358 A

 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 BUY. W CALIF. UBR ART. LOS ANGELES

 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE 
 OF ARNO 
 
 BY 
 
 OWEN RHOSCOMYL 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE JEWEL OF YNYS GALON," " BATTLEMENT AND TOWER 
 
 NEW YORK 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
 
 LONDON AND BOMBAY 
 1896
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
 
 Press of J. J. Little & Co. 
 Astor Place, New York
 
 DEDICATION 
 
 TO EVERY MAN WHO, NO MATTER HOW PLAINLY HE RECOGNISES 
 THE BENEFITS WHICH ACCRUED FROM THE DEFEAT OF CULLODEN, 
 STILL DREAMS LONGINGLY OF THE DEEDS HE WOULD HAVE DONE 
 TO TURN THE FORTUNE OF THE DAY HAD HE BUT BEEN THERE, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
 2132431
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE READER 
 
 IN dubbing this book " For the White Rose of 
 Arno " I was not aware that the phrase was at all 
 questionable, until a student of the Jacobite move- 
 ment pinked it with a, " Why of Arno ? The Pre- 
 tenders had nothing to do with the Arno. Why 
 not of Tiber ? " 
 
 In reply I could only say that the phrase was not 
 mine but Pengraig's own, and that it was used also 
 in a pamphlet published immediately after his 
 death for the purpose of vilifying his name and 
 memory. It is certain, therefore, that " the White 
 Rose of Arno" was well understood to express 
 symbolically the Pretender and his cause at the 
 time when both were living factors to be reckoned 
 with. Moreover, Llewellin, in his biography of 
 Morgan, continues the use of the term, and the 
 latest writer upon the point, Mr. J. Arthur Price, 
 follows in his wake. Thus this book could hardly 
 come out under any other title than the one which 
 meant so much to the chief actors in it. 
 
 So much for the title; and as to the matter of the 
 story, I should like to point out that in discussing 
 Charles Edward's march to Derby and subsequent 
 retreat, sufficient weight has never yet been al-
 
 viii THE EPISTLE TO THE READER 
 
 lowed to that part of the Jacobite movement dealt 
 with in this tale. The reason for this lack, how- 
 ever, is a most potent one neither the documen- 
 tary nor the traditionary history of that part of the 
 movement has yet been printed. But a great deal 
 of material for such a history still exists, in spite of 
 long neglect, and may some day be gathered and 
 given to the world. In the meantime these pages 
 may serve to shed a little light upon the more dra- 
 matic scenes and incidents of an almost forgotten 
 episode, and at the same time to indicate what was 
 perhaps the chief reason why Charles Edward's 
 march upon London ended at Derby. 
 
 It is proper to state here that this is the first time 
 that allusion has ever been made in print to the 
 messenger who was undoubtedly despatched from 
 Preston to Wynstay. The story, however, came 
 to me from a source which I hold beyond question, 
 and so must be allowed to stand as evidence in its 
 bare simplicity, even if not in the embroidered out- 
 lines of the text. 
 
 And so I leave you, Dear Sir or Madam, to dis- 
 cover in the story the application of the allusions in 
 this epistle, the while I sign myself and remain, 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 IN the smithy of Efail the smith had just 
 dropped the last hoof of a deep-chested bay horse, 
 and was wiping the sweat from his face with the 
 back of the hand which still held the rasp. 
 
 ' You do your work as workmanlike as ever," said 
 the horseman standing beside him, a gentleman 
 of fifty or thereabouts, booted and spurred for a 
 journey. 
 
 ' Yea," replied the smith, glancing again at the 
 neat finish of his handiwork. Then, looking at the 
 other, he continued: "' I made a good job of it, 
 because it is like to be the last good turn I can ever 
 do for you, Pengraig. Before those shoes wear 
 out I fear you may have need of the nag that wears 
 them, and, Whig as I am, I would not have you 
 think that one of your own people betrayed you by 
 a loose shoe. There will be bloody doings before
 
 2 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 those shoes wear out." He shook his head mourn- 
 fully. 
 
 " Tut! tut! Roger Gof," returned Pengraig cheer- 
 ily; "there will be no blood spilt. The army is 
 away, fighting all over Europe, as usual, for the 
 sake of a petty German principality. Britain is still 
 the catspaw of Hanover, and the jest and scoff of 
 every nation on the Continent. No, soldiers are 
 too few in England just now to make any blood- 
 shed, and what honest man, other than a soldier, 
 would draw blade for the Hanoverian ? " 
 
 The striker beside the anvil closed his grip sug- 
 gestively upon the handle of his sledge. 
 
 " As to that " began he. 
 
 His master checked him sharply: " Quiet, you." 
 Then to the horseman: "It is strange that you 
 should be so ready to rise, Pengraig. True enough, 
 you are a bard, and all bards follow the White Rose ; 
 but then, you have been a lawyer in London so long 
 and cousin to the king's best admiral, and all. I 
 wonder at you." 
 
 " Foh ! Why should not a lawyer be an honest 
 man as well though, for that matter, I hardly ever 
 practised the profession. And you forget that I 
 served as an officer for a couple of stiff campaigns 
 before I was a lawyer, while as to Admiral Mat-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 3 
 
 thews, he is his own keeper and his own chooser, as 
 I am mine. I have much better reason for wonder- 
 ing at you." 
 
 " No need for your wonder. Look you " the 
 smith spread his strong hand to indicate the scene 
 
 " look you how fair and peaceful all the land lies. 
 Am I one to wish to bring war upon it ? Is it- 
 right, or worth while, do you think ? And for 
 what ? ' ' 
 
 " For right! To restore our lawful king and the 
 true succession ; and when we strike for truth and 
 justice, everything is right and worth while even to 
 the shedding of blood. ' How fair the land is,' say 
 you. Yea, it is fair; aye, it is more than fair to me 
 when I think of it as the land of my birth. But when 
 I think of it as one of the countries dragged at the 
 heel of the Elector of Hanover, then it becomes 
 foul with dishonour and black with shame. Better 
 a thousand times that it were black with ashes or 
 foul with blood ! But, thank God, a new day is 
 dawning a day when we shall all be free again and 
 James the Third shall wear the crown of his ances- 
 tors, and Britain rest once more in peace and honour 
 before the world." 
 
 ' You will never see that day," put in the striker. 
 ' That you will not," added the smith firmly.
 
 4 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " What ! " he went on, " the rags of Rome ! Are 
 we all to be Papists, or all burnt ? " 
 
 " Papists," retorted the other impatiently. " Am 
 I the man to be a Papist, either ? What alehouse 
 talk! Why, this young Prince, Charles Edward, 
 who has just landed in Scotland, was educated by 
 Protestant tutors and governors! " 
 
 " Aye, no doubt; and if every man were as sure 
 as you are that the White Rose of Arno as you 
 call the Pretender would bring no Red Hat, that 
 Stuart did not spell Pope, then there would be no 
 need of ridings and battles. George would be more 
 eager to get out of London than ever this other to 
 get in. No, that is why we are all against you." 
 
 " Aye, you are all against me now, but when I 
 return you will all be with me. " He was leading 
 his horse into the road as he spoke, and the smith 
 at once stepped forward to take the bridle, the 
 striker at the same hastening to hold the stirrup for 
 the mounting. Once in the saddle, he pulled out a 
 coin to pay with. 
 
 " Nay, keep that," said the smith, putting it from 
 him. " Some day, perhaps, I'll go to Pen-y-graig 
 and your lady shall pay me. You will want every 
 penny you carry now, before you are done with this 
 rebellion."
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 5 
 
 ' Then let Owen, here, take it to drink the health 
 of King James with," smiled the rider cheerily, 
 dropping the coin into the hammer-man's hand. 
 
 " Oh, I'll do that," grinned the recipient. ' We 
 all know that the air of the Vale of Arno agrees 
 better with James than the air of Britain. So I'll 
 drink to his keeping his good health in Arno, and 
 to George's keeping both health and crown in Lon- 
 don. Good money is like good ale, and should 
 never be wasted." 
 
 All three laughed at the sally. " I would double 
 the money, only that I fear the smith would be 
 without a striker. It takes a long time to get sober, 
 Owen. But, good day to you both and remember 
 what I say you will all of you be with me when I 
 return." He put his horse into motion as he 
 finished speaking. 
 
 " One moment, sir," cried the smith; " is there 
 nothing that will move you ? I am thinking of your 
 own good, sir, for we have heard that is, old 
 Alswn said that your good lady " 
 
 " Dreamed a dream," put in Pengraig quietly, as 
 the other hesitated for a word. But both smith 
 and striker saw that the colour ebbed a little from his 
 face as he spoke, and the rougher man was readier 
 than his master in answering.
 
 6 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " You know it was no dream, sir. She foresaw 
 you truly: it was a vision; and such a vision on 
 such a night is 
 
 " To be expected," interposed Pengraig with a 
 strong effort at cheerfulness. Yet he had to swal- 
 low the lump in his throat before he could continue. 
 " Can you not see that it was merely the natural 
 outcome of a loving wife's fears, filling her soul 
 with terror for the dangers which she believed me 
 running into ? And since the gallows and the quar- 
 tering knife are the most sharply outlined of all 
 the possibilities ahead, she of course dwelt upon 
 them till they distracted her; and then comes Hal- 
 lowe'en, and the Eve of the Feast of the Dead, 
 when, following a silly superstition, she took and 
 lit her candle in the church, and well, she thought 
 she saw an actual vision. Poor wife ! I wish every 
 mumbling old nurse in the country had all such silly, 
 superstitious trash whipped out of her, and then 
 the next generation would at least be free of that 
 nonsense." 
 
 ' You call it nonsense, sir," returned the smith 
 evenly, " and yet at the same time your face shows 
 that you believe it. Why then will you go, when in 
 your heart you believe that you are going to the 
 scaffold ? ' '
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO / 
 
 Over the grave face of Pengraig dawned a sad 
 smile of tender strength. " And if I do believe it, 
 what then ? Would you have a man turn back from 
 doing what is right merely from fear of death ? Was 
 any great thing ever done by men who feared death ? 
 Dream or foretelling, one or both, I am still going 
 and besides, if it be a vision of Fate, then how 
 could I escape by remaining at home ? That which is 
 to be, will be, in spite of aught I may do to prevent 
 it. So, a farewell to you both again. Good day." 
 
 The two stood silent in the road looking after him 
 as he went, till at length they were roused by the 
 sound of hoofs coming at a sharp trot along the road 
 behind them. The first of the newcomers was a 
 young gentleman of easy face and figure, in direct 
 contrast to the decisive lines on which half a cen- 
 tury had moulded the rider just departed. 
 
 ' Who is that gentleman ?" asked he sharply, in 
 English, indicating the disappearing figure ahead. 
 
 " Dim Saesneg ! " * returned the smith quickly. 
 
 The young man smiled. " Ah! I forgot," pref- 
 aced he, as he repeated the question in Welsh. 
 
 "Are you a Whig?" interposed the striker 
 sharply, his empty hand gripping an imaginary 
 hammer shaft. 
 
 * I have no English.
 
 8 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " What is that to you ? " demanded the rider in 
 turn. 
 
 "Or maybe you are some Government spy?" 
 pursued the striker doggedly. 
 
 " If you call me Hanoverian even, let alone spy, 
 I'll break every bone in your body! " retorted the 
 young man hotly, raising his whip to strike. 
 
 The threatened one grinned through his grime. 
 ' Then you are no Whig," quoth he. 
 
 Man, I am looking for Mr. David Morgan. Do 
 Whigs look for him ? " 
 
 " Sometimes they do spies," put in the smith 
 heavily. " And they will look for him again, unless 
 he mercifully be killed in some battle, for the bullet 
 and the trench are better than the gallows and 
 Temple Bar." 
 
 " Foh! if that be all, I see you are both honest 
 men," answered the rider gaily. " I am a Tory, 
 too, just come from the Jacobite club of Westmin- 
 ster to their president, David Morgan of Pen-y- 
 graig and so forth. Tush! man, I'll prophesy better 
 than that. He shall come neither to trench nor gal- 
 lows but home here to his own Vale of Taff, when 
 the king shall enjoy his own again, as they sing in 
 London town. And now, tell me, is that the gen- 
 tleman ? "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO g 
 
 'That is Pengraig himself," assented the 
 smith. 
 
 " David ap Thomas," * supplemented the striker. 
 
 " Or David Morgan, as the Prince and our Eng- 
 lish friends call him," laughed the rider. 
 
 " And as the judge will call him when he dooms 
 him," added the smith. 
 
 " Stop it, man," cried the rider. " If you were 
 a raven from Dun 'r aven you could not croak more 
 dismally. But I am off; good day to you both, for 
 honest men and good fellows." 
 
 He started forward at a brisk pace as he ended, 
 followed at a respectful distance by his grimly silent 
 companion. A stern chase is a long one, but Pen- 
 graig was easy upon his horse, and within a couple 
 of miles or so he was turning in the saddle in answer 
 to the other's hail. 
 
 As soon as he saw him he drew to a halt. ' ' What, 
 is it thou, Ithel ? Welcome, welcome. And what 
 brings Meredith of Presgwyn to South Wales instead 
 of to North ?" 
 
 They were shaking hands before he had finished, 
 and Ithel was beaming with pleasure, though at the 
 same time he flushed a little at the question. 
 
 ' Why," said he, hesitating a little, " I have 
 
 * Morgan's name in the pedigree of his kindred.
 
 10 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 brought a letter for you from Alderman Heathcote, 
 and another from the club at Westminster. It is 
 said in London that the Prince is definitely set to 
 march south into England, and it was thought well 
 to send you the news by me. Here are the mis- 
 sives; though I fear my news is stale to you, for all 
 the air seems full of it." 
 
 " Aye," returned the other, breaking the seals as 
 he spoke; " what with the rejoicings of friends and 
 the fears of enemies, words fly like hawks in such 
 times as these. But what say the worthy Alderman 
 and ' The Independent Electors of Westminster ? " 
 
 Running his eye over the contents of both papers : 
 " Oh," commented he, " the usual story. ' Let the 
 Prince show himself in London,' etc. That is all 
 very well, my good friends; but I think he would 
 show himself in the city all the sooner if you were 
 to turn out, mounted and weaponed, to show him 
 the way thither. 
 
 ' Well, well; enough of the ' Independent Elec- 
 tors ' for the present, and tell me, Ithel, how 
 does my poor wife bear up since my leaving her ? 
 For I suppose that you called at Pengraig to find 
 me." 
 
 The other blushed a little. "Why, sir, to tell 
 you the truth, I did not enter your house. One of
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO II 
 
 your old retainers was sitting at the gate bewailing 
 your going, and so I followed straight on, as I 
 thought my news of much importance." 
 
 " ' Especially as all the air seemed full of it,' ' 
 quoted Pengraig; "and even more especially as I 
 had already forestalled it by starting on the journey 
 which these letters were to suggest. But I sup- 
 pose the old retainer also told you that, of my two 
 daughters, only little Siani remained with my poor 
 wife, and that Mistress Mari had been gone some 
 month or so ago eh, Ithel ? " 
 
 " Indeed, no, sir. He told me absolutely nothing 
 except that you were gone. Had I known that 
 your poor lady and little Siani were alone, I should 
 certainly have gone in and endeavoured to com- 
 fort " 
 
 Pengraig slipped a little sigh of relief. His wife's 
 vision, or warning, had not yet reached the ears of 
 the newcomer, then. His spirits rose. ' Yes, yes ; 
 go on, young gentleman," prompted he quizzically, 
 as the other hesitated. ' We are coming on finely. 
 I did not know that it was my wife you were after 
 for I do not suppose it is little Siani in the nursery 
 whom you would have got down to comfort. Now 
 I had thought it had been her elder sister, Mistress 
 Mari, that attracted you. Oho ! This is a pretty
 
 12 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 marry-come-up for an unsuspecting husband and 
 father to stumble upon. Yea, indeed! " 
 
 The young man's face changed from red to white 
 as he listened to the raillery, fidgeting in the saddle 
 the while. But he screwed his courage and sat bolt 
 upright in replying: "It is true, sir, that I was 
 more than attracted by your daughter Mari. But 
 as soon as I found that she was pledged to another 
 I fought down the notion, until, when I started on 
 this errand to you, sir, I believed that I had thor- 
 oughly tutored myself. It was only when I came 
 in sight of your gateway that my courage failed me 
 and that was why I turned away." 
 
 " One moment, Ithel. To whom is my daughter 
 pledged ? This is the first I hear of it it would 
 seem that I really have stumbled upon a piece of 
 news." 
 
 ' Why, sir," answered the young man in pure 
 surprise, " I supposed you knew all about it, or I 
 should not have mentioned it. As it is, sir, I beg 
 you will not press me further on the matter " 
 
 " Enough on that point," interrupted the other 
 quickly. " One other thing, however; was it my 
 daughter herself who told you this ? " 
 
 ' Why no," stammered the young man. " I 
 that is, sir "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 13 
 
 " And enough on that point too," broke in Pen- 
 graig briskly again. " I should be loath to tell a 
 young man whom I love that he is a fool; but 
 Ithel, I am somewhat astonished to hear such a tale 
 from you. Some misunderstood word, dropped 
 casually, I'll warrant, and misconstrued in a moment 
 of pique; and then you brood upon it till you find a 
 whole volume of set meaning and innuendo in the 
 poor half-dozen letters of it, and so end up by 
 ' tutoring ' yourself. Fie on you, for a proud young 
 romantic, who must establish his suit by a whole 
 hecatomb of dragons slain on his lady's behalf, and 
 who must thereupon have his lady straightway fall 
 into his arms, together with her whole kingdom, 
 exclaiming, ' I am all yours take me." 
 
 Foh, lad, take nobody's word but the lady's 
 own, and don't even take that unless you feel in- 
 clined. I never interfere in these matters, but I 
 want to see you bestir yourself. So ! " 
 
 Ithel listened to the half-bantering tone with a 
 face brightening at every word. By the time it was 
 ended he sat in his saddle as if a fresh horse were 
 under it. ' Why, sir," began he; then breaking 
 off, " But I wish you would speak to lolyn * and 
 ' tutor' him. He does more than deserve it. All 
 * = Yollin.
 
