. He does not turn out well. "

"Not grateful to you all for saving him, while the others wererecaptured and cast in gaol!" Drew sat up suddenly. 

"I say, what are you talking about?" he cried. "About your rescuing andcarrying off the Prince to safety. "

"Nonsense! He was safe enough before. Didn't I say he does not turnout well?"

"Yes; but you rescued him last night: I heard it at the Palace thismorning. "

"Stuff! He kept himself safe enough over the water without showing hisface. "

"Then who was it you saved?"

"Who was it? Why, my dear old dad, of course. We nearly lost him, fora great tall Guardsman had got hold of him by the fetter ring round hiswaist, only I made him let go. I hope I haven't killed him, Frank, "added the lad between his teeth; "but I had a sword in my hand--and Iused it. "

"Oh, I am glad you have saved your father, Drew. "

"And I am sorry we did not save yours, Frank. Perhaps if you had beenhelping us you might have done as I did, and he too might have beenwhere your King's people couldn't touch him. 

"There, I did not mean to say that, " continued Drew, after a shortpause. "It isn't kind and straight to you. I won't reproach you, Franky; for I can't help feeling that you are, as father says, the soulof honour. He said I was to tell you how proud he felt that you were mybest friend--we are friends still, Frank?"

"Of course. "

"But I have said some nasty things to you, old lad. "

"I can't remember things like that, " said Frank sadly; "only that whenyou did not talk of the other side we were very jolly together. "

"And I couldn't help it, " said Drew earnestly. 

"I know it. "

"Well, I didn't come here to talk about that. "

"No, it's all past. Let's talk about the future. "

"Yes; how's dear Lady Gowan?"

"How can she be, Drew?" said Frank wearily. 

The tears started to Drew's eyes, which filled, as he caught hisfriend's hands in his, and the next moment the big drops began tricklingdown. 

"There, " he said quietly, "I'm crying like a great girl. I can't helpit when I think about her. I always was a weak, passionate, hystericalsort of fellow, Frank, and I'm worse than ever now with all this strain. But you tell her when you go back that there are some thousands of goodmen and true now in London who will not stop till they have saved dearSir Robert, and the other brave leaders who are shut up in that wretchedprison. "

"Ah!" sighed Frank; "if they only could!"

"But we will, " cried Drew excitedly. 

"Well, your father is safe, " said Frank bitterly. "I suppose he willleave the country now?"

"What, and forsake his friends?" cried Drew proudly. "You don't know myfather yet. No; he says he will not stir till your father is safe; andwe'll have them out yet, if we have to burn the prison first. "

Frank looked at him wildly. 

"But there are more ways of killing a cat than hanging it, lad, "continued Drew with a laugh, as he dashed away the last of hishysterical tears. "I look a nice sort of a hero, don't I? But I cameto tell you not to be down-hearted, for there are plenty of brains atwork. "

"And I must help!" cried Frank excitedly. 

"No; you leave it to the older heads. I should like to help too; but myfather says that I am to leave it to him. He has a plan. And now I amcoming to what I came principally for. "

"Then you have something else to say?"

"Yes. Is your mother still so very ill?"

"Yes, very. "

"That is bad; but ill or no, she must make an effort. "

"Oh, she is making every effort to get my father spared, " cried Frankbitterly. 

"I suppose so, " said Drew. "But look here; your poor father issuffering horribly. "

"As if I did not know that!" cried Frank. 

"And my father says that Lady Gowan must get a permit to allow her to goand see him in prison. "

"Yes, of course, " cried Frank excitedly. 

"Go back then now, and tell her to get leave; the Princess will--mustget that for her. They can't refuse it. "

"No, they dare not!" said Frank, whose pale face was now quivering withemotion. 

"When would she go?"

"As soon as possible--to-day if she could. "

"To-morrow would be better, " said Drew quietly. "She would go in hercarriage, of course. "

"Oh no; she would go in one of the royal carriages--the one used by theladies of honour. "

"Of course. I did not see that. "

"I shall go with her, " said Frank. 