 14 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the way from London he has ridden behind me like 
 a lackey, just as he is sitting yonder now. I warned 
 him that you would be angry also, but he said I 
 could not tell till we found you and he stuck stub- 
 bornly to that miserable two lengths in rear." 
 
 Pengraig's face softened instantly. " Poor lad," 
 said he in a low voice, " I wondered what his 
 notion was "; then, loud enough to reach the one 
 behind: "Come, lolyn, lad, and say good day to 
 me. Come, the play is over; you have had your 
 prank; now ride soberly alongside. You cannot 
 pass for a lackey in any case. ' ' 
 
 The young fellow addressed yielded so far as to 
 come within one length of the others, but there he 
 checked stubbornly. " I can pass for a lackey, and 
 think myself fortunate at that. Was not my 
 
 mother " 
 
 ' There, there, lad," broke in Pengraig hastily, 
 as he spurred instantly alongside him and seized 
 his hand. " Never mind that now; the day has 
 come at last, thank heaven, when we can put an 
 end to all those horrible deeds done in the name 
 of law. And you are riding with us to the chang- 
 ing of it. Think of that, and ride quietly along 
 with me." 
 
 "Oho!" cried the lad, his eyes flashing in his
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 15 
 
 face like sheet lightning through a dusky summer 
 night. ." And we will burn the canting chafferers 
 of Ludgate; and we will hang Gwgan * Maddox, 
 for he is a Whig, as well as the son of his father." 
 * Welsh w here is like English oo.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 NEVERTHELESS, when they started forward again, 
 lolyn dropped back to his former distance, and, after 
 one hasty glance at his face, Pengraig tacitly acqui- 
 esced in the position. "Poor lad," whispered he 
 to Ithel, " we must humour him for the moment; it 
 will wear off in a day or two, no doubt. But I sup- 
 pose it is the near prospect of seeing the Hanove- 
 rian sent packing that has so seriously upset him 
 that, and perhaps some foolish taunt of Maddox's. " 
 
 ' Why, sir, there was a very brisk passage be- 
 tween them a day or two before we left London." 
 Meredith spoke in the same low tone as the other. 
 ' You remember, sir, the old weapon, the bidogan, 
 that lolyn bought from the harper of Dinas Mow- 
 ddy ? Well, he drew that upon Mr. Maddox, 
 because he threatened him with the gallows. I 
 managed to get between them and hinder lolyn till 
 the other could escape by the door. But his folly 
 came near-hand costing him his life ; I hope it will 
 be a warning to him." 
 
 " If it is not," broke out Pengraig indignantly,
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO I/ 
 
 " then I will read Mr. Maddox a lesson that shall 
 be one. He makes me mad at times. Hang it 
 but there, there, it will be some time till we see 
 him again, and things will, I hope, have altered so 
 much that he will have other subjects to joke about. 
 And now, enough of that tell me how things look 
 in London for our cause." 
 
 ' Wynstay hath been so busy, sir, that all the 
 town talks of nothing but Sir Watkin, and so much 
 believes in his words that no one will accept of place 
 or office in this Government. , To take office now 
 would be to lose it when the Prince comes, say 
 they. And so you can judge that the city is in a 
 pretty upset." 
 
 " So like Wynstay," smiled Pengraig. " As ready 
 as a mastiff to worry the Hanoverian. But do you 
 think he will be able to get the militia of the city 
 to rise and who is to bring out North Wales if he 
 stops much longer in town ? " 
 
 " Nay, sir, he hath already left London for 
 Wynstay to gather his kindred. If your way lies 
 by Wynstay, sir " 
 
 " My way lies to Wynstay, not only by it," re- 
 turned the other promptly. 
 
 " And do you take any force with you, sir ? " haz- 
 arded Ithel.
 
 1 8 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " No, not yet. This must be no ragged rising by 
 parishes, for beadles and tipstaves to put down. I 
 have been with the Duke of Beaufort, and the 
 whole plan is settled for South Wales. Now I am 
 going to confer with Wynstay, who has settled the 
 case for North Wales, and we are then to bring the 
 two movements into line; after which I am to ride 
 north at once and lay the nation's offer at the feet 
 of Charles Edward, the Prince Regent, who will 
 transmit his further commands in the matter. That 
 is why I go without even my own tenants. The 
 rising is to be the rising of the whole nation as one 
 man, so that Hanover may see how deep is our 
 abhorrence of all usurpers." 
 
 "It is a grand idea, if only it be fulfilled," said 
 Meredith fervently. 
 
 "Aye, we have planned with care. What men 
 can do in preparation we have done, and now the 
 issue lies in God's hands. If we fail, it will be be- 
 cause He has some mysterious purpose in view; 
 something beyond our weak and finite understand- 
 ing. But I trust it to Him with a quiet mind." 
 
 They rode in silence for a short distance, and then, 
 rousing from a reverie, " And as to yourself, Ithel ? " 
 queried Pengraig. 
 
 " Why, sir, ' My foot is in the stirrup and my
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO ig 
 
 sword is on my thigh.' When we come to Wyn- 
 stay we shall, no doubt, find the Head of my Kin- 
 dred there, and he will call on me, unless unless 
 you yourself have some more important task for 
 me, sir ? " ended Ithel questioningly. 
 
 " Some more important task," repeated the other 
 meditatively. " In any case, there is one task for 
 which you are most fit : a task which must be done 
 before your Chief needs you. I shall have to re- 
 main with the Prince when once I join him, because 
 I have all the threads of the plot in my mind and 
 so can give him any information he needs from day 
 to day. Thus, I shall want a trusty messenger to 
 carry his commands back to Wynstay, setting the 
 time and place for the rising of Wales. Now, Sir 
 Watkin knows you for a bold rider to hounds, and 
 I know you for a pretty man with your weapons. 
 You shall be our messenger, and I will warrant you 
 with the Head of your kin." 
 
 " I am very deeply indebted to you, sir," replied 
 Ithel, restraining his gladness with difficulty from 
 breaking into a torrent of words of thanks. 
 
 They rode over the next mile or two in silence,' 
 all their attention being needed to help their horses 
 in the storm-channelled and boulder-strewn track, 
 by courtesy called .a road, which they were follow-
 
 20 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ing. Presently they reached a more decent stretch, 
 and here Pengraig looked up with a quick and 
 kindly glance at his companion. 
 
 " And there is someone else whom we are likely 
 to meet at Wynstay, " he broke out quizzically, as if 
 some pleasantry had driven all weightier matters out 
 of his head. " You remember that my wife, though 
 born in London, was a Kyffin, and so what think 
 you, Meredith? my daughter, Mistress Mari, none 
 other, is at present visiting amongst her mother's 
 kindred. Will the Head of that kindred claim her, 
 think you, to follow with the rest to the field ? " 
 
 " If he does," cried Ithel, putting a bold counte- 
 nance of jest upon his confusion, " then I will re- 
 open the old feud. Waenddu is still without a 
 boundary; I will build up the old wall again and 
 keep guard upon it. That will fetch every Kyffin of 
 them all back from the Prince's army, even from the 
 very field of battle," ended he, with a broad smile. 
 
 " Like the bad old days, when the most important 
 war was always the one at a man's own gate, for his 
 trumpery erw* of plough-land," took up Pengraig, 
 smiling too. "Ah, well! Ah, well! We shall see," 
 ended he, relapsing again into silence. 
 
 * erw = the amount of land which a team of four oxen could plough 
 in one day.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 21 
 
 Next day they found companions for their ride. 
 Drawing rein at Courtfield of the Vaughans, they 
 found that the heir of that house, young Richard 
 Vaughan, was ready saddled for the wars, bound 
 thither under the guidance of William Vaughan, his 
 uncle. 
 
 From this place, therefore, they travelled forward 
 as a company of seven, four gentlemen and three 
 servants, for lolyn still stubbornly persisted in play- 
 ing the part of lackey. Calling, then, at the houses 
 of all such gentlemen of note and Heads of Kin- 
 dred as lay in their route, they pushed on steadily 
 until, in the afternoon of a still, bright day in 
 November, they checked at the gates of the great 
 park of Wynstay. 
 
 The porter at the lodge answered readily to 
 the questioning of Pengraig. ' Yea, the hall 
 is full of gentlemen, for it is a meeting day of 
 the Cycle Club,* as well as a mustering of many 
 kindreds." 
 
 ' Then we are come at the right hour," quoth 
 Pengraig heartily to the others. ' The Cycle Club 
 is to furnish us with three hundred horse, one half 
 
 * The Cycle Club was a club composed of the Jacobite gentlemen 
 i.e., all the gentlemen within a radius of fifteen or twenty miles of 
 Wrexham, excluding Cheshire.
 
 22 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 of whom will be gentlemen of descent. We shall 
 be well met, I trow." 
 
 A fever of impatience seemed to seize all the 
 party, till quite unconsciously each crowded his 
 horse into a trot, which would have speedily become 
 a gallop down the long avenue, had not Pengraig 
 come to himself. 
 
 " Nay, gentlemen," cried he with a laugh, " this 
 is not the enemy in front. We are as eager as boys 
 to the fair. Steady, now, or they will take us for 
 the usurper's dragoons and receive us with musketry 
 instead of handshakes." 
 
 All laughed as they drew down. " Aye," cried 
 young Richard Vaughan, " I can hear their voices 
 already. The hall must be crowded." 
 
 ' Then there must be a regiment already met," 
 returned Pengraig jocosely; " nothing less would 
 crowd the great hall of Wynstay. But here we are, 
 and here, too, is Sir Watkin himself," added he, as 
 they emerged from the denser woodland and came 
 suddenly upon the lawn in front of the house of 
 Wynstay itself. 
 
 Here all the scene was full of life and colour. 
 Groups of brightly dressed gentlemen lounged or 
 stood about, while here and there were knots of gaily 
 attired ladies, surrounded by little courts of light-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 23 
 
 hearted gallants, giving still greater animation to 
 the picture. The patch that lent piquancy to the 
 cheek of beauty; the powder that added dignity 
 to the heads of manly wearers; the deep lace 
 fringes of the dainty aprons of the former and the 
 shine of the polished shoe-buckles of the latter all 
 showed that it was a full-dress occasion, and accord- 
 ingly our young man, Ithel Meredith, lord of Pres- 
 gwyn, felt a chill which had nothing to do with the 
 weather, as he reflected that he was habited only for 
 camps, and not for courts. 
 
 Then he forgot his appearance, as his eye, ranging 
 furtively out of one corner, caught a glimpse of a 
 figure that made him look swiftly away, his hands 
 trembling a little and his pulses playing pit-a-pat. 
 He had seen that she looked up also, but he was 
 too far off to note the sudden paleness of her face, 
 and was, further, too fearfully afraid of being caught 
 looking at her to see that she immediately extri- 
 cated herself from all the throng of gallants, and 
 took her perturbed way for a stroll beneath the trees 
 of the near woodland. 
 
 And he was not conspicuously at his ease in ex- 
 changing greetings with the lord of Wynstay, when 
 that massive-fronted knight stepped out of his own 
 especial group to welcome the newcomers. But
 
 24 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Sir Watkin had weightier matters to engross his 
 mind, and his first words to Pengraig, after the 
 punctilio of welcome, effectually banished all vague- 
 ness from the mind of Ithel as well as Pengraig 
 himself. 
 
 "Ah, Pengraig," said Sir Watkin, "you would 
 hardly believe the strides our cause has made in 
 London these last few days. Here is none other 
 than your own ward, Mr. Maddox, arrived this very 
 day; having ridden, rain and shine, from London 
 hither, as a late recruit to Prince Charles." 
 
 " Gwgan Maddox ! Impossible," broke out the 
 other in astonishment. " At least that is, but, 
 tell me, have you accepted him ?" 
 
 ' What else could I do ? He came here and im- 
 mediately sought out his father's tribe and claimed 
 kinship. The Head of his Kindred naturally de- 
 sires to have as many gentlemen of his own with 
 him as possible, and so he welcomed the young 
 man at once, and thus took the matter out of our 
 hands. But they also look to you to countenance 
 him, since he is still your ward." 
 
 " That is true," returned Pengraig readily. ' I 
 am his guardian till he be twenty-five, and that is not 
 till some two months yet. Well, well, I cannot say 
 that he was ever a rabid Whig: that was mostly put
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2$ 
 
 on betwixt him and lolyn. And, again, there was 
 nothing much against him in the matter of his fits 
 of roystering, since that is the way of young men; 
 and I never heard any serious charge brought against 
 him under that head. So, so ; and we will be a little 
 careful of him for a day or two till we see him well 
 set in his new principles 
 
 " Ah, and we must also allow for the effect of the 
 Prince's success," added Sir Watkin. 'The tid- 
 ings of the victory of Gladsmuir, or Prestonpans, 
 have gone like lightning through England, loosening 
 all ties to the usurper's cause. There have been 
 some notable coolnesses among his friends and coun- 
 cil, since that. Perhaps this case of your ward is 
 one of them." 
 
 "Let us hope so," returned the other heartily. 
 
 ' Why, here he comes " 
 
 ' To pay his respects to his guardian," added Sir 
 Watkin drily, changing the speech to English. 
 
 The young gentleman whose approach caused 
 these last remarks was a slack-lipped specimen of 
 the young blood of the period. Everything about 
 him was of the latest fashion, even to the dubious, 
 half-jaunty, half-suspicious look in his face as he 
 came up. He had pushed the mode to the very 
 edge : his breeches were gartered a hand-breadth
 
 26 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 above the knee; his stockings of scarlet silk were 
 clocked with gold ; the ruffles at his wrists hung be- 
 low his finger-tips. His neckcloth was of the most 
 delicate lace, his wig of the tie of the moment; the 
 hat under his arm of a cock not yet settled, so far 
 in the front of fashion was it ; while over all he 
 glittered with gold, from the lace on the flaps of his 
 waistcoat pockets to the engraved head and mount- 
 ings of his elegant walking-cane. 
 
 If clothes could have made a man, then Gwgan 
 Maddox would have been a man to wonder at. 
 
 And his manners, too. They had all the forms of 
 the most exclusive and select leaders, but, as he 
 went through them, you saw at once that the 
 inward and spiritual grace was not only lacking, 
 but wa.s substituted by a certain something which 
 would have approached veiled insolence in a franker 
 face. 
 
 The contrast betwixt his face and figure, redolent 
 of town and tailor, as he bent in bowing to his guar- 
 dian, compared with the latter's firm yet mobile 
 mouth, clear glance, kindly eye, and strongly knit 
 figure dressed in riding apparel, was enough to have 
 caught the notice of the most casual stroller. But 
 Pengraig had no severity for the little follies of 
 youth ; he was only wondering what had moved this
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 27 
 
 bird of fine plumage to brave the mud and rain of 
 autumn roads, in order to join an enterprise such as 
 was now in hand. 
 
 '" Ha! Gwgan," said he, " so you have decided to 
 cast in your lot with King James, eh ? Well, well, 
 better late than never, and I suppose you have re- 
 membered that the new court will want new cour- 
 tiers and who so fit to be one as Gwgan Maddox ? 
 say you, no doubt. Aye, well, and so your Pen- 
 cenedl* has claimed you. I hope you'll give a 
 good account of your guardian's ward." 
 
 Before Maddox could mince a reply, he was star- 
 tled out of his jaunty carriage entirely by the jingle 
 of a bridle in his ear. When the rest dismounted, 
 lolyn had stubbornly remained sitting in the saddle, 
 and now, as he saw the young man bowing and 
 mowing before the other, he spurred up so close 
 that the bit-rings rested on Gwgan's shoulder. 
 
 "Oho! Gwgan Maddox, the Whig! Welcome 
 to you. I am servant to Pengraig and Presgwyn; 
 I will be servant to you also." 
 Maddox stepped hastily back. 
 " Oh, it is poor lolyn," said he, as if pityingly. 
 " But never mind, lolyn, I shall not trouble you to 
 wait on me also. I brought a servant with me, 
 
 * Pencenedl = head of kindred, chief of tribe.
 
 28 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 and, if you like, he shall teach you your duties prop- 
 erly. I always said you needed teaching." 
 
 " Only," put in Pengraig drily, " as lolyn never 
 was a servant, any more than he is one now, I think 
 he may dispense with the teachings of this paragon 
 of yours, just as he can dispense with that tone of 
 yours. And you, lolyn," he went on, turning to 
 the lad, " what manner of greeting was that to ad- 
 dress to a gentleman ? Back, sir, and keep 
 
 ' ' My place, ' ' interposed lolyn grimly, reining back 
 as he spoke, while the glare seemed to quiver in his 
 eyes. " I did but welcome him to this last chapter 
 of his life, as I shall cry his epitaph at its close." 
 
 Pengraig would have checked him still more 
 sternly, but the finikin Maddox put in before him. 
 
 " Never heed him, sir; it is only poor lolyn's 
 way. We all know poor lolyn." 
 
 Hang you, sir," retorted Pengraig, " you make 
 me mad with your mee-maws and your prickings of 
 him. But I warn you that you have about come to 
 the end of your tether there. I bid you go more 
 warily, lest you go too far and find it out too late! " 
 
 Meanwhile lolyn had turned rein for the stables, 
 repeating to himself over and over again as he went : 
 " Gwgan Maddox and the servant of Gwgan Mad- 
 dox! But I will look after them both."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 OUR four travellers were presently ushered into 
 a single spacious chamber upstairs, where the kins- 
 man of their host, who filled the office of his mar- 
 shal and led them thither, paused to crave pardon 
 for such a crowded manner of quartering them. 
 ' You have yourselves seen, gentlemen, that the 
 house is more than full, and there are Lord Barry- 
 more and the Cheshire squires yet to arrive. But I 
 will send up bedding enough so that you shall have 
 each his own couch, and for the rest I hope you will 
 not think us lacking in due regard for such honour- 
 able guests as yourselves." 
 
 'Trouble no further on that head," answered 
 Pengraig promptly for the rest. ' Wynstay is not 
 a place to lose its reputation at this time of the day. 
 What other house could have accommodated us half 
 so well ? Rest easy so far as we are concerned." 
 