"No; she must go to him alone. You saw Sir Robert yesterday. My fatherthought of that. He said it would be better. "

"I'll do anything he thinks best. "

"Then go back now, and tell her to be calm, and to try all she can to bestrong enough to see the Princess and get the permission. "

"Yes, I'll go directly, " said Frank. "But you? I don't want you to runany risks. "

"And I don't want to. May I stay here till dark?"

"Of course. "

"Then call up your housekeeper, and tell her that I am to come and gohere just as if I belonged to the place. "

Frank hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Yes, of course. "

"I'll tell you why, Frank, my lad, " said Drew quickly. "When yourmother leaves the Palace to go to Newgate, she must call here first. "

"Here first! Why?"

"To see me. I shall be here with a very important message from myfather to yours. Tell Lady Gowan she must come, for it may mean thesaving of your father's life. "

"But--"

"Don't raise obstacles, lad, " cried Drew angrily. "Is there anything sostrange in her telling the servants to drive to her own house andcalling here first?"

"Then it is to take files and ropes, " whispered Frank. 

"It is to do nothing of the sort, " said Drew sharply. "Such plans wouldbe childish. Lady Gowan will not be asked to do anything to help herhusband to escape. It can't be done that way, Frank. Now, then, youare man enough to think for her in this emergency. Tell her what to do, and she will cling to you and follow your advice. Will you do this?"

"Will I do it!" cried the lad. "Is there anything I would not do tospare her pain?"

"That's good. Come here, and meet her afterwards. "

"Yes, of course. "

"Give her plenty of time first. Now ring for your old lady, and tellher I am to stay and do as I like. And, I say, Frank, I'm starving. Ihave eaten nothing to-day. "

"Oh!" ejaculated the lad. "Well, that will please her. "

"I must have a key to come and go. "

"You shall do what you please, only pray be careful. Don't get yourselfarrested. "

"Not if I can help it, lad. Now, be of good heart; we shall save yourfather yet. It may not be till after his trial. "

"His trial?"

"Of course. They'll all be tried and condemned; but we will have themaway, and perhaps James Francis on the throne even yet. "

Frank looked at him searchingly, when Drew lay down again, as ifsomething was on his mind that he could not clearly grasp; but he saidnothing, and rang the bell, which was answered directly by the oldhousekeeper. 

"Mrs Berry, " said Frank, "my friend here--"

"Mr Andrew Forbes, sir, yes. "

"Hi! Hush! What are you talking about?" cried Drew, starting upangrily. "I'm not here, my good woman. Do you want to send me toprison?"

"Oh dear me, oh dear me!" cried the poor woman excitedly. "What have Idone now?"

"Nothing, nothing, Berry, " said Frank hastily, "only it must not beknown that Mr Forbes is here. You must not mention his name again. "

"Very well, sir, " said the woman sadly; and she gave her young master areproachful look. 

"My friend will have the front-door key, and stay here or come and go asoften as he likes. "

"Very well, sir. You are master now, " said the housekeeper sadly. 

"He will be here to meet my mother, who will probably come overto-morrow. "

"Oh, my dear Master Frank!" cried the woman, brightening up. "That isgood news. "

"So do all you can for my friend. He wants breakfast or lunch at once. He's faint and hungry. "

"Oh, I'll get something ready directly, sir. "

"And you will be silent and discreet, Berry. "

"You may trust me, sir; and I'll do my best to make your friendcomfortable. Will he sleep here to-night?"

"If he wishes, Berry. "

"Certainly, sir;" and the housekeeper hurried away. 

"That's right, " said Drew quietly. "I don't think any one saw me come. Now you be off, and don't fail to send Lady Gowan to comfort your poorfather in his distress. "

They parted directly after, and Frank hurried back, and went straight tohis mother's apartments. 

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. 

THE PRISON PASS. 

"Oh, my boy!" cried Lady Gowan, "how long you have been without comingto me. "

Frank looked at her in surprise, as she rose from the couch on which shehad been lying--dressed. 

"Yes, yes, dear, I feel stronger now. Have you any news? Where haveyou been?"