 Thus assured, the marshal departed, and presently 
 the two servants of the Vaughans appeared, headed 
 by lolyn, bringing in the valises of all four gentle- 
 men in order that they might make some slight
 
 30 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 change of apparel before joining the company on the 
 lawn. The scene that had passed below on the 
 meeting with Maddox had, however, invested lolyn 
 with such an interest for the Vaughans that both of 
 them now observed him as closely as politeness 
 would permit or natural good breeding sanction. 
 
 Pengraig both saw and understood the feeling in 
 them, and accordingly, as soon as lolyn had left the 
 room, he spoke. 
 
 " A strange-looking servant that," remarked he, 
 with a sad smile. 
 
 " I do confess that he has little of the servant in his 
 appearance or manner," answered William Vaughan. 
 ' You are right," went on Pengraig, " so lithe and 
 shapely as he is, and so handsome, saving for the 
 light that sometimes kindles in his eyes. It is a 
 weary world in some things, and poor lolyn's story 
 is surely one of the most horrible ever known in it. 
 
 " Born in London, he was born into a tragedy 
 indeed. His father was a flourishing merchant, a 
 younger son of Jones of Haim, of the tribe of 
 Tudor Mawr. His mother, young and handsome, 
 had not recovered from the birth of this, her second 
 child, when suddenly her husband disappeared; 
 snapped up by the press-gang, as was discovered 
 afterwards. There being no one to carry on his busi-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 31 
 
 ness, his creditors stepped in and stripped, not alone 
 his offices and warehouse, but his house as well. 
 They seized the very bed from under the still weak 
 mother, and Heaven remember it forever against 
 the abandoned wretches turned her in that condi- 
 tion into the streets to perish. 
 
 " She well, gentlemen, you can imagine her con- 
 dition of mind, as well as body. There had been 
 about that time a succession of petty thefts from 
 the shops of Ludgate Hill, and possibly the hearing 
 of these things suggested to her misery a means of 
 stilling for a single moment the gnawings of abso- 
 lute hunger. 
 
 " Herself starving, distracted by the thought of 
 her children perishing in her arms for want of food, 
 this poor girl for she was but nineteen went into 
 one of those shops and lifted a piece of linen from 
 the counter. The shopkeeper saw her before she 
 had time to try and conceal it beneath her rags, 
 and, seeing that she was detected, she replaced it 
 on the counter. That was the sum and substance 
 of her crime. 
 
 ' Well, she was brought to trial, and her defence 
 before the judge was pathetic enough to have moved 
 a heart of stone. Said she : ' I lived in comfort and 
 wanted for nothing till the press-gang stole my hus-
 
 32 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 band from me. But since then I have had no bed 
 to lie on and nothing to give my children, though 
 they be starving and almost naked. I know I have 
 done wrong, but I did not know what I did at the 
 time grief had crazed me.' 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, the parish officers corrobo- 
 rated her story, but it was argued against her that 
 there had been a good deal of shoplifting about 
 Ludgate, and that another example of death was 
 therefore necessary. So," the voice of Pengraig 
 rose in fierce passion as he continued " so, in this 
 most Christian realm of Britain, the wretched Mary 
 Jones was told that she must be hanged for the sat- 
 isfaction of a few tradesmen on Ludgate Hill! 
 
 " But come we to the accursed conclusion. When 
 brought up to receive sentence, she was in such a 
 frantic state as proved that her reason had vanished. 
 Yet she was taken to Tyburn and executed, or 
 rather murdered, in a state of unconscious delirium, 
 whilst the youngest of her two babes was still suck- 
 ing at her breast ! 
 
 "God! gentlemen, when I think of it my very 
 flesh crawls on my bones with horror, and at times 
 I wonder if Heaven slept! " * 
 
 * This hideous story may be more exactly read in the prints of the 
 time of its occurrence.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 33 
 
 Pengraig broke off as if choked with anger, and it 
 was a minute or two before the elder Vaughan haz- 
 arded a word. 
 
 " I remember now. I heard of it at the time, 
 when Sir William Meredith denounced it in the 
 House of Commons, declaring ' that a fouler murder 
 was never committed against the law, than the mur- 
 der of this poor woman by the law.' ' 
 
 " And was lolyn the one " hesitated Richard 
 
 Vaughan. 
 
 ' Torn from his mother's arms in death ?" sup- 
 plemented Pengraig. ' Yes, the elder one was 
 already dead of privation before its mother's mur- 
 der. I had just arrived in London from South 
 Wales at the time, and so I took him, and he has 
 lived in my house ever since. Moody he was at 
 times, and again at times fantastically merry : some- 
 times keeping to the kitchen for days together and 
 sometimes to my study, but always docile and 
 obedient to us all. 
 
 " I did not attempt to bring him up to any trade 
 or profession, since he was hardly of the stuff which 
 any good, easy trader would care to take apprentice; 
 and, besides, some little property early accrued to 
 him from his father's family which, husbanded till 
 
 he came of age, will quite suffice for his few wants. 
 3
 
 34 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " I was always careful to keep his own story from 
 him ; but, about four years ago, Mr. Maddox learnt 
 it accidentally, and then but perhaps I had better 
 explain how Mr. Maddox came first upon the scene. 
 
 " His father was also a younger son, but he made 
 a good fortune in London. Dying when his own 
 son was about eighteen, he left me executor of his 
 will and guardian of the lad himself. I sent the 
 boy to Christ Church, my own old college at Ox- 
 ford, and when he finished there not very high, I 
 grant you he came to me in London. It was while 
 he had the freedom of my door-latch that he dis- 
 covered the tragedy of lolyn's beginning, and out of 
 sheer mischief and thoughtlessness as I imagine 
 taunted him with it. Whereupon I straightway 
 started my Mr. Maddox upon the Grand Tour. 
 
 " But the mischief was done, and for a while I 
 feared that my poor foster-son would end by be- 
 coming hopelessly and violently insane. It was my 
 eldest daughter who gradually won him back to 
 quietness they had been playmates from childhood. 
 But the vague restlessness of other days had now 
 given place to two distinct moods ; the one, the com- 
 mon or ordinary mood, being a gentle kindliness to 
 every member of the household, and the other a 
 fierce stubbornness, born of some unlucky word or
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 3$ 
 
 incident reminding him of his mother. Therefore, 
 when Mr. Maddox returned from completing the 
 tour, I allowed him to set up a separate lodging of 
 his own, in order to guard against haphazard meet- 
 ings with lolyn, who had come to hate him. For, in 
 brooding over the matter, lolyn had taken into his 
 head that the father of Maddox had caused his 
 mother's death by pursuing her with a dishonour- 
 able passion, and that when his mother had scorned 
 all his advances he had procured the kidnapping of 
 her husband by the press-gang, and had also insti- 
 gated the rancour of the tradesmen who had her 
 arrested. Nay, he even believes that the elder 
 Maddox paid the prosecuting counsel at the trial 
 so that you may see how the cruel injustice really 
 done to his mother has brought him to believe pos- 
 sible even the most fiendish ingenuity of cruelty in 
 another. 
 
 " Nor can any arguments of mine prevail to re- 
 move the notion from his mind for, of course, not 
 a particle of evidence exists, so far as I ever heard, 
 to sustain such a dreadful charge. I think it must 
 have been some servant's gossiping invention, run- 
 ning after the marvellously horrible in true servant 
 style, which first put the idea into his head. Lat- 
 terly, however, he was improving; in fact, ever since
 
 36 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Mr. Meredith, here, took up the supposition that he 
 was reading for the bar, and that, of all the barris- 
 ters in London, I was the only one fit to be his 
 teacher. But, gentlemen this in parenthesis 
 though our student was most punctual in his attend- 
 ance at my house, and never in any way eager to 
 watch the clock for release, yet I fear me he will 
 never become much of a lawyer. All that, how- 
 ever, was forgiven him, because poor lolyn, con- 
 necting him with that Sir William Meredith who 
 spoke so nobly in the House upon his mother's case, 
 struck up a friendship with him, only second in its 
 intensity to his devotion to ourselves. 
 
 " And now that you know the poor lad's story, 
 gentlemen, you will no longer see anything strange 
 in his actions, and will be not at all astonished should 
 he this moment take a notion to resume his proper 
 position amongst us as a gentleman though the 
 presence of Mr. Maddox will, I fear, only intensify 
 his stubborn fit. 
 
 " And meanwhile, let us down to the lawn."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 WHEN the party reached the lawn, Pengraig 
 paired immediately with Sir Watkin ; the Vaughans 
 were claimed by a group of Catholic Trevors 
 their co-religionists while Ithel found himself cast- 
 ing furtive glances right and left, in hope and dread 
 of lighting upon the form of Mari. 
 
 Carefully avoiding the gentlemen of his own 
 kindred, lest they should detain him, he made his 
 way till he came upon a group of Kyffins, her 
 mother's kin, gay with the flutter of fans and bright 
 with the sparkle of bubbling wit. 
 
 One sympathetic member of it, however, smiling 
 reposefully on the edge of the party, gracefully de- 
 tached herself long enough to answer his grave bow 
 with a motherly courtesy, and to tell him that Mari 
 had gone for a stroll under the trees yonder. As 
 he turned to follow the direction he felt that his 
 face was telling tales, and while he moved away he 
 was none the more self-possessed for the sudden 
 interest which the other ladies of the group seemed 
 all at the same instant to take in him.
 
 38 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " I suppose they mistake me for Maddox," said 
 he bitterly to himself as he went. " It must be so, 
 since by this time, no doubt, her father is the only 
 one who does not know of Mari's engagement to 
 Maddox though, again, it is possible that Maddox 
 was lying when he told me. Ah, well, I'll do as 
 Pengraig advised, and put the question plainly to 
 her herself. And then to-morrow I shall go to 
 the wars with a light heart ; I mean, with a settled 
 mind. 
 
 " But what a pitiful fop that Maddox is! " 
 
 Thus chewing the cud of self-torment, he pres- 
 ently found himself deep in a labyrinth of bare- 
 boughed trees. A little farther, and he caught 
 the sunlight of an open glade ahead. Then the 
 gleam of bright rays upon the soft colours of a 
 woman's dress held him footfast for an instant 
 till he could gather his thoughts and get himself in 
 hand. 
 
 Under a giant oak, lord dominant of all the 
 glade, stood Mari. She did not hear his foot till 
 he was close upon her, and there were tears in her 
 eyes, as he could see before the swift blush ran 
 hotly up to keep them from falling. But a second 
 glance at his face, pale with the emotion which his 
 errand, and the sight of her, inspired, brought down
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 39 
 
 the blush almost as swift as it had risen ; while the 
 first tone of his voice, aided by his whole manner, 
 set the soft eyes welling over with distress. 
 
 The sight of her tears drove all else out of his 
 mind. " Do not be offended with me," cried he. 
 " I came because I wished so much to comfort you 
 in your grief" he was not conscious of the mis- 
 take in his words, his heart had usurped his lips 
 " perhaps there will be no war, after all. The Han- 
 overian may " 
 
 The pity in his face and words broke her down 
 completely. " Oh, my father! " she wailed. " Oh, 
 he will be surely killed in your dreadful rebellion. 
 Why do you want to make war ? Is not one king 
 as good as another ? " 
 
 He felt that argument was no comfort; he forgot 
 that such a one as Maddox existed ; he remembered 
 only this one woman weeping and the hunger in his 
 own heart, and so what would you ? he put his 
 arms about her to soothe her as if she had been his 
 own betrothed. 
 
 But in the midst of his protestations that there 
 was no danger of war, and yet that also he would 
 protect her father with his own life, and so forth 
 and so on, both suddenly realized the approach of a 
 third party, and, starting apart, looked disconcert-
 
 40 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 edly to where, not ten paces away, stood Mr. Gwgan 
 Maddox none else. 
 
 Bowing ironically, his voice vibrating with hatred, 
 the newcomer was the first to break the startled 
 silence. " Give ye good day, sir and madam," 
 sneered he. ' The scene is altogether captivating 
 and romantic. Gad ! I must turn playwright and 
 introduce it-r-Beauty in tears and Honour as com- 
 forter. Lud ! it will take the town after the heads 
 on Temple Bar have ceased to draw." 
 
 " Shame on you for your ill-timed jests!" cried 
 Ithel scornfully. " Shame on you, that when you 
 should be doing all in your power to comfort your 
 this lady" (he had suddenly remembered the sup- 
 posed engagement), " you break upon her tears with 
 your cowardly insinuations." 
 
 " ' Shame ' and ' cowardly ' ; how, sirrah? " replied 
 Maddox, laying his hand upon his sword. But his 
 words were bigger than his voice, and neither did he 
 draw the blade, for all his threatening motion. 
 
 " Aye, both," returned Ithel recklessly, his voice 
 coming with a rush to the challenge. ' You, who 
 should be the first to stand up for her here you 
 come, and at the first glance condemn her unheard 
 and straightway hurl insult at her. Aye, ' shame ! ' 
 and ' coward ! ' You have them both in your teeth,
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 41 
 
 and you have your remedy in your scabbard if you 
 but dare to draw." 
 
 " At the proper time I shall demand a satisfac- 
 tion in a proper manner. All in good time," said 
 Maddox, a sickly white of indecision making repul- 
 sive all his features; " in good and proper time." 
 
 " A good time cannot come too soon," retorted 
 Ithel with stinging scorn; " and the proper time to 
 avenge an insult is when it is given, all other 
 things being equal, as they are here." 
 
 The sting struck home so keen as to flash a spark 
 from even the craven heart of Gwgan Maddox. 
 With a shiver of elusive resolution he half-drew his 
 blade. 
 
 Instantly out flashed that of his taunter, and Mari 
 gave a cry of terror as Ithel advanced towards his 
 opponent. As if in answer to the cry, a latest comer 
 of all dashed into the glade, and Gwgan Maddox, 
 glancing quickly over his shoulder to welcome any 
 interruption, recoiled a long leap in fresh fear as he 
 caught sight of lolyn, rushing upon him with the 
 great bidog* uplifted ready to strike. 
 
 But however much Mari might shrink at the pros- 
 pect of a duel, a deeper dread than that leaped up 
 in her heart for lolyn. Springing forward, she flung 
 
 * Bidog = Highland bidag = dirk.
 
 42 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 both arms around him to hold him fast, at the same 
 time crying to Ithel for help. 
 
 " Oh, help me to hold him! Help me, or he will 
 be hanged for murder! " 
 
 Meredith had reached her almost before she could 
 speak, but he found to his astonishment that it was 
 all he. could do to hold the right arm which had now 
 escaped from Mari's soft clasp. Seeing that the 
 two had seized lolyn, Maddox stayed the run which 
 he had already commenced. Halting on the edge 
 of the glade: " I see," he cried in a shaken voice; 
 " this was your reason for pressing me to an instant 
 duel. You had provided your gallows bird to stab 
 me in the back. But if I refrain from publishing 
 your infamy abroad, it is from a desire to spare my 
 guardian and not from any love for you." 
 
 The transparent balderdash of such a speech 
 flushed every vein of Ithel with hot disgust. " Go, 
 you cur! " he shouted; " go, or I will drive you off 
 with your own cane, and thrash you on the lawn in 
 the face of all the land." 
 
 " Ho! Gwgan the Whig. Come back, you Dic- 
 Shon-Dafydd ! " * yelled lolyn also, and at the 
 * Dic-Shon-Dafydd = that most damnably despicable thing which 
 crawls the earth, viz., a man who affects to despise his own nation 
 and language. The species is not confined to Wales, of course ; but 
 nowhere else is it held in deeper detestation.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ^ROSE OF ARNO 43 
 
 sound of his desperate voice Maddox sprang away 
 into the wood as if from a wild beast. Moreover, 
 he saw that Ithel could not long continue the strug- 
 gle, and the thought put his feet in motion to escape 
 while there was yet time. With the cunning of the 
 cur, however, he went but half the distance to the 
 lawn, and then, pausing to see if he were being fol- 
 lowed, took a wide circuit and doubled back to a 
 point on the opposite side of the glade to that at 
 which he had first entered it. 
 
 As soon as his hateful form disappeared from sight, 
 lolyn ceased his struggles. " So Gwgan Maddox 
 was following in his father's footsteps," said he to 
 Mari. " He was persecuting you, and Ithel was de- 
 fending you, eh ? But I will watch him closer for 
 the future. I should have come up earlier now, but 
 that I was weighing up his servant, an arrant Whig 
 and a spy to boot, as I remember to have seen him, 
 a hanger-on at the Duke of Newcastle's in London. 
 So when I came on to the lawn it was only in time 
 to see Maddox disappear this way in the trees. I 
 am glad I followed." 
 
 Neither Mari nor Meredith attempted any very 
 vigorous argument against the lad's notion, for 
 neither of them cared to explain the scene which 
 Maddox had surprised. But Mari was so eager,
 
 44 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 and Ithel so earnest, in pleading to dissuade him 
 from making any future attempt upon the object 
 of their common contempt, that at length he cooled 
 to calm reason. " Then I will promise not to speak 
 to him again while we are at Wynstay," yielded he 
 at last. 
 
 After that, a curious hesitancy fell upon them 
 for a moment or two. Ithel had a purpose in view, 
 however, and so he plucked up a desperate courage 
 to serve it. 
 
 " Don't you think that you had better go back 
 first, lolyn ? And then, if Maddox tells any cock 
 and bull story of this affair you will hear it, and can 
 come back and wait for us at this edge of the lawn 
 to tell us, so that we can decide how to meet it." 
 
 This, in its way, was as transparent a speech as 
 the final one of Maddox. But lolyn did not seem to 
 see anything. Instead, he answered readily: " Oh, 
 you need not fear that Gwgan Maddox will let out 
 a word of this affair if you let him bide quiet. I 
 warrant you he is even now skulking in some 
 shadow of the house, biting his nails and shivering 
 lest he hear someone talking of his cowardice. He 
 will keep as mum oh, he will be only too thankful 
 to keep his mouth shut, lest, if he told a word, some 
 one of the listeners might offer to carry a challenge
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 45 
 
 from him to you. Oh, I know these Gwgans these 
 Dic-Shon-Dafydds too well for that." 
 
 " Do you think so ? Still, I think it would be 
 wise if you went," urged Ithel. 
 
 lolyn looked at him, and then a light seemed to 
 break in upon him. " I will," said he, starting 
 away as suddenly as if something had bitten him. 
 
 Mari looked swiftly at Ithel's face, and then 
 moved as if she would have fled to join the form 
 just disappearing in the wood. But Meredith held 
 her still with an answering look and a half-uncon- 
 scious gesture. " I want to say something," came 
 with soft bluntness from his lips. 
 
 She started again and looked about as if to escape, 
 but his words were beginning already. ' Then I 
 was wrong. You are not engaged to Maddox ? " 
 demanded he. 
 
 " Oh, no! " she gasped faintly, looking swiftly up 
 into his eyes. That word and that look loosed all 
 his soul, and then and then his tongue was silver 
 and his heart was fire as he poured out the torrent 
 of his love for her. What matters to repeat the 
 individual words ? It is the tone of them, the 
 cadence of their passionate outpouring, the fire of 
 the heart that gives them life, the radiance of the 
 eyes that give them light, the touch of the hand,
 
 46 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the pulsing presence of the one beloved above all 
 earth, that gives their immortality to such mo- 
 ments. 
 
 And Maddox peered and watched them from his 
 hiding-place, his heart all arctic and his eyes all hell 
 with.unglutted murder. 
 
 Once, even, he drew a pistol from beneath his 
 vest as if he would level it at them and consummate 
 the devilish desires in his breast. But he had not 
 even the evil courage of his dastard promptings, and 
 presently he returned the pistol to its place, wiping 
 his sickly lips with a hand that shook with the 
 tugging of foul temptation. 
 
 And when, full of mutual kisses and mutual pro- 
 testations, the two unconscious lovers finally turned 
 and left the glade, he rose and craned after the last 
 glimpse of them, muttering to himself as they dis- 
 appeared : " Yes, Mistress Mari, and you, Mr. Ithel 
 Meredith of Presgwyn, I'll make you rue the day 
 that you were ever born." 
 
 He should certainly have become a playwright, 
 should Gwgan Maddox of a fashionable address in 
 London.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 As Ithel and Mari sauntered back to the lawn, 
 she began to wonder " why he had ever dared to 
 think that she was plighted to such a person as 
 Maddox." 
 
 "Pie told me so himself, ' ' returned Ithel promptly. 
 " Perhaps I ought for that very reason to have dis- 
 believed the tale he was ever a liar. But lolyn 
 said he also believed it, because you had told him 
 that if anything happened to Maddox it would 
 grieve you to the heart. What could I do but be- 
 lieve it then ? ' ' 
 
 " Oh, what shallow wits men have," cried Mari in 
 pretty scorn. ' Why, I only told him that because 
 I heard him breathing threats against Mr. Maddox, 
 and I feared that in some stubborn fit he might kill 
 him in a fancied avenging of his poor mother's mur- 
 der. But, of course, I could not say what I really 
 meant; namely, that I was afraid that he would do 
 murder and be hanged for it. To mention hang- 
 ing is to remind him of his mother, and you know 
 what the effect of that sometimes is. Therefore I
 
 48 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 put it in the way I did though perhaps that was 
 not overwise on my part," ended she frankly. 
 
 ' Well " began Ithel. And then he changed 
 
 the word upon his tongue, for he was too new a 
 lover to blame her in anything just yet. ' What 
 a cur that Maddox is! " substituted he. 
 
 By this time they had reached the lawn again, and 
 a natural hesitancy checked the buoyant steps of 
 both as they caught the full stroke of the joyous 
 picture before them. 
 
 " But I think we had better go and speak to 
 your father, sweetest ?" said Ithei. 
 
 A blushing assent started them across the sward 
 towards the spot where they could distinguish Pen- 
 graig, still deep in talk with Sir Watkin. The 
 former caught sight of the advancing couple. 
 " Give me leave," said he hastily; " here come two 
 young turtle-doves to confess." 
 
 " And a bonnier pair I never saw," smiled Sir 
 Watkin heartily, as he turned aside for a moment. 
 
 Next moment Mari was courtesying in sweet con- 
 fusion, while Ithel was making such a bow as he 
 had never made before. 
 
 'Well?" queried Pengraig, with a twinkle in 
 his eye. 
 
 " I took your advice, sir, and asked the lady her-
 
 FOR 7^HE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 49 
 
 self," returned Ithel with all the assurance he could 
 muster. 
 
 " And, of course, the lady rated you roundly for 
 not doing so before. Do not I know the sly puss ? 
 Why, what a pother it all is ! And now go and be , 
 happy, for here comes Lord Barrymore and a whole 
 corner of Cheshire. God bless you both, and 
 but, Ithel, you are a slyboots too; pretending to 
 read for the law ! Fie ! is that what you read in 
 Blackstone throwing dust in a father's eyes ?" 
 
 " But, sir " began Ithel. 
 
 " Pooh! pooh!" broke in Pengraig as he turned 
 away. ' Take her, and be happy ! Tush ! man ; I 
 suspected you from the first, or I should not be so 
 easy now. But who was the one you were so quick 
 to believe her pledged to ? " He hung on his heel 
 as he put the query. 
 
 But before he could get the answer Sir Watkin 
 had seized him by the arm. ;< Pardon me, but you 
 must break off and come to greet Barrymore. 
 Weighty matters ! You young rogues, you ! " ended 
 he over his shoulder to our lovers, as he bore Pen- 
 graig away. 
 
 And thus the latter missed the information which 
 might have caused him to take steps against possible 
 harm from Maddox, since he was not free again to
 
 50 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 speak to Ithel till they had ridden miles upon their 
 road next morning. 
 
 For the present, however, all was life and new 
 bustle, in the arrival of the aged Earl of Barrymore, 
 with some twenty or thirty gallant squires of Chesh- 
 ire in his train. 
 
 " This is the one whom the Whigs call the old 
 miser," quoth Puleston of Pickhill to Puleston of 
 Emral, standing by as they watched the newcomers 
 dismount. 
 
 " And what will the same Whigs call him when 
 they find what he scraped and pinched for?" put 
 in Eyton of Eyton. 
 
 ' When they hear his money clinking down to 
 pay our troops in the field, eh ? " added Eyton of 
 Coed Llai. 
 
 ' They'll never lack for names while they can 
 command the lampooners of London," answered 
 Emral with a laugh. " But I know what we of the 
 Cycle will call him over the board after dinner to- 
 night." 
 
 For the prime rule of the Cycle Club, enjoining 
 that dinner should be a midday meal, was to be set 
 aside to-day in favour of a dining hour at dark. It 
 was the custom of the time and place that the gen- 
 tlemen dined alone in one room, the ladies in an-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 51 
 
 other; the fair guests coming into the other room to 
 have their healths drunk, and then retiring to their 
 own apartment again for the rest of the evening. 
 
 Upon this particular evening especially, there- 
 fore, no exception was made to the custom, for 
 the business to be promulgated over the board 
 was too weighty for interlarding with compliments 
 and airy nothings. Nay, even the customary 
 healths to the ladies were omitted and the gentle- 
 men took their seats strictly according to families, 
 and a precedence long since settled with bare steel. 
 In the minstrel's gallery of the great hall the har- 
 pers had put away their wrests and now, as the Chief 
 entered, leading his guests, they struck up the 
 beautiful strains of Y Veillionen," rechristened by 
 them " Sir Watkin's Delight." 
 
 A hundred tall candles shed their glow over a 
 hundred gallant guests, and a hundred liveried serv- 
 ingmen hastened to wait upon them. 
 
 Behind the chair of each Welsh gentleman stood 
 his private servant, belted and weaponed as if for a 
 fray that meal was to be at no mercy of any sud- 
 den troop of horse which Whig justices might 
 send. 
 
 lolyn had stationed himself behind Pengraig, and 
 Meredith had borrowed a man from his kindred,
 
 52 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 while, half way along the board, the chair of Gwgan 
 Maddox was shadowed by the suet face of the 
 servant he had spoken of; a fellow whom no one 
 present had ever seen before except lolyn. It need 
 hardly be said that the latter had harboured 
 suspicion and a virulent dislike of this fellow from 
 the first, and that, as the meal wore on, he watched 
 him with the keenness of a hawk. 
 
 " He is fixing in his mind the features of every 
 gentleman here," muttered lolyn, as he saw the 
 fishlike eyes wander in furtive eagerness from face 
 to face. 
 
 In the whispers which passed between master and 
 man he read black treachery, and when at last the 
 cloth was drawn and the harps paused for the toasts, 
 he ground his teeth as the fellow strained his cod- 
 fish gaze upon the host himself. 
 
 I tell you, sir," whispered the lad angrily in 
 Pengraig's ear; " that lackey of Maddox's is a spy 
 from Newcastle's. He should be hanged in the 
 doorway for a warning to his master. Shall I not 
 throw him out of the door at least ? " 
 
 " And have me out upon the grass at break of 
 day to satisfy the insult to the head of his master's 
 kindred. Foh ! Maddox is not my ward to-night, 
 but a gentleman of the Tribe of lestyn ; and to
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 53 
 
 touch his servant is to affront the tribe. Let be; 
 you are mistaken. See! Sir Watkin rises." 
 
 lolyn could not continue, for the Chief was on his 
 feet to speak. " Gentlemen all," he cried, using 
 English for the sake of Lord Barrymore and his 
 friends " empty your glasses now and let old Mar- 
 tin fill them for a toast though first I have a few 
 words to say. No, gentlemen, not in any wine now 
 upon the table ; but a special wine which I have 
 kept against this moment, from the first day I came 
 to Wynstay till now. And let old Martin fill it. 
 Now gentlemen; now Martin." * 
 
 A silence fell upon the hall, for every man pres- 
 ent knew what manner of declaration was coming. 
 Then Sir Watkin lifted his face to speak, but before 
 the words could come "Da daint rhag tafod" cried 
 lolyn, in a voice that rang through the hall; quot- 
 ing the proverb which says that the tongue is best 
 between the teeth when words are dangerous to 
 utter. ' There is a spy here in the hall." 
 
 The Chief paused in sharp surprise', while Pen- 
 graig sprang up in quick anger. "It is a mistake 
 of lolyn's," cried the latter. 
 
 " Oh! lolyn is it ? " put in Sir Watkin at once. 
 " Nay, lad, the time for circumspection is past. 
 
 * The office of butler is hereditary in this family.
 
 54 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Hearken and I'll quote another proverb. ' The 
 secret of three men a hundred will straightway know 
 of." 1 
 
 " And I another," answered lolyn. " A house is 
 easier burnt than built." 
 
 "And while you stand exchanging proverbs, 
 burst out Pengraig impatiently; " I will give you 
 the prince of them all one that is often in the 
 mouth of the lord of Wynstay ' Gwell angau 
 na chywilydd, ' ' Better death than shame. ' " * 
 
 " I am done," said lolyn; " but I will not forget 
 the spy." 
 
 " That is well then," said Sir Watkin. " We 
 leave him to thee, lolyn. One stroke of that bido- 
 gan at thy belt will shrive all treachery in any spy. 
 But and this is to you all, gentlemen, a$ well as 
 to one thank God the time has come when we. need 
 no longer speak darkly or deal in hints. 
 
 " But to my speech. You know that we of the 
 Jacobites, in all our offers to the court of King James 
 the thirdGod save him ! have always stipulated 
 that he should send over not less than a certain 
 number of continental troops to head any rising on 
 our part. There were other stipulations, too, all of 
 them born of bitter experience in the past, or the 
 * Now the proud motto of the Welsh Regiment.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 55 
 
 fruit of grey wisdom in the present. Well, all these 
 stipulations are come to nothing, and the young 
 Prince of Wales, Charles Edward, setting everything 
 at defiance, has landed in Scotland, as we all know. 
 
 " Wise or unwise, we must remember that he 
 is young and gallant, full of proud spirit and heroic 
 ambitions, as he so notably showed when he said 
 that he would win his father's throne by the swords 
 of his father's subjects alone. He is now marching 
 south to enter England and it behoves us to make 
 up our minds to-night on which side we are to draw. 
 Therefore, gentlemen, I will give you a toast, and 
 if any one of you here cannot, upon his honour, 
 drink it with me, then I give him leave and liberty 
 to withdraw, and pledge him safe escort to his own 
 hall. You know the toast, does any man with- 
 draw ? ' ' 
 
 No one rose; no one spoke. One glance round 
 the board, and then all eyes were back again upon 
 the Chief's face. And he; his kindling eye went 
 round the company till it filled with moisture, and 
 a huskiness came into his voice which yet could not 
 shake the power of it as he lifted his glass into the 
 light and gave the words. " And now, for every 
 gallant gentleman who loves his rightful -Prince and 
 holds his honour above all else; this is the toast.
 
 $6 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Here is to the King across the water to the 
 Prince across the border to the dear White Rose 
 of Arno and the day of Victory." 
 
 Down rang each cup upon the board as the 
 draught was drained, and then. out flashed a hun- 
 dred swords while a clamour of bursting cheers 
 shook the shadows above, and many an ancient bat- 
 tle cry went up from the lips of chiefs whose right 
 to them was drawn through thrice three hundred 
 years of named and known ancestors. 
 
 " King James! God bless him! " wept the grey 
 old Earl of Barrymore; the hopes of years of self- 
 denial picturing their near fulfilment to his mind's 
 fond vision. 
 
 It needed long, happy minutes and many a hard- 
 wrung handshake ; yea, even the dashing away of 
 open tears, before there was quietness round the 
 board again. Then Sir Watkin held up his hand for 
 silence, the while he made a sign to Pengraig. 
 
 Rising then, the latter addressed the board. " I 
 merely wish, gentlemen, to give you an outline of 
 the position. As you all know, I come here from 
 the Duke of Beaufort and speak for South Wales. 
 To-morrow I start north to the Prince, deputed to 
 speak for North Wales also. As soon as I see the 
 Prince I am to offer him the allegiance of our whole
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO $? 
 
 land, and to say that we are ready and eager to do 
 his bidding and to spend the last coin in our purse 
 and the last drop in our hearts for his Royal father 
 and for him. 
 
 " I myself shall remain with the Prince, but I take 
 one gentleman with me, Presgwyn here, who will 
 at once mount and bring back the answer and com- 
 mands of His Royal Highness to you, with all 
 speed possible." 
 
 A tremendous burst of cheering rose again as Pen- 
 graig sat down, and, at the fag end of it, Ellis of 
 Croesnewydd struck up the fag end of a Jacobite 
 ballad. 
 
 Nay, not that," cried half a dozen voices at 
 once. ' The Prince is come at last, so let us have 
 a new one to fit us. A new one ! Who will sing us 
 a new one ? " 
 
 " Pengraig will," laughed Sir Watkin above the 
 din. " He is a bard ; he shall be our dark to-night ! 
 Now then, gentlemen, give him no peace till he 
 complies." 
 
 ' Why, that is hard on a poor lawyer of fifty," 
 returned Pengraig merrily. " But if I must, then I 
 must, so listen all of you." 
 
 Then giving the word to the chief harper to strike 
 up a well known air he waited for the first note to
 
 58 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 commence that song which, grievously spoilt and 
 altered to suit more hopeless times, was to linger 
 mournfully down to our own day. But to that night 
 and that company the future was mercifully shut 
 out, and so the rafters rang, time and again to the 
 chorus 
 
 " Then I give you a toast 
 
 The Prince whom we boast : 
 And he who refuses, a traitor we'll mark 
 
 Here's a health to the Rose 
 
 The rarest that blows 
 And so sings the chorus of Robin John, Clark."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 WHILE the song and chorus were still making 
 merry with the echoes of the roof-tree, Pengraig 
 bethought him of a pamphlet left in his valise, and 
 promptly despatched lolyn to fetch it. Short time 
 as the lad was gone it was yet long enough for John 
 Chapel, servant to Maddox, to disappear in; as if 
 he, too, were gone upon an errand. 
 
 Thus, when lolyn returned, his first word to Pen- 
 graig was a hot demand to know what had become 
 of the spy. 
 
 "What! Still harping on the spy? Pooh! 
 some private errand of his master. What else ? 
 Sit down, lad. Here, take a mouthful of wine and 
 let your heart rest for one short hour at least: we 
 shall have sharp times enough from to-morrow on." 
 
 But lolyn was not to be comforted. " I will hunt 
 him up. Sir Watkin left the spy to me, and I said 
 that I would watch him. I am off." 
 
 Pengraig watched him go, musing the while upon 
 the lad's suspicions. " No, no," he said at last, 
 half aloud, " it is some mistake of his; most likely
 
 60 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 born of his virulent hatred for Maddox. No matter 
 the odds I cannot offend the whole tribe for a mere 
 suspicion. And, in any case, we are up to win 
 a crown, and only that way to cheat a scaffold. 
 Q " 
 
 Two minutes later he was deep in sober discus- 
 sions and plannings with Sir Watkin and Lord Barry- 
 more, weighing and deducing amidst the multifari- 
 ous details of their enterprise; seeking the surest 
 line to follow. 
 
 The furtive eye of Maddox had watched him nar- 
 rowly from the moment of lolyn's departure, and 
 now, as soon as he saw him so engrossed, he himself 
 rose and left the hall. 
 
 Stealing by devious rooms and corridors he 
 reached a window opening upon the garden at one 
 end of the house. ' This will do," muttered he 
 as he glanced about. " By getting out here I shall 
 avoid that pike-eyed porter at the entrance; and 
 then if anyone enquires for me before I come back, 
 the porter will say that I am somewhere in the 
 house, since he can swear I never passed him. 
 Their idiotic old custom of a door porter will thus 
 benefit me." 
 
 Slipping out into the garden he stole along in the 
 shadows till he came to the patch of open moon-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 6 1 
 
 light intervening betwixt the ha-ha fence and a 
 funeral tufted cedar, some thirty yards away. Here 
 a low whistle from him evoked an answer from the 
 velvety blackness of the cedar's shadow, and Mad- 
 dox smiled a little as he heard it. ' What a clever 
 rogue it is. I made no mistake when I chose 
 him." 
 
 A little cloud was just upon the moon's edge. 
 Waiting a moment for it fully to veil the face of 
 night's white lamp, Maddox took advantage of the 
 gloom to cross to the tree where Chapel awaited 
 him. 
 
 " You managed to get clear then, without being 
 seen ? " queried the master. 
 
 ' Trust me. The grooms are more than half 
 drunk. What a place this is for what they call hos- 
 pitality ! " answered the servant in a voice that struck 
 his master as more than ever unpleasant. 
 