"Home, " said Frank, watching her intently. "I have seen Drew Forbes. "

"Yes, yes; has he any news?"

"He has seen his father, and says that you are not to lose hope. "

"All words, words!" sighed Lady Gowan, wringing her hands. 

"And that it is your duty to go and see my father in prison. "

"As if we needed to be told that, " cried Lady Gowan scornfully. "I amgoing to him directly I can get permission. "

"You are?" cried Frank excitedly. 

"Of course. The Princess has been here to see me, and she has promisedthat if I am well enough I shall have an order to see your father in hisprison to-morrow. "

"Oh!" cried Frank excitedly, "that is good news. I had come to beg youto appeal to the Princess. Mother dearest, the Forbeses are ourfriends, but you must not speak about them to a soul. "

"I, my boy?" cried Lady Gowan, clinging to him, and speakingpassionately; "I can speak of no one--think of no one but your fathernow. "

"But you must, mother. It is important. They have promised to help myfather to escape. "

"Frank!--no, no; it is impossible. Oh, my dear boy, you must not joinin any plot. You must not--yes, yes, it is your duty to try and savehis life, come what may, " cried Lady Gowan. 

"Hush, mother! Pray be calm, " whispered Frank. "Now listen. You willnot be asked to do anything but this. "

"Yes, yes. What, dear?" she said, in a sharp whisper. "No: wait amoment. "

She made an effort to regain her composure, and at last succeeded. 

"Don't think ill of me, my boy, " she said. "I wished to be--I havetried to be--loyal to those who have been our truest friends; but yourfather's life is at stake, and I can only think now of saving him. Speak out--tell me what they wish. "

"I hardly know, mother; but they only ask this: that you convey animportant message from Andrew's father to mine. "

"Is that all?" sighed Lady Gowan. 

"You must drive over to our house when you leave here to-morrow; go in, and you will find Drew waiting there. "

"Drew Forbes waiting at our house?" said Lady Gowan in astonishment. 

"Yes; he will have the message from his father for you to bear, and youmust not fail, for it may mean the ruining of his hopes. "

"I--I do not understand, my dear, " sighed Lady Gowan; "but I will doanything now. I would die that I might save his life. "

"But will you be able to go, mother? You are so weak. "

"The thought that I shall see him and bear him news that may save hislife will give me strength, Frank. Yes, I will go. "

Frank felt astonished at the change which had come over her, and satanswering her questions about his proceedings on the previous night, for, in her thirst to know everything, she made him repeat himself againand again; but he could not help noticing that all the while she waskeenly on the alert, listening to every sound, and at last starting upas her attendant entered the room with a letter. 

"Hah!" she cried, snatching it from the woman's hands. 

"And the nurse says, my lady, may she come in now?"

"No, no; I cannot see her. Go!" cried Lady Gowan imperiously; and shetore open the letter, as the woman left the room. "Hah! See, see, Frank! It is an order signed by the King himself. With the Princess'sdear love and condolence. Heaven bless her! But oh! Look!"

Frank took the order and read it quickly. 

It was for Lady Gowan, alone and unattended, to be admitted to theprisoner's cell for one hour only on the following day. 

"I must write and appeal again, my boy. You must be with me. "

"No, mother, " said Frank sadly. "I was with my father last night. Thisvisit should be for you alone. "

She looked at him half resentfully, and then drew him to her breast. 

Before he left her he once more drew from her the promise that she wouldfulfil the instructions he gave her, and call in Queen Anne Street, goup, see Drew Forbes, and take the message from his father. 

"I don't understand it, " said the lad to himself, as he left hismother's apartments; "but it must mean something respecting my father'sprospects of escape--some instructions perhaps. Oh, everything mustgive way now to saving his life. "

Then thinking and thinking till his brain began to swim, he went to hisown room, feeling utterly exhausted, but unable to find rest. 

In the morning he ran round, and found that the doctor was with hismother; and as the great physician came out he shook hands with the lad. 

"Yes?" he said smiling; "you wish to know whether I think Lady Gowanwill be able to go and pay that visit this afternoon? Most certainly. Her illness is principally from anxiety, and I have no hesitation insaying that she would be worse if I forbade her leaving her apartments. I will be here to see her in the evening after her return. "

Frank entered his mother's room to find her wonderfully calm, but therewas a peculiarly wild look of excitement in her eyes; and as the ladgazed inquiringly at her, she said softly:

"Have no fear, dear. I shall be strong enough to bear it. You willcome, and see me start! The carriage will be here at two. "

"And you will go round home first?" said Frank softly. 

"Yes, " she cried, with the excited look in her eyes seeming to grow moreintense. "But, my boy, my boy, if I could only have you with me! Frankdear, we must save him. But do you think that these people can and willhelp him?"

"I feel sure, mother, " replied Frank. "Take the message Drew brings toyou, and see what my father says. "

"Yes, " she said thoughtfully. "I feel that they will help, for thesepeople are staunch to each other. They helped the Pretender to escape. "

"It was not the Pretender, mother, " whispered Frank; "it was Drew'sfather. And he has vowed that he will not leave England and seek safetyuntil my father is safe. "

"Then Heaven bless him!" cried Lady Gowan, passionately. "I had mydoubts as to whether it would be wise to bear his message to yourfather, but I am contented now. Leave me, my dearest boy. I wantstrength to bear the interview this afternoon, and the doctor told methat, unless I rested till the last moment, I should not have enough tocarry me through. But you will be here?"

"I will be here, " he said tenderly; and once more they parted, Frankgoing across to Captain Murray, and telling him of his mother's visit. 

"It is too much for her to bear, " he said sadly. "Surely she has notthe strength!"

"You don't know my mother's determination, " said the boy proudly. "Ohyes, she will go. "

"Heaven give her the fortitude to bear the shock!" muttered the captain. "Can I do anything--see her there?" he asked. 

"No, no, " said Frank hastily. "She must go alone. The carriage willtake her and wait. But you; how is the side?"

"Oh, I have no time to think about a little pain, my boy. Frank, we areall trying what we can do by a petition to his Majesty. The colonelwill present it when it is ready. He must--he shall show mercy thistime; so cheer up, boy. No man in the army has so many friends as yourfather, and the King will see this by the names attached to our prayer. "

But these words gave little encouragement, and Frank felt that in hisheart he had more faith in some bold attempt made by his father'sfriends. He thought, moreover, from Drew's manner, that there must besomething more in progress than he divined, and going back to hisduties--which he did or left undone without question now--he waitedimpatiently for the afternoon. 

But never had the hours dragged along so slowly, and it seemed acomplete day when, at a few minutes before two, he went round to hismother's apartments, and found one of the private carriages with theservants in plain liveries waiting at the door. 

On ascending to his mother's room, he found her seated there, dressedalmost wholly in black, and with a thick veil held in her hand. She wasvery pale and stern; but her face lit up as the boy crossed to her, andtook her cold, damp hands in his. 

"There, " she said tenderly, "you see how calm I am. "

"Yes; but if I could only go with you, mother!" he said. 

"Yes; if you could only go with me, my boy! But it is impossible. No, not impossible, for you will be with me in spirit all the time. I takeyour love to your father--and--ah!"

Her eyes closed, and she seemed on the point of fainting, but, struggling desperately against the weakness, she mastered it and rose. 

"Take me down to the carriage, Frank, " she said firmly. "It is thewaiting which makes me weak. Once in action, I shall go on to the end. You will be here to meet me on my return? It will be more than twohours--perhaps three. There, you see I am firm now. "

He could not speak, and he felt her press heavily upon his arm, as heled her downstairs and handed her into the carriage. 

Then for the first time a thought struck him. 

"Mother, " he whispered, as he leaned forward into the carriage. "Youought not to go alone. Some lady--"

"Hush! Not a word to weaken me now. I ought to go alone, " she saidfirmly. "I could not take another there. I could not bear her presencewith me. It is better so. Tell the men to drive to Queen Anne Streetfirst. "

The door was closed sharply, he gave the servants their instructions, and then stood watching the carriage as it crossed the courtyard. Butas it disappeared he felt that the excitement was more than he couldbear, and, in place of going back to the Prince's antechamber, hehurried out into the Park, to try and cool his heated brain. 