 For Chapel was a villain with a voice which was 
 now a whine and now a whistle; with the whine 
 liable to be modified into a sycophantic sneer veiling 
 an unctuous insolence; and the whistle to become a 
 shrill scream or ear piercing shriek. At present it 
 was a sickening whine. 
 
 " Very well," returned Maddox. " I am glad 
 no one saw you, because I want to speak on partic-
 
 62 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ular matters. You remember, I suppose, what I 
 hinted at when I took you into my service ?" 
 
 " La! sir, no, sir. You spoke so nice and kind to 
 me that I forgot. Besides, do you mean on this 
 job or the other one ? " 
 
 " Humph! deuce take you with your 'other one.' 
 I mean this one and, as you've forgotten, I'll repeat 
 it for your benefit. I said that we were going upon 
 rather a dangerous errand, but that, as your neck 
 was already forfeit to the law " 
 
 " Don't, sir," interposed Chapel, as if squirming 
 with dread. " You make me feel again just as I 
 did when old Clinkley found out that the bills were 
 forged, and before he knew that I had only written 
 the body of them, and that it was you alone who 
 had forged your guardian's name." 
 
 In that darkness, Maddox, unable to read the 
 other's face, could only guess as to whether the 
 thrust was mere stupidity or cunning. But the 
 creeping voice went through his bones, chilling them 
 to the very marrow. He cast a scared glance 
 around, as if in dread lest someone should have 
 overheard the words. Then with a half gasp of 
 relief: 
 
 " Listen, my most excellent and worthy Chapel," 
 said he. " Whether you are more knave or fool is
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 63 
 
 all one, but I warn you that if ever you allude again, 
 in any way or for any reason, to that business of the 
 bills, I'll tie you up and kill you by inches. Do you 
 understand ? " 
 
 He reached out to seize the other's coat and shake 
 him by way of emphasis, but instantly found his 
 own hand seized in a grasp that astonished him. 
 
 " I do sir and I thank you kindly sir," responded 
 Chapel, with an unctuous whine, while he shook the 
 hand which he had already gripped to a jelly 
 with an effusiveness that brought tears of torture to 
 the other's eyes. 
 
 " O-oh ! d n you ! " at last ejaculated Maddox, 
 
 snatching out a pistol with his left hand. " Let go, 
 you bedlamite! or I'll blow you to " 
 
 " Oh please sir, do point that the other way," 
 cried Chapel in a shrill whine, as if taken with a new 
 paroxysm of terror. " Please sir; the other way sir. 
 I am so mortal feared of weapons! " As he spoke 
 he twisted the weapon from the other's weak grasp 
 as easily as if from the fingers of a baby. 
 
 A cold chill crept along the backbone of Maddox 
 as he began to recognize the new figure of his " ser- 
 vant." The whine went through him like a knife. 
 
 " But you were going to tell me something, sir," 
 went on the voice, now dropped to a fawning tone,
 
 64 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 no whit less dreadful to the listener. "I'd forgot- 
 ten, and you were going to repeat it go on, sir." 
 
 Maddox went on, for in the blackness he could 
 not make sure as to what the hand which had taken 
 the pistol was now doing. 
 
 " I was just saying that if the affair was risky the 
 pay was high, and that if you were called on to do 
 any special job you would find me no niggard in 
 special rewards." 
 
 ' To be sure, sir, you did say that the pay was 
 high. And I believed you, for didn't you have at 
 that very minute the thousand guineas, which the 
 Secretary gave you, all safe locked in a box ; besides 
 the order guaranteeing you free from arrest till fur- 
 ther orders." 
 
 Maddox felt his hair stirring. " How did you 
 know that?" demanded he faintly. 'Who told 
 you ? " 
 
 ' Why, didn't you show me the key yourself ? " 
 returned Chapel in a surprised whine. 
 
 " I did not! " snapped the other in savage reac- 
 tion. ' You know that you lie when you say that 
 I did." 
 
 " Then I must have dreamed it. It's wonderful, 
 isn't it, sir, that I should have a dream like that ? 
 And true, too wonderful! "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OP ARNO 65 
 
 Enough! " put in Maddox. " I see you know. 
 But one thing your dream left out, and that was 
 that five hundred pounds of that thousand went 
 towards staving off Clinkley for the bills we forged." 
 The last two words came with a bitter sneer. 
 
 " Ah, sir, but there is still the other five hundred. 
 And even if that were gone you can always get 
 more where that came from enough to pay my lit- 
 tle wages at any rate." 
 
 I understand," returned Maddox with chilly 
 doggedness. " I quite follow you. You are the 
 prettiest villain I ever knew." 
 
 " Oh, don't say that, sir. It wasn't I who forged 
 my guardian's name to such a tune, and then wanted 
 to marry" that guardian's daughter, so that he 
 couldn't prosecute me for shame of the daughter. 
 No more did I pretend to be a Tory, so as to betray 
 him to the Government if no better way offered of 
 staving it off " 
 
 " No, it wasn't you," sneered Maddox to the 
 whine, for he was desperate now. ' You were, of 
 course, quite innocent of the half dozen crimes for 
 which you were to have been hung, if I had not 
 stopped the warrant in the very shadow of the gal- 
 lows." 
 
 " Of course I was innocent, sir," insolence 
 5
 
 66 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 crawling through every tone of the whine " that is 
 why such an honourable gentleman as you interfered 
 so that such a nice penman as myself should not be 
 lost. And didn't I pay you back when I wrote the 
 bills ? And then I became your servant because 
 you promised me such good wages, sir. So like 
 your generosity." 
 
 ' You became my servant," retorted the other, 
 " because your safety lay with me. And now you 
 will continue my servant and my humble servant 
 too because I arranged, before leaving town, that 
 if anything happened to me, no matter by whose 
 hand or in what way, the warrant for you was to be 
 put into execution at once. Moreover, the other 
 five hundred of the thousand is then to come into 
 use at once to back the warrant ; four hundred as 
 reward for your arrest, and one to pay the expenses 
 of running you down. I don't think that that was 
 in your dream, Mr. Chapel ; wonderful a dream as 
 it was and all. Eh ? " 
 
 " He! he! how very funny that my dream should 
 leave that out now," panted Chapel, his voice a 
 whisper and yet still a scream. " But suppose I 
 were to go into the hall there and prove that you 
 were a spy. Then I should be taken on as a good 
 Jacobite and so come to a rise in the world."
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 67 
 
 "You would," snarled Maddox, "and a sharp 
 rise too. You see you do not understand the foolish, 
 uncivilized customs of these idiotic Welsh. If you 
 were to denounce me, my kindred, that is my tribe 
 what benighted savages ! would immediately 
 hurry you to the nearest tree, because I should say 
 that you really were a spy the one whom lolyn 
 meant. 
 
 " And if anyone had a lingering suspicion of me, 
 then the imbecile head of my bedlamite tribe would 
 straightway become surety for me, and all that I 
 should have to do would be to continue Tory as 
 I am now." 
 
 "Tory!" 
 
 ' Yes; Tory ! I suppose you find it difficult to 
 believe that I have turned Tory in earnest, so as to 
 earn the forgiveness of my guardian and win the 
 regard of that guardian's daughter ? What do you 
 say to that ?" 
 
 ' Why, I say that it is a pity that you did not 
 begin earlier to win the lady's regard at least, since 
 someone else seems to have done a good deal in 
 that direction already. But you were going to tell 
 me of something you wanted done: go on sir." 
 
 " I will: you have hit upon the point too: it is 
 just that someone else whom you have mentioned."
 
 68 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " Aye, I thought so. And so you want him put 
 away, I suppose " the words seemed to roll in oil 
 as they came whining out. 
 
 " Ha! I'll warrant you think it's murder; like 
 one of your own jobs," sneered Maddox. 
 
 ' Well, you might have some other name for it, 
 but, being a plain man, I have only a plain name 
 for it. But what of that, the man it's for will 
 be as dead under one name as another in the 
 end." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind: nothing so coarse. You 
 show what a pitiful commonplace villain you are 
 and, besides, that sort of thing always fails in the 
 finish. No, I'm Tory in earnest now and what I 
 want is that this someone else shall be made to 
 appear not a Tory in earnest, but a spy in fact." 
 
 Oh, I see, sir. We are to do a little more pen 
 work. Forge a few documents to be found in his 
 pockets. Heads of plots ; lists of names, and 
 such like reports to the Government." 
 
 ' There you go again, with your slum and gutter 
 notions. It doesn't occur to you that both he and 
 his movements are far too well known for anything 
 so crude. But I have a plan that really has some 
 sense about it. You heard in the hall how that he, 
 Meredith, is to carry the despatches from the
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 69 
 
 Prince to Sir Watkin here ? Now in coming back 
 through Lancashire, he will head for Warrington 
 Bridge, and then keep Delamere Forest between 
 him and Chester, for fear Lord Cholmondeley's pa- 
 trols pick him up in passing. .Very well, what is 
 wanted is this. You must nab him on the road and 
 get the despatches he carries. Then you will dress 
 in his clothes, mount his horse, and proceed straight 
 to the Duke of Cumberland's headquarters; passing 
 yourself off as Meredith. 
 
 ' You will there act as though you were the real 
 man turned traitor and playing the spy on his own 
 Jacobites. I will give you a note to Weir, the 
 Duke's chief spy, and he will help you to pass the 
 business off. You will stop there one day and then 
 will disappear completely. Changing back to your 
 own horse and clothing, you will return to me here, 
 bringing with you such proofs as Weir can furnish 
 you with, as, for instance, the despatches themselves 
 with the Duke's endorsement on them ; or the 
 report of the proceedings of his council of war upon 
 them, and such like things. 
 
 ' These you will bring to me secretly and I will 
 find means to make them known to Sir Watkin. 
 Then there will be a fine to do here and I will 
 volunteer to ride at once to the Prince and explain
 
 70 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the treason of Meredith and ask for new despatches 
 what do you think of that for a plan, eh ? " 
 
 'Why, sir, it's like my dream; it's wonderful! 
 It's also like my dream because it's left something 
 out something essential, too. What about the 
 real Meredith all this time ? You said he was not 
 to be murdered,"' purred Chapel. 
 
 " Nor is he," replied Maddox coolly, his self- 
 assurance clothing him once again as he thought of 
 his own cleverness. " No, no, murder will out, and 
 I'll not have any country chawbacon of a Justice 
 tying a murdered corpse round my neck. So what 
 you have to do is this. Delamere Forest is full of 
 rogues who prey on the travellers crossing Warring- 
 ton Bridge. You must get four or five of the stiff- 
 est of them and snap up your man as he comes this 
 side the bridge. After stripping him you will tie 
 him hand and foot; securely gag him, and then load 
 him into a country cart ; covering him with some 
 sort of chawbacon wares that will not smother him. 
 Then you will see that your highwaymen drive him 
 to the Duke's headquarters. You of course will 
 ride on before and when you have done your busi- 
 ness there and disappeared, you will meet your cart, 
 which, being slow, will not yet have arrived. Take 
 your man on then somewhere south of headquarters
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 7 1 
 
 and there at the handiest cross-roads let him com- 
 mit suicide by hanging you catch the idea ? " 
 
 " I said it would come out to the same thing in 
 the end," purred Chapel. " I called it murder and 
 you call it suicide : but it's all the same. And it 
 does you credit indeed. But what of the five foot- 
 pads ? They will want money, sir, and plenty of 
 it." 
 
 ' You shall have plenty. Above all however you 
 must see to it that they do not know who the man 
 is that they are carting. Make up some cock and 
 bull story to tell them, and then if you can see your 
 way to getting them all hung immediately after the 
 business, do so. But don't waste time on them. 
 Whisper a word of highwaymen in some constable's 
 ear and then slip off. 
 
 " Now do you quite understand everything you 
 have to do ? " ended Maddox. 
 
 " Quite, sir," answered Chapel, in a whine all 
 vibrant with unholy admiration. " I am to get a 
 few footpads together and waylay and capture this 
 Meredith as he comes across Warrington Bridge. 
 Then I am to take his papers, dress in his clothes 
 and appear at the Duke of Cumberland's iieadquar- 
 ters as Meredith turned traitor. Then as soon as 
 the news of that has got into men's mouths I am
 
 72 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 to vanish from the Duke's camp, find my footpads 
 who have been keeping the real Meredith close and 
 then hang him in such a manner as will leave the 
 world to think that he committed suicide. After 
 that I am to come here and let you know how the 
 thing went and give you the proper proofs so that 
 you can go courting the woman who loved him. 
 Oh, it does you credit, sir: credit;" and the rest 
 was a chuckle that chilled Maddox to the bone.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 IN spite of the lateness of their potations, the 
 gentlemen of the Cycle, together with their host 
 and fellow guests, were early astir next morning. 
 A mighty breakfast found them a company of as 
 goodly trenchermen as ever lightened a board, and 
 the wit was as fresh over morning ale as over even- 
 ing wine. One person, however, dallied no long 
 time over it, and that one was Ithel. 
 
 The sun was barely up when he took his way 
 across the lawn and through the wood towards the 
 great oak of yesterday's consecrating. But when 
 he came to the edge of the glade he started in quick 
 astonishment, for there, in the same spot as yester- 
 day, was the same figure of Mari. To-day there 
 was no mistaking the condition of her mind, for she 
 was weeping openly and sharp sobs were shaking 
 her slender frame as he ran to take her in his arms. 
 
 " Mari! Mari! what is it, dear love? and what 
 are you here for, so early in the morning, sweet 
 heart ?" 
 
 ' ' Oh ! I am wailing ; wailing for all my love that 
 is in jeopardy. I am wailing and bewailing that
 
 74 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 wars should ever be! " cried Mari, in sorrowful lit- 
 eralness wailing indeed. 
 
 Holding her close: " Why, dear one," answered 
 he; " there must be wars while there are men on 
 earth. And if ever there were a just war since wars 
 began, this rising of ours is just. But I fear me you 
 are a Whig," ended he in gentle raillery, the tone 
 of which was a caress itself. 
 
 " A Whig! " sobbed she; " Oh what are all your 
 politics to women ? A woman's politics are the 
 man she loves. Yesterday my politics were all my 
 father. To-day they are more than double the wider, 
 for they are you above all. What will it profit me 
 who sits on the throne if I lose you in the deciding ? 
 Nay, I am a woman and, being so, all my politics 
 is to have you safe to me. All my defeat would be 
 to lose you ; all my victory to have you. And since 
 I have you now, how can I long for any change of 
 kings, when change means risking you ?" 
 
 " But would you have me draw back now and for- 
 swear myself?" said Ithel. "Could you love a 
 man forsworn, Mari ?" 
 
 " Not forsworn; you would be keeping faith and 
 troth the rather. For did you not swear your faith 
 to me but yesterday ? and does not that faith over- 
 ride all other faiths ? "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARWO ?$ 
 
 " Aye, in a woman, sweet. Love is a woman's 
 country, faith and king. It would be high treason 
 and rank rebellion in her if she defied her love, and 
 did let any other promise come between. But with 
 a man, next after his faith in God comes his duty 
 to his country, and if that duty calls him from the 
 arms of her he loves it still must be obeyed." 
 
 " Yes, if that duty be to keep the country from a 
 foreign foe. But this is merely as to whether George 
 or James shall wear a crown and be a king! " 
 
 " Merely! it is a question of faith and right and 
 honour; and the man who is not moved by such 
 high forces is not fit to be beloved of a woman. 
 The fact that I am ready to risk all for them is the 
 best warranty that you could have that I shall con- 
 tinue true to you, sweet one." 
 
 " I want no warranty. I want only you. Give 
 me your arms about me and I'll ask no other war- 
 ranty, save that you call me ' sweet one.' ' 
 
 " I should not dare to touch you or to use such 
 terms to you, if I could sit still while other men 
 went out to fight for the right. Nay, nay, sweet, 
 think no more of sorrows that may never fall. Think 
 only that I love you and that, come success or come 
 defeat, I still shall love you and you only." 
 
 And thus the warm debate died out in sighs and
 
 76 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 soft caresses till presently Mari grew calmer and 
 with the calmness her natural high spirit came again. 
 And, as the minutes stole on, so word by word and 
 tone by tone she steeled herself to the final agony, 
 when, returning to the lawn, she found her father 
 and lolyn ready mounted, with Ithel's horse beside 
 them. 
 
 Then after the parting she stood and watched 
 them go till the trees of the avenue hid them from 
 sight. She saw the face of lolyn as he turned in 
 the saddle for another latest glance at her : she saw 
 the wave of her father's hand in final farewell; and 
 more than all she saw how Ithel checked as he took 
 off his hat in the sweeping salute which was a last 
 insistent reiteration of his lover's protestations to 
 her. 
 
 And then tears only to comfort her distress. 
 
 For the first few miles of the ride not a single 
 word passed amongst our three riders. lolyn was 
 savage and sullen at having to leave Wynstay with- 
 out discovering Chapel. When he left the hall to 
 search for Maddox's servant he had spent a full 
 hour, roaming like a hungry wolf inside the house 
 and out. Then he plunged stubbornly into the 
 wood, hoping to chance upon him there; coming 
 back, drenched with the moisture of a November
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO TJ 
 
 night, only to find that Chapel was still a-missing. 
 His first quest when the household rose was to 
 discover some trace of the man and he was furious 
 when one of the stable lads informed him that 
 Chapel had already ridden away in company with 
 one of the servants of Coed Cynan ; the Pencenedl 
 or chief to Maddox. 
 
 " That is some trick of Gwgan Maddox/' gnashed 
 lolyn to himself, as he turned away at last. And 
 he was right, for Maddox had adopted this way of 
 getting his accomplice safely away from Wynstay, 
 before lolyn's persistency should land him into any 
 awkward investigations. 
 
 But while lolyn was silent from baffled suspicion, 
 and Ithel from thinking of Mari, Pengraig himself 
 was silent from a cause equally characteristic. Now 
 at length the dream of his life seemed drawing to 
 realization. The fact that he himself was, in some 
 sort, riding as ambassador from his native country 
 to offer its allegiance to its rightful prince, elated 
 him only in so far as it gave him an active share in 
 hastening forward a long yearned for consummation. 
 Just for this one morning hour the restless energy 
 of his nature lay, quiescently captive, under the 
 trailing clouds of his poetic fancies as his imagina- 
 tion swept on flame-flighted pinions to a prospect
 
 78 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 of rainbow brilliance. His heart was full of music 
 and the blood in his veins was like wine. No won- 
 der that he was silent, or that his eyes were moist. 
 He was tasting that rarest vintage which ever comes 
 from the winepress of Life : he was at that point 
 when Hope dazzles warm endeavour with the gleam- 
 ing lines of near fulfilment ; when all that intervenes 
 seems but a single smooth stride ; one stride ; one 
 only alas! that the stride just taken should have 
 already topped the summit of all the pleasure which 
 pursuit may ever know. 
 
 Thus for the present he rode, silent from pure 
 happiness; and so, until the day had warmed to 
 noon, no word had passed amongst the three. The 
 need for baiting the horses, however, broke the web 
 of each man's, thoughts, and thereafter their sepa- 
 rate feelings closed into a single state of satisfaction 
 as on every hand they noted how little active oppo- 
 sition there was to the notion of the Pretender's 
 advance. Saving that Lord Cholmondeley had occu- 
 pied Chester for the Government and that thus the 
 old city which held out so gallantly for Charles I 
 now shut its gates against his high-spirited young 
 descendant, there was scarcely the colour of antago- 
 nism. What stir there was seemed wholly that of 
 the Jacobites themselves, who now no longer drank
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 79 
 
 with closed doors and significant winks intended to 
 indicate " the King over the water," but quaffed it 
 noisily on the village greens from broached barrels 
 of strong October; and found few in their parishes 
 to dispute the toast or refuse the ale. 
 
 And not in Cheshire alone did they find these 
 things. They took their way without haste, be- 
 cause haste was useless, and when, next day, they 
 crossed into Lancashire, there was every indication 
 of active rising, in the furbishing up of blunder- 
 busses and the fitting together of antiquated pikes. 
 It was the afternoon of the 2/th of November when 
 at length they sighted proud Preston town of ill 
 omen to the Stuart cause and presently drew rein 
 in the midst of an advance guard, which Lord 
 George Murray, in order to break the superstition 
 of the Highlanders, had led across to the southern 
 bank of the Ribble. Here Pengraig dismounted, 
 Ithel following suit, and while lolyn led the horses 
 on into the town to find quarters, the former turned 
 to make enquiries and glean what information he 
 could from the officer m command. 
 
 This officer proved to be none other than Lord 
 George himself, ablest of the Jacobite generals and, 
 possibly, most ambitious. He was to the full as 
 eager for information as the other, and drawing him
 
 80 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARA'O 
 
 a little way apart at once desired to know the 
 prospects in front " For the country does not rise 
 to us as we were led to expect," said he. 
 
 " Perhaps not, as yet," returned Pengraig. "' But 
 then, it has not risen against you either. Once we 
 reach London, however, the country will see that 
 our cause is no mere matter of words and healths, 
 and .then all that is best and bravest in the nation 
 will rally round the heir to our rightful king." 
 
 " It is a long way to London," returned Murray, 
 somewhat dubiously. 
 
 " But there is no army to bar the way; or none 
 worth speaking of as yet," returned Pengraig. 
 
 The other brightened visibly. " If we can only 
 fall upon those troops you hint at, before they can 
 concentrate into too large an army, we may do well 
 yet. I am deeply indebted to you, sir, for your 
 information. But you are going on now, no doubt, 
 to the Prince, whom you will find as eager as your- 
 self for marching forward. And I hope you may 
 not be too busy in future to spare me a little of 
 your conversation." 
 
 A few further compliments passed between them 
 before they parted and then Pengraig and Meredith 
 took their way afoot into the town.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THERE is no need for us to pause here to describe 
 in detail the personal appearance of the gallant 
 young Prince, Charles Edward. Neither was their 
 any need for our two to enquire the whereabouts of 
 his quarters : they had simply to follow the crowd. 
 Half way along, lolyn was waiting, having already 
 secured quarters and ordered dinner for Pengraig 
 and Presgwyn. 
 
 ' Then you had better go dine at once," said the 
 former to the latter promptly; " so that you will be 
 able to start again upon the instant as soon as I 
 can bring you the Prince's letter." 
 
 Accordingly Ithel and lolyn turned aside to the 
 inn, while Pengraig pursued his way till he came to 
 where the crowd blocked all the roads about the 
 window at which the Prince sat. Two pipers of the 
 Macdonalds made music beneath it, while a cluster 
 of clansmen, gentlemen chiefly, gathered about the 
 doorway in place of a more formal guard. To the 
 one who appeared to be chief of these Pengraig 
 addressed himself with due compliment and, courte- 
 6
 
 82 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ously stating his errand, presently found himself 
 ushered with all ceremony into the presence of the 
 Prince for whom he was to suffer so much and so 
 bravely. 
 
 Charles Edward knew well, by fame and letter, 
 who this man was now entering to him ; and thus 
 he looked with some natural interest upon one whose 
 vigorous urgings to immediate action had so long 
 countenanced his own at the dilatory court of his 
 Royal father. He noted the strong lines of the face, 
 the determined poise of the head, and the open 
 unflinching gaze. He weighed the whole and the 
 whole did more than satisfy him. 
 
 Ah ! now we have the first of those gallant 
 gentlemen who are to join us," said Charles Ed- 
 ward, with a frank smile, " though still your com- 
 ing argues nothing as to what others will do, since 
 well I know that even if all others turned their 
 backs on me yet David ApThomas Morgan of Pen- 
 graig would still keep his faith and join me." 
 
 With the first sentence the other had opened his 
 lips to reply, but when the Prince with princely 
 tact named him in full, he checked and caught his 
 breath again. His was no wild fire of boyish sen- 
 timent. His was the settled faith of a man long 
 past the day of unstable purposes and flickering,
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 83 
 
 will-o'-the-wisp desires. All the long years of the 
 soul deadening atmosphere of the law had not 
 dimmed the steadfast flame of his Jacobite loyalty. 
 And now, come face to face thus with the symbol 
 of all he held in veneration, and then to be greeted 
 in his native name dearest weakness of a Welshman 
 he stood upright, lips close and head erect, with a 
 shudder of emotion thrilling every fibre of his frame. 
 
 Charles Edward saw it and a soft light shone in 
 his face as he took a stride forward, saying gently : 
 ' You have travelled far, but you are welcome at 
 the end." 
 
 With a strong effort to control his feelings the 
 other managed to speak. " Yea, I do believe 
 your Royal Highness, and I thank you for it. But, 
 sir, I do not come here only as a loyal subject; I 
 come here from His Grace the Duke of Beaufort 
 and from Sir Watkin Williams Wyn, to tender the 
 allegiance of your own principality of Wales. I 
 am to say "his voice rose with the words " that 
 all its manhood awaits only your call to come out 
 to follow you; to victory, we pray; but to death if 
 need be! " 
 
 The eyes of the Prince kindled as he listened. 
 Turning to the Chiefs and nobles who surrounded 
 him: " There, gentlemen! " cried he. " What did
 
 84 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 I tell you ? Did I not promise you that our advance 
 would rally an army to our standards ? And here is 
 the confirmation of my argument, word for very 
 word, as if some herald repeated a proclamation." 
 
 Then to Pengraig he went on again: " I cannot 
 say that you are more welcome for your words, but 
 I can at least thank you yet more for them, coming, 
 as they do, here in a place which has impressed 
 some of our army as one of ill omen. 
 
 " But what now is your further advice, put into a 
 sentence ? I know you have summed up the situa- 
 tion ere this." 
 
 " Yea, your Royal Highness, and therefore I give 
 it in a line. Forward is your word and London is 
 your object." 
 
 "Again, gentlemen!" cried Charles Edward 
 gaily: " my very words again. Nay, never shake 
 your heads and mutter; we must go forward now; 
 we cannot turn back after this. Is there anything 
 else, good counsellor from in front for you shall be 
 my counsellor; I love such counsel is there any 
 other thing your knowledge can suggest ? " 
 
 " Nothing, your Royal Highness, saving that no 
 time be lost on the march ; and that you instantly 
 beat up for all possible recruits. Has there been 
 any recruiting yet ? " ended he.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 85 
 
 " Has there?" repeated the Prince, passing the 
 interrogation on to his secretary, Murray of 
 Broughton. 
 
 " I believe not, your Royal Highness," answered 
 the secretary. 
 
 ' Then it should be done at once," replied Pen- 
 graig to him instantly, the energy of his nature 
 catching with relief at the opportunity for action. 
 
 ' Yes, let it be done at once," assented Charles 
 Edward. 
 
 Lord Elcho and another moved immediately to 
 obey, and Pengraig made as if to accompany them. 
 " Nay, not yet, counsellor," interposed the Prince 
 smilingly; " I have not yet heard the details of 
 what Wales offers. How shall I know what to 
 answer if I am left dark ? " 
 
 I crave your pardon, sir, and truly I am a 
 sorry ambassador," returned Pengraig; " but my 
 feet are ever in a fever to be moving about your 
 work " 
 
 " Enough; enough," broke in the Prince. " And 
 as you have ridden so far you shall come into my 
 cabinet here and take a mouthful of wine the while 
 you fill my ears with the plans of my own country. 
 Come; " ended he, leading the way, as he spoke, to 
 the adjoining room.
 
 86 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Losing no point that could be made; missing no 
 detail which could impress; Pengraig recounted 
 what had been agreed upon at Wynstay; reinforc- 
 ing the whole with evidence and proof drawn from 
 his wide knowledge of the country and his endless 
 information as one of the most active of the con- 
 spirators. 
 
 " And now," concluded he, " if your Royal 
 Highness will but give me your commands, I will 
 at once transmit them to Wynstay by a sure and 
 speedy hand." 
 
 ' Then let Sir Watkin gather his people at once 
 and be ready to join us as we march south. You 
 yourself know better what our route should be and 
 what point they should strike for. What do you 
 advise ? " 
 
 ' This, sir. As speed is one main factor of suc- 
 cess for you, the less you deviate from the straight- 
 est line to London, the better. That straightest 
 line lies through Manchester, Macclesfield, and 
 Derby. Now let Sir Watkin rise and push across 
 Cheshire to strike your march somewhere between 
 the two latter towns ; say at Leek or Ashbourn, ac- 
 cording to the roads. At the same time the Duke 
 of Beaufort should rise and seize Bristol and so 
 secure the West country. Thus your own army
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 87 
 
 will not lose a day and so may brush through to its 
 goal before any opposition can concentrate to bar 
 the way. Such, in full, is my poor advice, your 
 Royal Highness." 
 
 " And the best that I could have, for it smacks 
 of success," answered Charles Edward readily. 
 ' Write my commands, therefore, just as you have 
 indicated and let your messenger be sure and 
 speedy. Have you a cipher for your communica- 
 tions ? I confess I cannot assist you to one if you 
 have none." 
 
 " No cipher, your Royal Highness; but I will 
 e'en copy your own example when you corresponded 
 with your royal father. Trust me for an ambiguity 
 that shall be as innocent as mothers' milk, until the 
 messenger shall choose to expound it to the proper 
 persons." 
 
 Fifteen minutes later the Prince's eyes were 
 sparkling with enjoyment as he read the script with 
 which the other presented him. ' Why, you have 
 copied me to the very life," exclaimed he merrily. 
 ' Yea here is the selfsame name * which I myself 
 used to indicate my identity to my father. It is the 
 very thing! " 
 
 * The reader may find specimens of the letters alluded to above, in 
 the " Stuart Papers" and elsewhere.
 
 88 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 The letter which so tickled his youthful exuber- 
 ance, ran as ambiguously follows : 
 
 ' To the Manager of the Cycle Company of Merchant 
 
 Adventurers. 
 
 11 MOST HONOUR'D SIR, " As you have ex- 
 pressed your desire to take the present opportunity 
 of paying all your debts and obligations, due to the 
 old-established house of Norry & Son ; this is to 
 notify you that Howell, the representative of that 
 House, is now on his way to London, with all pos- 
 sible haste, and desires you to meet him on the 
 way thither, at Leek or Ashborne, on the second or 
 third of December, whichever may be most conve- 
 nient to you but you are to be sure of being in 
 time. And Howell further says that you are to 
 come, bringing with you all that you can possibly 
 raise, by hook or crook, whereby he hopes the 
 ledger may be balanced to your credit and future 
 drafts by you upon Norry & Son be honoured with 
 all promptness and pleasure. Signed " 
 
 " Nay," broke off the Prince; " give me the pen 
 and I will sign it," and stooping to the board he 
 wrote in his untutored hand the one word, " How- 
 ell." 
 
 " But what says the Post Scriptum ?" he went 
 on, taking up the reading again. 
 
 " P.S. The firm's affairs appear to be in a most
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 89 
 
 flourishing condition and any of your friends who 
 may be hesitating between it and its rival would do 
 well to lose no time in opening an account with 
 Howell." 
 
 ' Why now," smiled Charles Edward, as he ended, 
 " this is as honest a letter as any easy Justice might 
 wish to see. Well, well, when I wrote Howell be- 
 fore, it was as an honest yeoman farmer, and here I 
 am become a prosperous merchant's factor. Egad! 
 I rise in the world as I grow older." 
 
 " I will not say, ' please God you may,' answered 
 Pengraig. "Higher you cannot rise, save to your 
 father's throne: but, I will say 'please God you 
 come by your own ' and that right shortly." And 
 with such grave compliment he took his leave and 
 way to instruct and start Meredith.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 WHEN Ithel had thoroughly grasped the instruc- 
 tions with which Pengraig charged him, clause by 
 clause, like a catechism ; the last word as he spurred 
 away was still a repetition of the first injunction, 
 " Trust nobody and keep your pistols primed. 
 Above all, be swift." 
 
 Therefore, with one change of horses at Wigan, 
 he came splashing through the muddy streets of 
 Warrington at dead of night, hoping to be over the 
 bridge and well beyond reach of Delamere Forest 
 long before break of day. So sure was he in his 
 hope, that all his attention was taken up with sus- 
 picious scanning of the deeper shadows on either 
 hand as he leaned forward, finger on trigger and 
 spurs ready for a dash away at the slighest sign of 
 ambush. Then a sudden snort from the horse closed 
 his knees instinctively like a vice, just in time to 
 save his seat as the startled animal swerved violently 
 round and away from the ragged edge over which 
 the next stride would have landed him. 
 
 His rider did not swear; a long breath and a quiet
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 91 
 
 sigh of thankfulness escaped him instead, for where 
 the bridge had been was nothing now save the shat- 
 tered masonry of the opposing abutments, with the 
 river slipping oilily between, grey and sullen under 
 the rays of the moon. Bringing his horse up he 
 pressed slowly forward again, soothing and patting 
 the animal's crest, till he pulled up in the white 
 moonlight on the broken bridge end. Hardly had 
 he time however, fully to realize the check, when a 
 sharp challenge rang out from the dense shadows of 
 the farther bank, followed instantly by a couple of 
 musket shots, warning him that not the river alone 
 barred his way. 
 
 As the bullets droned past his ears, " Phew! the 
 shadows are a better council chamber," quoth Ithel, 
 wheeling about and dashing back for the black 
 mouth of the street. 
 
 So sharply did he go that he almost rode down 
 a man standing in the middle of the road ; only 
 the metal button of the man's hat, flashing silver as 
 he raised his face, sufficing to startle the already 
 scared horse into shying again. 
 
 Who the devil are you ? " cried the rider angrily 
 as he controlled his beast again. " And if you mean 
 mischief you had better begin; you rascally Jack - 
 Andrew, you ! ' ' cocking a drawn pistol as he ended..
 
 92 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " If Aw'd wanted mischief, lad," answered the 
 other coolly; "Aw could ha' done it while thou 
 wert moonrakin' on th' bridge eend. But Aw'm as 
 honest as thee, or ony other mon as rides this gate 
 fro' Wigan at this time o' neet, mucked up fro' heel 
 to hat wi' slutch (mud) as thou art." 
 
 " Then what are you doing here in the street 
 when everyone else is abed ? " retorted Ithel. 
 
 " What art thou doing ? " returned the other dog- 
 gedly. 
 
 " Riding about my business," replied Ithel, still 
 sharply. 
 
 " And Aw'm standin' about mine," capped the 
 fellow with the evidence of a grin in his tone. 
 
 " But, come now," he went on, " Aw'll tell thee 
 a gradely* tale for once, for thou'rt a farrantly lad 
 by th' sound o' thee. Aw were uset to be th' 
 bridge tenter here, till thoose dal'd sodgers broke it 
 down this mornin' ; for fear this new Prince should 
 use it for marchin' into Wales." 
 
 "Then you know the river well?" insinuated 
 Ithel. 
 
 * Gradely. This word is probably not more than a few centuries 
 old. Its meaning is to be up to grade (the highest grade) in a (cloth) 
 merchant's sense of the word. It has, however, expanded so as 
 almost completely to oust the old word of " proper," as in " a proper 
 man " ; though the latter still survives in some districts.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 93 
 
 " Ne'r a mon betther. Aw' re noan born here 
 my talk '11 tell thee 'at Aw come fro' th' tother side 
 o* Owdham but Aw've lift here long enoof to 
 know every turn and tide on't fro' th' tone eend to 
 th' tother," replied the man readily. 
 
 " Well, these soldiers appear to have done you 
 harm, just as they have done me harm, by breaking 
 the bridge. But I am in a hurry to cross, so you 
 have a chance to earn more as a ferryman than you 
 did as a bridge keeper. What will you take to put 
 me across on the other side; somewhere wide of 
 these marauding soldiers ?" 
 
 " What wilt t'a give ?" 
 
 " A guinea," returned Ithel promptly. 
 
 " Then thou'lt tarry on this side till somebody 
 else tak's thee o'er," returned the other just as 
 promptly. " Dost ta think Aw'm bound to risk 
 bein' shot, an' walk hauve-a-dozen mile into th' 
 bargain, for a guinea ? An' Aw've said naught 
 about payin' for the boat when we come to it, 
 oather." 
 
 " Oh, I'll pay for the boat." 
 