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. 

CAPTAIN MURRAY'S NEWS. 

The walk in the cool air beneath the trees seemed to have the oppositeeffect to that intended, for the boy's head was burning, and his busyimagination kept on forming pictures of what had passed and was passingthen. He saw his mother get out of the carriage at their own door, thatweak, sorrow-bent form in black, and enter, the carriage waiting for herreturn. He followed her up the broad staircase into the half-darkeneddrawing-room, where Drew was waiting to give her the important messagefrom his father. 

"Yes, " thought the boy; "it will be a letter of instructions what he isto do, for they have, I feel certain now, made some plan for his escape. But what?"

Then, with everything in his waking dream, he saw his mother descend andleave the house again, enter the carriage, the steps were rattled up, the door closed, and he followed it in imagination along the crowdedstreets to the dismal front of Newgate, where, with vivid clearness, hesaw her enter the gloomy door and disappear. 

"I can't bear it, " he groaned, as he threw himself on the grass; "Ican't bear it. I feel as if I shall go mad. "

At last the hot, beating sensation in his head grew less painful, forthe vivid pictures had ceased to form themselves as he mentally saw hismother enter the prison, and in a dull, heavy, despairing fashion hereclined there, waiting until fully two hours should have passed awaybefore he attempted to return to his mother's apartment to await herreturn. 

The time went slowly now, and he lay thinking of the meeting that mustbe taking place, till, feeling that if he lay longer there he shouldexcite attention, he rose and walked slowly on, meaning to go rightround the Park, carrying out his original intention of trying to growcalm. 

He went slowly on, so as to pass the time, for he felt that it would beunbearable to go back to his mother's room, and perhaps have the nurseand maid fidgeting in and out. 

The result was that he almost crept along thinking, but in a differentstrain, for there were no more vivid pictures, his brain from thereaction seeming drowsy and sluggish. Half unconscious now of theprogress of time, he sauntered on till the sight of the back of theirhouse roused the desire to go and see if Drew were still there; and, hurrying now, he made his way round to the front, knocked, heard thechain put up, and as it was opened saw the old housekeeper peering outsuspiciously. 

The next minute he was in the hall, with the old woman looking at himanxiously. 

"Did my mother come?" he said hoarsely. 

"Poor dear lady! Yes, my dear, looking so bent and strange she couldhardly speak to me; and when she lifted her veil I was shocked to seehow thin and pale she was. "

"Yes, yes; but did she go up and see--"

"Mr Friend? Yes, my dear, and stayed talking to him for quite half anhour before she came down. She did not ring first; but I saw her fromthe window almost tottering, and leaning on the footman's arm. He hadquite to help her into the carriage. Oh, my dear, is all this troublenever to have an end?"

"Don't talk to me, Berry; but please go down. I am going up to see myfriend. He is in the drawing-room, I suppose?"

"Oh yes, my dear. He has been in and out when I have not known, and Iheard him talking to himself last night. Poor young man! he seems introuble too. "

"Yes, yes. Go down now, " said Frank hastily; and as the old womandescended, he sprang up the stairs, and turned the handle of thedrawing-room door. 

But it was locked. 

He knocked sharply. 

"Open the door, " he said, with his lips to the keyhole. "It is I--Frank. "

The key was turned, and he stepped in quickly, to stand numbed withsurprise; for Lady Gowan, looking ghastly white, stood before him, without bonnet or cloak. 

"Well?" she cried; "tell me quick!" and her voice sounded hoarse andstrange. 

"You here!" stammered Frank. "Oh, I see. Oh, mother, mother, and youhave been too ill to go. "

"No, no. Don't question me, " she said wildly. "I can't bear it. Onlytell me, boy--the truth--the truth!"

"You are ill, " he cried. "Here, let me help you to the couch. Liedown, dear. The doctor must be fetched. "

"Frank!" she cried, "do you wish to drive me mad? Don't keep it back. I am not ill. Your father! Has he escaped?"