 "Aye, an' pay rarely too, Aw'll be bound!" 
 chuckled the man. " Aw should ha' saved thee 
 summat theer. " 
 
 " Ah," returned Ithel drily. " I see. You wish
 
 94 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 to fleece me yourself, but don't wish anyone else to 
 do it ; eh ? " 
 
 ' We sayen i' Lancashire 'at two of a trade ne'er 
 thriven together," retorted the other with grim 
 amusement in his voice. 
 
 "Oh! that is cool enough at any rate. But 
 come, you have told me what you will not do it for; 
 now let us hear what you will do it for ? " 
 
 " Happen (mayhap) four guineas '11 do me," sug- 
 gested the man. 
 
 " Happen I'll see you hanged first," retorted 
 Ithel, who feared that compliance with such extor- 
 tion might rouse uncontrollable suspicion as to the 
 importance of his errand. 
 
 "Well," returned the other leisurely: " Aw've 
 no business on t' tother side just now as Aw know 
 on. But Aw'll tell thee, lad, 'at here i' Lancashire 
 folk gi'en naught for naught an' dal'd little for a 
 penny." 
 
 "Look here," broke out Ithel; " I'll give you 
 thirty shillings." 
 
 " Say three guineas." 
 
 " No, but I'll come up to two pounds." 
 
 " Mak' it guineas." 
 
 " Very well," agreed Ithel. 
 
 " Show thy brass then," said the bridge tender.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 95 
 
 ' There it is," answered Ithel showing the gold 
 at arm's length towards the moon flush at the end 
 of the street. 
 
 " Hand it o'er then," quoth the other extending 
 his hand to receive it. 
 
 "Ah! no doubt," returned Ithel sarcastically. 
 ' You wait till we are in the boat. I'll promise 
 you shall have it then." 
 
 The other laughed as if at a good joke. " Come 
 lad; thou'rt none so gawmless* after o'. Weel, 
 Aw'm a yezy f mon an' so Aw'll tak' thy promise. 
 Come this gate (way) then an' follow me." 
 
 He strode away with the step of one accustomed 
 to night work and Ithel noted the fact as he put his 
 horse to follow. " Never mind," muttered he: 
 " my business is to get across the Mersey if the 
 Devil himself were ferryman." 
 
 As they emerged into the open country the 
 sound of muffled hoofs galloping on ahead came 
 back to them. " What is that ? " said Ithel check- 
 ing to listen as he spoke. 
 
 Happen some sodier, just wakkent up fro' 
 bein' fuddled at some alehouse, an' as feard o' 
 
 * Gawmless, gumptionless. Gawm = to understand, to catch the 
 meaning of. 
 
 f Yezy = easy : following the rule which gives dyed = dead, 
 yer = hear, yeth = heath, etc.
 
 96 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 thee an' me as if we were two rebels. Come on ; 
 if he stops we'n shake a stick at him; that'll start 
 him agen; Aw'll warrant." 
 
 " My pistol is ready cocked in any case," said 
 Ithel significantly, intending a delicate hint to the 
 guide. 
 
 The other stopped, looking him squarely in the 
 face for a matter of a dozen seconds. " Bi th' 
 Mass,* lad, thou art feart after o'." 
 
 " Better be sure than sorry," retorted Ithel. 
 " And you may be sure that I'll act upon that 
 motto." 
 
 " Aye, weel; ne'er mind. Come on," ended the 
 guide offhandedly, starting forward again. 
 
 They moved silently along in the same direction 
 as the river, but at sufficient distance to escape 
 observation from the other bank. Two small 
 streams were at length crossed and Ithel began to 
 grow impatient. 
 
 " How much farther is it to this boat of yours ? " 
 demanded he. 
 
 " None mich. We're comin' nigher, by degrees, 
 like lawyers go to heaven." 
 
 Some distance yet remained to be passed and 
 
 * By the Mass ! Still one of the commonest forms of oath in some 
 even Protestant districts of Lancashire.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 97 
 
 then at last they drew near to the river's edge again 
 and Ithel saw the hut and boat which betokened the 
 existence of a regular ferry. Not checking, the 
 guide strode on up to the hut and kicked loudly at 
 the door. But before any answer could come from 
 within, Ithel's horse broke into a questioning 
 whinny, which was immediately answered from be- 
 hind the hut, whence presently issued a horse, sad- 
 dled and bridled and showing wet with sweat that 
 glittered on his coat like hoar frost under the moon. 
 ' This was your fuddled soldier's horse then, 
 was it ? And where do you reckon his rider is ? " 
 demanded Ithel grimly, levelling the pistol at the 
 guide's body as he ended. 
 
 "Not i' this cabin, chuzhow;* so put up thy 
 pistol," answered the guide doggedly. 
 
 " It is my own pistol, in my own hand," returned 
 Ithel steadily. " I'll do with it what I will." 
 
 ' Then do th' rest o' this business thysel'," re- 
 torted the other, moving a pace as if to walk off. 
 
 "Stop!" commanded Ithel firmly. "Another 
 step and I'll drop you like a partridge. The game 
 is mine now. The two guineas you shall have fair 
 enough ; or maybe more if I feel like it on the other 
 
 * Chuzhow ; often pronounced " shuzheaw "= choose how, i.e., 
 anyhow : at any rate. 
 
 7
 
 98 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 side. But just at present I'm your master. Open 
 that door! " 
 
 " It's fast." 
 
 " Break it in then." . 
 
 " An' what'll Jone Fidler be doin* while Aw'm 
 breakin' it ? " 
 
 ' That is your affair. I know what I shall be 
 doing if you refuse. Break! " 
 
 With half an oath the fellow turned to the door 
 again. " Come on, Jone! Let th' Narker do his 
 own th' best way he can o' th' tother side. We 
 mun be budgin'. Outon't!" 
 
 At this speech, sounding so suspicious, Ithel 
 whipped out a second pistol, and when the door 
 opened at the last word, the ferryman, stepping 
 swiftly out with his hand at his belt, found himself 
 covered by one pistol, while the guide, turning 
 with a snap, found the other muzzle grinning within 
 two arm's lengths of his body. 
 
 " A pretty pair of rogues to grace a gallows. 
 And I will see that both of you are hanged if I lose 
 much more time over this crossing. Now then, 
 you ; bridge keeper as you call yourself ; take those 
 pistols out of the ferryman's belt and drop them. 
 Quick! my ringer itches on this trigger! " 
 
 No use, Jone. Lev it to th' Narker," growled
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 99 
 
 the guide ; taking out and dropping the two pistols 
 as he spoke. 
 
 " Now then, Ferryman, take the other fellow's 
 pistols and drop them with yours. Quick! " 
 
 The guide laughed a full strong laugh. ' Tak' 
 'em Jone, an' ha' done wi' it. Bi th' Mass, lad, 
 thou'rt even a gradelier cock than Aw took thee for. 
 Nay, thou may put up thy own pistols now: Aw'll 
 promise to put thee safe across: thou desarves that 
 mich, chuzhow. " 
 
 " Ah, but first I want to know where the rider of 
 that horse is ? " this to the ferryman. 
 
 How should I know ?" growled that worthy. 
 
 " Well it is not of interest to me except in one 
 way; but if he starts up from any shadow between 
 this and the other side, then down you go remem- 
 ber that." 
 
 ' Weel, if he ne'er gwos down till that," re- 
 marked the guide drily; " then he'll be like to stond 
 upreet till he's some an' weary. Cannot ta see, 
 lad, 'at th' little boat's gone fro' this side ? Aw 
 reckon that so'dier didno' stop to bargain, like thee, 
 but just paid for a boat wi' a horse. Come on ! " 
 
 Leading the way as he spoke the guide started for 
 the ferryboat, the ferryman at his heels evidently 
 trying to get close enough to whisper some remon-
 
 100 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 strance in his ear. But the other minded it no more 
 than the flapping of a bat's wings. Only when the 
 ferryman would have delayed him from casting off 
 for a moment, he spoke out unconcernedly. " Dal 
 thee ! Every tub on its own bottom ! Let the 
 Narker try his own hond a bit or art ta feared o' 
 th' Narker ?" 
 
 The reply was an indistinct growl, which elicited 
 no other answer from the guide than " Thou art a 
 foo'. Do summat toart puttin' this boat across; or 
 else stond out o' th' gate." 
 
 Ithel now dismounted warily, face and pistol both 
 towards the two. He stood in the stern of the 
 boat, watching closely for any sign of treachery. 
 But the guide seemed to be imperturbable in his new 
 good humour, and worked away as if entirely un- 
 aware of the pistols. Half way across, Ithel belted 
 one weapon till he could take out two guineas. 
 " Here, you, bridge keeper!" he cried. " Here is 
 your money. Catch!" tossing the coins into the 
 other's extended hat. 
 
 " Weel; bi th' mass!" was all the guide's com- 
 ment as he pocketed the guineas. 
 
 Hardly had the slight shock of touching the other 
 bank quivered through the boat than Ithel was 
 mounted again.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO IOI 
 
 " Ashore ! both of you ! " he shouted, for he could 
 hear the crash of a breaking hedge just ahead, and 
 voices urging runners to greater speed. 
 
 The guide obeyed with a chuckle, but the other 
 hesitated. Instantly Ithel pressed his horse to- 
 wards him and the black muzzle of the pistol drove 
 him growling back out of the way, while as the 
 hoofs touched land the rider pressed the rowels 
 home and the snorting steed sprang away at top 
 speed. 
 
 " That's him ! " screamed a voice from the hedge 
 to the right. " Stop him ! Stop him ! " 
 
 " Halt ! " shouted a voice in front as the 
 spurred and booted figure of a man leaped the 
 ditch and faced round in the road. " Halt! or I 
 shoot ! ' ' 
 
 A blunderbuss was in his hand as he staggered 
 upright, but before he could even level it the ball 
 from Ithel's pistol took him in the breast and the 
 next leap of the terrified horse was over his corpse 
 as he dashed on up the road. 
 
 But with that leap the first voice from the hedge 
 abreast again screamed " Stop!" and at the same 
 instant a pistol cracked loose, almost within arm's 
 length of Ithel who, as the ball ploughed into his 
 body, sent the spurs home convulsively, driving the
 
 102 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 maddened beast with bursting speed out of the 
 reach of pursuit. 
 
 Then the figure that had fired the pistol broke 
 through the thorns into the roadway, whining forth 
 a string of horrible blasphemies as he stood looking 
 into the black shadows which had swallowed horse 
 and man from sight. 
 
 A voice behind caused him to turn. It was the 
 guide, kneeling beside the corpse and speaking to 
 the ferryman. '\So; th' Narker's getten it at th' 
 end of o'. By th' Mass! yon lad's a rare un ! But 
 th' Narker were a foo' to tak' a job fro' anybody 
 else i' th' stead of doin' for hissel'. Weel, he's 
 done wi' o' now." 
 
 The one who had been whining after the fugitive 
 now broke out into hideous curses on the dead man. 
 
 ' The ! " he screamed. ' Trust me,' cackled 
 
 the Jack Straw: and I did trust him, and here I am, 
 with a thousand good guineas and a life to enjoy 
 them in both slipped through my fingers like a 
 
 whistle of the wind. Oh! !" he broke off; 
 
 kicking the corpse ferociously. 
 
 In that same instant he went backwards head first 
 into the ditch beside him the guide had coolly 
 jerked his feet from under him. " Aw'll larn thee; 
 chuz what dal'd foo' thou art. Thee punce (kick)
 
 103 
 
 a livin' mon when tha wants to punce onybody: 
 one 'at con punce back; none a dyed (dead) un ; " 
 and as he ended the guide rose to his feet and stood 
 ready. 
 
 "Curse you! Oh; the curse of forty thousand 
 hells upon you!" whined the voice; between a 
 choked whisper and a devilish whistle. " Oh, how 
 I will shoot you!" trailed out the words as the 
 overturned one scrambled into the roadway again, 
 pistol in hand. 
 
 Instantly a crashing kick upon the knee cap 
 dropped him as if it had been a bullet, and hardly 
 had he touched the ground when another kick sent 
 the pistol flying from his mangled fingers. A third 
 kick upon the thigh socket of his other leg com- 
 pletely disabled him and then while he lay, writhing 
 and hissing impotent curses, the guide spoke again, 
 as coolly as before. 
 
 " Now then, my fine foo' fro* Lunnon or chuz 
 wheer ever tha does come fro' Aw'll show thee 
 what it is to punce a dyed mon, or poo a pistol on 
 a wick (living) un. Tak' that! an' that! How dost 
 ta like it ? Heh ? " 
 
 With each word the terrible wooden soled and 
 iron shod clogs of the speaker thudded home against 
 the writhing body on the ground, till the curses
 
 104 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 became groans and the limbs lay inanimate, and 
 then, with one last thundering kick, the guide drew 
 back and surveyed it. 
 
 ' Th' Narker were slain doin' this felly's work, 
 an' then he punced his dyed body after o'," contin- 
 ued he. " But if he punced t'one, he'll remember 
 tother; me, Ned o' th' Cloof ; lung after he's for- 
 gotten th' Narker. 
 
 " Poor owd Narker! Weel, lads, fot' him across 
 an' let's bury him out o' th' gate. But this tother 
 may lie; dyed or wick let's see; what were it th' 
 Narker said he were co'd ?" 
 
 " Chapel, or summat o' that mak, " answered one 
 of the four Avho, after standing by from the first, 
 were now stooping to lift the body of the Narker. 
 
 " Chapel," repeated Ned o' th' Cloof. " By th' 
 Mass then, Aw reckon nobody but th' Owd Lad 
 were ever inside that Chapel."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 PENGRAIG had hardly started his messenger for 
 Wales before he was invited to join the chief officials 
 at dinner the meal being then ready. Here he 
 sat next to that Lord Elcho who had set in motion 
 the suggestion as to recruiting, and very shortly the 
 two were deep in the details of the subject. But 
 presently the discussion changed to the rebellion 
 in general, and a remark of Lord Elcho's elicited a 
 quick question. 
 
 ' Why, of what religion is the Prince then ? " 
 
 ' Well, it's difficult to say. It's true he did at- 
 tend the Established Kirk when he first came down 
 out of the Highlands; but I fear me his religion is 
 still to seek." Lord Elcho shook his head as he 
 spoke. 
 
 "Come then; that is not such bad news after 
 all," responded Pengraig promptly. " It makes 
 our case even more hopeful yet." 
 
 " I don't just see how you make that out," 
 rejoined the other cautiously. 
 
 ' Well, the lad's grandfather lost his throne be-
 
 106 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 cause of his bigoted papistry, and there are thou- 
 sands of good Protestants now holding back from 
 joining us for fear the Prince is bigoted, too. It is 
 Rome, not Stuart, that the people baulk at. But if 
 the lad has no particular keenness to religion we 
 may be sure he will never attempt to cram the Pope 
 down our throats. Yea, I shall have a new argu- 
 ment now when I begin to try and persuade the 
 people." 
 
 ' You may be right," returned Elcho caustically. 
 
 ' You know the line, ' the devil himself can quote 
 
 scripture to his purpose,' but it seems new to 
 
 quote in a lad's favour that he's of no particular 
 
 religion." 
 
 ' There, now you are wresting my words to fit 
 your argument. You know well what I mean. 
 Better a vague religion than the wrong one in this 
 case, provided the lad has the fear of God in his 
 heart and a due reverence for the things his people 
 hold most sacred. For then, you see, there is a 
 prospect that he may see no objection to bringing 
 up his future sons as Protestants. Drink, man ! 
 drink with me to that, for we'll rouse up recruits 
 from every corner, now that we can tell them they 
 need fear no Pope under the Prince's bonnet." 
 
 " I'll drink with you then to that," replied Elcho
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO IO/ 
 
 with a dubious smile. " Anything that will bring 
 us in recruits is to be welcomed; for I'll not hide 
 from you that it's recruits we're sore in need of." 
 
 ' Then your need will not be sore much longer. 
 Nay, we'll start a recruiting party this very night 
 for Manchester. A single sergeant and his drum- 
 mer will be enough, for there isn't a justice in all 
 Christ's Croft* will dare or desire to meddle with 
 the White Cockade in any man's hat to-day." 
 
 " Are you so sure, then, that the country is will- 
 ing to welcome us ? " 
 
 " I am, and to-morrow you shall have confirma- 
 tion of it, for there are two more Welsh gentlemen ; 
 the Vaughans ; who were to leave Wynstay the day 
 after I did. They will thus bring news of a later 
 state than mine, but you will see that they will but 
 confirm my words." 
 
 " And you think the sergeant will gather any 
 recruits ?" said Elcho. 
 
 " Recruits! A regiment! Man, I'll warrant you 
 he has a whole regiment ready against the Prince's 
 arrival. 
 
 Lord Elcho fairly smiled at last, catching the 
 infection of the cheerful confidence in the other's 
 
 * Christ's Croft is that part of Lancashire lying between the 
 Kibble and Mersey ; making with the Fylde and Furness the three 
 divisions of the county.
 
 108 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 eyes. " Man," quoth he; " I'll hold you to your 
 warranty in that. If the sergeant gets no regiment 
 in Manchester then I'll hold you to pay for the offi- 
 cers' dinner at the best inn of that town. And if 
 I lose I'll pay the same with the lightest heart that 
 ever counted silver down to pay a debt in England." 
 
 " I take the wager," retorted the other, laugh- 
 ing: " and in the meantime let us go and see what 
 fortune has attended our recruiting here." 
 
 Henceforward this matter of the recruiting was 
 the one passion of Pengraig, and when they arrived 
 in Manchester he was cheerily prompt to claim the 
 wager from Lord Elcho. " Look you! did I not 
 promise you a regiment ready against our arrival ? 
 And what do you think of this ? " 
 
 " I think it is queer that the country gentlemen 
 should bide at home, each at his own hearth, while 
 the townsmen of such a place as this flock to join 
 us," returned Elcho caustically. " Or are we all 
 crazy this journey ? " 
 
 " Ah, you are thinking of the last rising. Let 
 that lie ; that journey wore to its end and is done 
 with. We have to look to this. But the wager is 
 won and I claim the stakes ; so while you order the 
 dinner I will go and issue orders for the collection 
 of all the arms in the town."
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 109 
 
 Later, that same day, the two Vaughans met 
 Pengraig as he issued from his lodgings. " Ah, we 
 were just coming to find you," spoke William. 
 " The Prince commands your presence at once. 
 There is a question of some difficulty as to who 
 should command this Manchester regiment." 
 