It was some minutes before he could compel his mother to believe that heknew nothing, and grasped from her incoherent explanations that, whenshe had reached the house two hours before, she had come up to thedrawing-room and found Drew impatiently waiting there. 

He had then given her his father's message of hope for his dear friend'ssafety, and his assurance that a couple of thousand friends would savehim. Moreover, the lad unfolded the plan they had made. 

It was simple enough, and possible from its daring, for at the sight ofthe King's order the authorities of the prison would be off their guard. 

Lady Gowan was to give up dress, bonnet, and cloak, furnish Drew withthe royal mandate, leave him to complete the disguise by means of falsehair, and thus play the part of the heart-broken, weeping wife. 

Thus disguised, he was to go down to the carriage, be helped in, anddriven to the prison. There he was to stay the full time, and in theinterval to exchange dresses with the prisoner, who, cloaked and veiled, bent with suffering and grief, was to present himself at the door whenthe steps of the gaolers were heard, and suffer himself to be assistedback to the carriage and driven off. 

"Yes, but then--then--" cried Frank wildly. "Oh, it is madness; itcould not succeed!"

"Don't, don't say that, my boy, " wailed Lady Gowan. "I must, mother, Imust, " cried the boy passionately. "Why did he not confide in me? Icould have told him what I dared not tell you. "

"Yes, yes, what?" cried Lady Gowan. "Tell me now. I can--I will bearit. "

"My poor father was fettered hand and foot. It was impossible for himto escape. "

There was a painful silence, which was broken at last by Lady Gowan, wholaid her hands with a deprecating gesture upon her son's breast. 

"Don't blame me, Frank, " she whispered. "I was in despair. I snatchedat the proposal, thinking it might do some good, when my heart wasyearning to be at your father's side. You cannot think what Isuffered. "

"Blame you?" cried Frank. "Oh, how could I, mother? But I must leaveyou now. "

"Leave me! At a time like this?"

"Yes, you must bear it, mother. I will come back as soon as possible;but Drew--the carriage? Even if he succeeded in deceiving the gaolersand people, what has happened since?"

"Yes, you must go, " said Lady Gowan, as she fought hard to be firm. "Go, get some news, my boy, and come back to me, even if it is to tellme the worst. Remember that I am in an agony of suspense that iskilling me. "

Frank hurried out, feeling as if it was all some terrible dream, and onreaching the street he directed his steps east, to make his way to thegreat prison. But he turned back before he had gone many yards. 

"No, " he thought; "everything must be over there, and I could not getany news. They would not listen to me. "

He walked hurriedly along, turning into the Park, and another idea cameto him: the royal stables, he would go and see if the carriage hadreturned. If it had, he could learn from the servants all that hadoccurred. 

He broke into a run, and was three parts of the way back to thestable-yard, seeing nothing before him, when his progress was checked bya strong arm thrown across his chest. 

"Don't stop me!" he shouted. --"You, Captain Murray!"

"Yes, I was in search of you. Have you heard?"

"Heard? Heard what?" panted the boy. 

"Your father has escaped. "

Frank turned sharply to dash off; but Captain Murray's strong handgrasped his arm. 

"Stop!" he cried. "I cannot run after you; I'll walk fast. My side isbad. "

"Don't stop me, " cried Frank piteously. 

"I must, boy. It is madness to be running about like this. Don't bringsuspicion upon you, and get yourself arrested--and separated from yourmother when she wants you most. "

"Hah!" ejaculated Frank; and he fell into step with his father's oldcomrade. 

"I will not ask you where you are going; but I suppose in search of yourmother. "

"Yes; she is at home. "

"What? My poor boy! No. The news is now running through the Palacelike wildfire. She went to visit your father in Newgate this afternoon, as you know. I don't wish to ask what complicity you had in the plot. "

"None, " cried Frank excitedly. 

"I am glad of it, though anything was excusable for you at such a time. On reaching the prison she was supported in by the servants and gaolers. She stayed there nearly an hour, and, as the people there supposed, shewas carried back to the carriage in a chair, half fainting. "

"Ah!" ejaculated Frank, who was trembling in every limb. 

"The servants say that the carriage was being driven back quickly by theshortest cuts, so as to avoid the main thoroughfares, when in one of thequiet streets by Soho three horsemen stopped the way, and seized thereins as the coachman drew up to avoid an accident. A carriage whichhad been following came up, and half a dozen men sprang from it--onefrom the box, two from behind, and the rest from inside. The footmenwere hustled away, and threatened with drawn swords by four of theattacking party, while the others opened the door, as one of them says, to abduct Lady Gowan, but the other declares that it was a man indisguise who sprang out and then into the other carriage, which wasdriven off, all taking place quickly and before any alarm could begiven. The startled men then came on to state what had occurred; butalmost at the same time the tidings came from the prison that Lady Gowanremained behind, and that it was Sir Robert whom they had helped away. "

"Oh!" groaned Frank, giddy with excitement. "Come faster, or I mustrun. She is dying to know. I must go and tell her he is safe. "

"You cannot, you foolish boy, " cried the captain, half angrily. "Do yousuppose they would admit you to the prison now?"

"Prison!" cried Frank wildly. "Did I not tell you that she was closehere--at our own house. "

"What! When did you see her?"

"Not a quarter of an hour ago. "

Captain Murray uttered a gasp. 

"My poor lad!" he groaned. "Poor Rob--poor Lady Gowan! Then it is alla miserable concoction, Frank. He has not escaped. "

"Yes, yes, " cried the lad wildly. "You don't understand. It was DrewForbes who went--my mother's cloak and veil. "

"What! And your mother is safe at home?"

"Yes, yes, " cried Frank. "Don't you see?"

The captain burst into a wild, strange laugh, and stood with his facewhite from agony and his hand pressed upon his side. 

"Run, " he whispered; "I am crippled. I can go no farther. Tell her atonce. They will get him out of the country safely now. Oh, Frank boy, what glorious news!"

Frank hardly heard the last words, but dashed off to where he found hismother kneeling by the couch in the darkened room, her face buried inher hands. 

But she heard his step, and sprang up, her face so ghastly that itfrightened him as he shouted aloud:

"Safe, mother!--escaped!"

"Ah!" she cried, in a low, deep sigh full of thankfulness; and she fellupon her knees with her hands clasped together and her head bent lowupon her breast, just as the clouds that had been hanging heavily allthe day opened out; and where the shutters were partly thrown back abroad band of golden light shot into the room and bathed the kneelingfigure offering up her prayer of thankfulness for her husband's life, while Frank knelt there by her side. 

It was about an hour later, when mother and son were seated together, calm and pale after the terrible excitement, talking of their future--ofwhat was to happen next, and what would be their punishment and that ofthe brave, high-spirited lad who was now a prisoner--that Berry tappedsoftly at the door. 

"A letter, my lady, " she said, "for Master Frank;" and as she cametimidly forward, the old woman's eyes looked red and swollen withweeping. 

"For me, Berry?" cried Frank wonderingly. "Why, nurse, you've beencrying. "

"I'm heart-broken, Master Frank, to see all this trouble. "

"Then go and mend it, " cried the lad excitedly. "The trouble's over. It's all right now. "

"Ah! and may I bring your ladyship a dish of tay?"

"Yes, and quickly, " said Frank tearing open the letter. "Mother!" hecried excitedly, "it's from Drew. "

It was badly written, and in a wild strain of forced mirth. 

"Just a line, countryman, " he wrote. "This is to be delivered whenall's over, and dear old Sir Robert is safe away. Tell my dear LadyGowan I'm doing this as I would have done it for my own mother, and didnot tell you because you're such a jealous old chap, and would havewanted to go yourself. I say, don't tell her this. I don't believethey'll do anything to me, because they'll look upon me as a boy, andI'm reckoning upon its being the grandest piece of fun I ever had. Ifthey do chop me short off, I leave you my curse if you don't take downmy head off the spike they'll stick it on, at the top of Temple Bar, outof spite because they could not get Sir Robert's. Good-bye, old usurperworshipper. I can't help liking you, all the same. Try and get mysword, and wear it for the sake of crack-brained Drew. "

"Poor old Drew!" groaned Frank, in a broken voice. "Oh, mother, I wasnot to let you see all this. "

"Not see it?" said Lady Gowan softly; and her tears fell fast upon theletter, as she pressed it to her lips. "Yes, Frank, you would have donethe same. But no; they will not--they dare not punish him. The wholenation would rise against those who took vengeance upon the brave act ofthe gallant boy. "

That evening the problem of their future was partly solved by anotherletter brought by hand from the Palace. It was from the Princess, andvery brief:

"I cannot blame you for what you have done, for my heart has been withyou through all your trouble. At present you and your son must remainaway. Some day I hope we shall meet again. 

"Always your friend. "

CHAPTER FORTY SIX. 

AU REVOIR. 

About a fortnight after the events related in the last chapter a littlescene took place on board a fishing lugger, lying swinging to a buoy inone of the rocky coves of the Cornish coast. A small boat hung behind, in which, dimly seen in the gloom of a soft dark night, sat asturdy-looking man, four others being seated in the lugger, ready tocast off and hoist the two sails, while, quite aft on the little pieceof deck, beneath which there was a cabin, stood four figures in cloaks. 

"All ready, master, " said one of the men in a singsong tone. "Tide'sjust right, and the wind's springing up. We ought to go. "

"In one minute, " said one of the gentlemen in cloaks; and then he turnedto lay his hands upon the shoulders of the figure nearest to him: "Yes, we must get it over, Frank. Good-bye, God bless you, boy! We arethoroughly safe now; but I feel like a coward in escaping. "

"No, Gowan, " said the gentleman behind him. "We can do no more. Ifthey are to be saved, our friends will do everything that can be done. Remember they wish us gone. "

"Yes; but situated as I am it is mad to go. You have your son, thanksto the efforts of the Prince and Princess. I have to leave all behind. Frank boy, will you let me go alone? will you not come with me, even ifit is to be a wanderer in some distant land?"

Frank uttered a half-strangled cry, and clung to his father's hands. 

"Yes, father, " he said, in a broken voice; "I cannot leave you. I'll gowith you, and share your lot. "

"God bless you, my boy!" cried the captain, folding him in his arms. "There, " he said the next minute, in decisive tones, "we must be men. No; I only said that to try if you were my own true lad. Go back; yourplace is at your mother's side. Your career is marked out. I will nottry to drag you from those who are your friends. The happy old days maycome for us all again, when this miserable political struggling is at anend. Frank, " he whispered, "who knows what is in the future for usall?" Then quite cheerfully: "Good-bye, lad. I'll write soon. Getback as quickly as you can. Say good-bye to Colonel Forbes and Drew. "

"Good-bye--good-bye!" cried Frank quickly, as he shook hands, and thenwas hurried into the little boat, his father leaning over from thelugger to hold his hand till the last. 

That last soon came, for the rope was slipped from the ring of the buoyas one of the sails was hoisted, the lugger careened as the canvascaught the wind, and the hands were suddenly snatched apart. 

The second sail followed, and the lugger seemed to melt away into thegloom, as the boat softly rose and fell upon the black water fifty yardsfrom the rocky shore. 

"Good-bye!" came from out of the darkness, and again, "Good-bye!" in thevoices of Colonel Forbes and his son Drew. 

Lastly, and very faintly heard, Sir Robert Gowan's voice floated overthe heaving sea: "_Au revoir_!"

History tells of the stern punishment meted out to the leaders of therebellion--saving to Lord Nithsdale, who escaped, as Sir Robert had, inwomen's clothes--of the disastrous fights in Scotland, and the manycondemned to death or sent as little better than slaves to the Americancolonies. But it does not tell how years after, at the earnest prayerof the gallant young officer in the Prince's favourite regiment, SirRobert Gowan was recalled from exile to take his place in the army at atime when the old Pretender's cause was dead, and Drew Forbes and hisfather were distinguished officers in the service of the King of France. 

THE END.