 " I do not see where the difficulty lies," replied 
 Pengraig instantly. " Some gentleman from its 
 own ranks. There are enough (and gallant gentle- 
 men too) in it to furnish Colonels for a small army." 
 
 " But the Prince" returned William, a twinkle 
 in his eye " thinks that the best commander would 
 be a certain Welsh gentleman of our acquaintance. 
 Esquire Morgan, as they call him yourself, to 
 wit." 
 
 ' Then the Prince, with all due deference, is 
 wrong," retorted Pengraig. " Let that Welsh gen- 
 tleman wait till he can command a Welsh regiment, 
 and meanwhile let these Lancashire men be com- 
 manded by a Lancashire gentleman. Is there not 
 Mr. Towneley ? and who should be 'fitter for the 
 post than a member of the family which has suffered 
 so much in the past for the White Rose ? At the 
 same time, gentlemen, I have no wish to influence 
 you, should any command be offered to you. I 
 merely state my own view."
 
 110 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ' Which is that of both my nephew and myself," 
 rejoined William heartily. :< For myself, I shall 
 remain as one of the Prince's Life Guards until our 
 Welsh troops appear." 
 
 "And I," added the younger Vaughan, with a 
 smile; " shall stick to my duties under the Duke of 
 Perth." 
 
 I commend you both," said Pengraig gratefully, 
 " while at the same time I hope that your reward 
 may be speedy. Certainly Sir Watkin should join 
 us in three or four days at farthest. I wonder how 
 Meredith prospered on his journey ? " 
 
 But though he, confident in his faith in Ithel, 
 dismissed the wonder at the moment he entered the 
 Prince's presence to urge and carry Towneley's 
 appointment ; yet there was one in another place 
 who could not so lightly put the same wonder from 
 him Gwgan Maddox, to wit. 
 
 Riding into Wrexham from Wynstay, he drew 
 rein and lighted down under the swinging sign of 
 the Swan. In one of the rooms inside he found a 
 figure all swathed and muffled up, leaning uneasily 
 in a" chair over the fire; nursing a great tankard of 
 mulled ale. 
 
 " I got your message in Rhiwvabon, and galloped 
 up here immediately," began Maddox. " But what
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO III 
 
 the devil is wrong that you look so surly ? Surely 
 you have not failed." 
 
 "Failed!" whined the other huskily. "Look 
 at me!" throwing back the great riding coat and 
 showing himself one mass of wrappings beneath. 
 
 ' What has happened then ?" cried Maddox, his 
 face paling with apprehension. 
 
 " Has that Meredith got back yet ?" demanded 
 the other by way of reply. 
 
 "No! But does that mean that he escaped? 
 Speak out you " 
 
 " Then he never will get back," snarled the other 
 
 showing his teeth like a mongrel. "D n him! 
 
 I am glad I fired. I knew I couldn't miss him at 
 that distance. I was so close I could almost feel 
 the back-throw from his body. He's lying in some 
 ditch then, dead and stripped, I'll warrant. Curse 
 him! " 
 
 " How came you to botch the job so ? Stop your 
 snarling and tell me that, you miserable scarecrow ! " 
 broke out Maddox. 
 
 "Scarecrow!" repeated the other in a blood 
 curdling whine. Just for a moment he seemed as 
 if he would leap upon Maddox and murder him 
 outright. Then a horrible smile flitted across his 
 battered features, fascinating the other with the
 
 112 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 dreadful maliciousness of it. ' He! he! a scare- 
 crow! "he whistled, and slowly extending his left 
 hand he took the paralyzed Maddox by the throat, 
 choking back tfhe call for help, while he shook him 
 till his heels clicked together. 
 
 "A scarecrow; hee! hee! What a pretty little 
 master it is for a poor man to have," he went on, 
 as with a final jerk he flung his victim into the 
 corner. " Now, sir," continued he, " get up and 
 listen till I tell you a nice little fairy tale. You'll 
 like it ever so much I know, because it's all about 
 how I got kicked nearly to death yes, you'll like 
 that, I know. Get up!" 
 
 Sick in body and soul from fear, both of this man 
 and what he was about to tell, Maddox gathered 
 himself to his feet and crawled to a chair. 
 
 " Yes, sit down, Mr. Maddox," repeated Chapel; 
 " you needn't fear any more of my little playful- 
 ness. You see we're essential to each other now, 
 because I but there; you just take a drink of this 
 good mulled ale and then listen." 
 
 Utterly demoralized, Maddox took the proffered 
 tankard and drank, handing it back as the other 
 commenced his story. " It was all through those 
 infernal soldiers breaking down the bridges over the 
 Mersey," began Chapel. " I got a highwayman
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 113 
 
 they called the Narker to take the job in hand, and 
 he set a fellow to wait at the bridge end in Warring- 
 ton and pretend to be the bridge keeper. We knew 
 there was a patrol of soldiers who would fire from 
 this side at anyone who showed, and so this bridge 
 keeper was left as guide to decoy Meredith to a 
 ferry down the river. The Narker waited in the 
 shadow till the bargain was struck and then rode 
 down and crossed before them, to gather his men 
 ready. 
 
 " But the ferryman fooled us by bringing Mere- 
 dith across without waiting for our signal, and so 
 before we could get up to the landing to stop him 
 our man clapped spurs to his horse, shot down the 
 Narker, and got away. I got in a shot, however, 
 right through his body just as he went past. 
 
 ' Then the Narker's cutthroats set upon me, be- 
 cause he had been killed, and kicked me senseless; 
 within an inch of my life in fact, and when I came 
 to myself next morning, I found I had been robbed 
 of every penny, except two guineas, sewn into my 
 waistband before I left London. 
 
 " An early carter, passing that way, carried me 
 to an inn some miles away and there I lay; all in 
 a pickle of turpentine, spermaceti, Solomon's seal 
 and brandy, till this morning. And I've only man-
 
 H4 
 
 aged to ride now by swearing and beating the horse 
 every stride of the way, in order to ease the pain. 
 
 " And now what is the next move, since Meredith 
 is dead ?" ended Chapel, with the same old whine 
 as under the cedar at Wynstay. 
 
 ' You say that Meredith is dead," answered the 
 other, now composed again ; "but I tell you that the 
 next move is to find out if he really is dead. You 
 do not seem to understand what a mess we are in. 
 For all we know Meredith may now be snugly re- 
 covering in some friendly Jacobite's bed. We can- 
 not afford merely to think he is dead. We must 
 have proof. You shot him and you believe he 
 could not go far. But that is not enough. If you 
 had stripped his corpse and battered his face till no 
 one could recognize it I should feel easier. His 
 being only wounded is worse than his being well, 
 for then we could start afresh. No, the first move 
 is to find him, dead or alive, and then the next move 
 will show itself." 
 
 " Then give me three days and thirty guineas, 
 and I'll do it," replied Chapel. 
 
 " Well, I can just manage the thirty guineas this 
 once," returned the other; " but remember there 
 must be no failure this time. For " 
 
 " Trust me," broke in Chapel. " Am I likely to
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 11$ 
 
 fail with every bone in my body sore to get even 
 with the cause of my hurts ? Look at me and re- 
 member it's only the longing for revenge that 
 keeps me on my feet at all. Do you think any 
 other man alive could have pulled through such 
 usage ? I only wonder at myself being here, instead 
 of dead yonder." 
 
 " Oh," ventured Maddox, with a flicker of mali- 
 cious enjoyment. " You'll get over that and be as 
 bad as ever again. It's a deal better than hanging, 
 you know there is no getting up and riding away 
 after that." 
 
 " Well, I suppose you ought to know," retorted 
 the other. " A man generally sees what is ahead of 
 him on the road he's travelling." 
 
 " We're not hung yet, nor likely to be," returned 
 the other sullenly. 
 
 " That is exactly what I say, ' nor likely to be,' ' 
 repeated Chapel unctuously. 
 
 But later, when mounting to return to Wynstay 
 Maddox varied the words. "I'm not hung," mut- 
 tered he to himself, " but you shall be, Master 
 Chapel, as soon as I've done with you."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 BY break of day Chapel was in the saddle again, 
 with many a curse and many a contortion, taking 
 the return trail for Fidler's Ferry. But all his foxy 
 movements and crafty enquiries in the neighbour- 
 hood of Delamere Forest were fruitless and he 
 came at length to the conclusion that Meredith had 
 never got a mile away from the spot where he was 
 wounded. " No doubt those footpads followed 
 him, as soon as I was senseless," said he to himself. 
 ' They would find him lying in the road and after 
 stripping him would perhaps bury the body out of 
 the way. Yes, I had better try what information I 
 can get out of that Ferryman again." 
 
 Boldly pursuing this plan he rode to the ferryside 
 and hailed the hut across the water. He had no 
 long time to wait, nor did he lose any in broaching 
 his point when the boat arrived. ' You remember 
 me, no doubt," said he, at once. 
 
 ' Well," sarcastically responded the somewhat 
 startled ferryman, " thou wert na' killed with good 
 looks when I saw thee first, and I'm hanged if
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO II? 
 
 thou'rt much the handsomer for what happened 
 since. But so long as thou carries that snivel with 
 thee, there'll be no mistaking thee. And what 
 dost ta want this time ? " 
 
 " Only something that you can do yourself with- 
 out help, and for which, therefore, you can draw all 
 the pay." 
 
 " I'm cuttin' nobody's throat to-night, my lad," 
 returned Jone decidedly. 
 
 " Nor am I," retorted the other. " All I want is 
 a little bit of information which you can give and 
 no one else the wiser." 
 
 " What is it ?" 
 
 " It's about the fellow we were after the other 
 night the one who shot the Narker. " 
 
 " Well?" 
 
 " He was shot himself at the same time," pur- 
 sued Chapel. 
 
 " Thou ought to know, since thou did it thysel'," 
 returned the ferryman drily, " especially as thou got 
 well punced after it." 
 
 A hideous grin broke out like some strange dis- 
 ease in Chapel's features before he proceeded. 
 ' Yes, very well. Now, that young fellow must have 
 dropped out of the saddle before he went very far." 
 
 " Well?"
 
 Il8 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " Well, if you'll show me where that man is lying, 
 dead or alive, I'll give you half as much as the 
 Narker was to have had for the whole of you the 
 other night. You remember what that was, I sup- 
 pose ? " 
 
 " Yea, surely. An' dost thou remember how 
 much puncin' thou got from Ned o' th' Cloof that 
 same night ? Well, I should get a long sight 
 more than that if I were to tell thee what thou 
 wants." 
 
 " What has Ned of the Clough to do with it ? " 
 demanded Chapel. 
 
 "What wilt thou give to know?" replied the 
 other. 
 
 " Five guineas! " 
 
 " Keep it then if that's all." 
 
 " Look you, Fidler, I'll make it ten if you'll tell 
 me honestly what I want to know." 
 
 " Done! " replied the ferryman. 
 ' Well ? " interrogated Chapel impatiently. 
 ' Thou's never given me the brass yet," returned 
 the other with exasperating coolness. 
 
 With a gasp of hatred, Chapel counted down the 
 ten guineas. 
 
 'That's some bit like," quoth the ferryman 
 pocketing the coins.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 119 
 
 " Well ?" demanded Chapel impatiently. 
 
 " Don't be in such a sweat," responded the other 
 slowly. 
 
 " Remember that I have these," said Chapel 
 threateningly, lifting the flaps of his waistcoat and 
 showing his pistols. 
 
 " Aye, and I remember thou had them t'other 
 night, but thou got punced just the same." 
 
 " Yes, but now I am on the look out and neither 
 Ned nor you could do it a second time," retorted 
 Chapel. 
 
 "I'm none so sure of that. Shall I try once ? " 
 drawled the other. 
 
 " Don't be a fool, but tell me what I've paid you 
 to tell." 
 
 " Aye, I've taken thy brass and I'll do as I bar- 
 gained; for I'm game to satisfy thee any way thou 
 likes; either fighting or talking. Well, Ned o' th' 
 Cloof has had that lad taken to a place where he'll 
 be well tended till he gets about again." 
 
 14 What's that for ? " broke out Chapel in aston- 
 ishment. ' Why didn't he finish him where he 
 found him ? " 
 
 ' Thou'd better axe him. I never sper (enquire) 
 aught of him myself. It's naught but a fool's 
 job, is sperin'."
 
 120 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " But remember there is money in this for you 
 are you sure ? " 
 
 " Happen not, but I'll just go over and tell Ned 
 thou'rt wanting to know summat from him. He's 
 yonder in th' hut, and no doubt gettin' tired of 
 waiting for me to come back. But wiltna' come 
 o'er thyself ? Ned's said a time or two that he'd 
 like gradely well to drop across thee agen. A hun- 
 dred guineas are none so oft picked out of one 
 mon's pocket at one go." 
 
 From the first word of this, Chapel had sat still 
 as death in the saddle, for the other had begun by 
 sticking one hand carelessly into the great pocket of 
 his coat, and like magic the wide bell mouth of a 
 short brass blunderbuss had discovered itself under- 
 neath the skirt, cocked up at the rider's body. 
 With a grim chuckle Jone now backed aboard his 
 boat again, saying mockingly as he started it across, 
 " Canst no' yer him whistlin' ? He ne'er whistles 
 but once with his own muzzle: th' second time he 
 does it with a musket. And thou'd best stond out 
 o' th' gate if he begins that." 
 
 At this significant hint Chapel turned and spurred 
 away out of both eye and musket shot of the bank; 
 whining and wagging his head from side to side as 
 he went. Then he drew rein and, looking back
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 121 
 
 towards the river, let another of his dreadful grins 
 spread over his ghastly visage. "Aha! my little 
 dears ! " whined he, with a creepy whisper under all. 
 " I have an idea! Yes, my pretty lambs; such an 
 idea ! And I'll see you all hung together in the nice 
 little flock that you are before another three days 
 pass. Oh! my pets! I'll teach you to play tricks 
 with John Chapel!" 
 
 With which somewhat peculiar statement the 
 said John Chapel put his horse into motion once 
 more, by the clever expedient of jabbing the spurs 
 viciously again and again into the already bleeding 
 flanks of the poor brute he being one of those 
 riders who apparently never dream that there is any 
 other means of communication with a horse, except 
 by bit and spur. 
 
 It was on this same evening that the army of 
 Prince Charles Edward marched into Macclesfield 
 from Manchester and there, within ten minutes of 
 their arrival, Lord George Murray accosted Pengraig 
 with news of the enemy. ' Well, sir," said he 
 brusquely, " I hear that the Duke of Kingston is 
 holding Congleton, a few miles ahead of us, with 
 a strong force and that he covers a great army close 
 behind him commanded by the Duke of Cumber- 
 land himself. What say you ? "
 
 122 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 11 That the Duke of Kingston may very well be 
 in Congleton ; but that if so, he has only a rabble 
 of gentlemen and perhaps a handful of dragoons 
 under him. But as to Cumberland I do not believe 
 he is anywhere near the place. If you will send 
 a brisk party of our horse against the outpost to- 
 morrow, I'll warrant you will go through it like a 
 foot through paper and find as little behind." 
 
 Lord George mused for a moment in silence till at 
 length he said slowly: " Perhaps you are right, sir. 
 At any rate there is no other course to take for 
 many reasons, as you know. Therefore Ker shall 
 take the horse to-morrow and you, I suppose, will 
 want to go with him in the forefront." 
 
 " Yes, certainly," responded Pengraig emphati- 
 cally. 
 
 Very early the next morning a strong party of 
 horse moved out of Macclesfield under Ker. The 
 enemy, however, made no attempt to dispute the 
 entrance into Congleton against them, but fell has- 
 tily back on the road to Newcastle-under-Lyne; 
 hotly pursued by the exulting Jacobites. 
 
 Closer and closer then did the eager spirits under 
 Ker press the retiring foe, until the steady retreat 
 became a disorganized flight, and presently Pen- 
 graig caught sight of a village ahead, where the men
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 123 
 
 of a supporting force of dragoons were rushing 
 wildly about to saddle and mount ere the rout 
 should reach them. Promptly detaching a score or 
 two of the gentlemen nearest to him, he made a 
 sharp circuit to come up in rear of the place and cut 
 off the dragoons before they could join the flight. 
 
 As he led away at a sharp trot he turned to where 
 lolyn rode at his bridle elbow. " Now lad! " cried 
 he; " the time has come at last that you've been 
 looking for. I need not say strike deep." 
 
 The lad's face was all alight and moving with ex- 
 citement, and his eyes seemed to smoke with inten- 
 sity as he waved the sword in his grip aloft. They 
 were nearing the point ; another moment and the 
 trap would be complete, when suddenly lolyn lifted 
 in his stirrups and cried out. "Faster! Gallop! 
 Gallop! they have seen us! they are flying too! " 
 
 No need for a special order; half a dozen voices 
 shouted the charge and every spur went home in 
 wild endeavour to cut off the retreat. But the 
 dragoons were pricking out pell-mell, flying for dear 
 life along the road to the rear, and the headlong 
 rush of the Jacobites struck only the tail of the 
 ruck. 
 
 The shock was decisive, a dozen of the dragoons 
 were slain or sore wounded, and twice as many
 
 I2 4 
 
 unhorsed or taken ; while those who escaped did but 
 increase the panic of the rest. But amongst the 
 prisoners were two, not dragoons, whose capture 
 was of more importance than all the rest together. 
 
 When the charge went home, lolyn found in front 
 of him two riders in civilian dress, the nearest of 
 whom, turning to make away, was overthrown, 
 horse and man ; while the one beyond, firing his 
 holster pistol, broke the lad's sword short off with 
 the ball, and was instantly knocked senseless out 
 of the saddle by a stunning blow from the hilt in 
 return. Leaping to the ground lolyn drew his 
 bidog and seized the one whom he had first over- 
 thrown and who was now struggling to his feet. 
 But before the blow could fall Pengraig leaned over 
 and caught the lad's wrist. " Quarter! give him 
 quarter, lolyn! Not slay him in cold blood." 
 
 " Did they give my mother quarter ?" screamed 
 the lad. " They hanged her in cold blood ! " yelled 
 he, striving desperately to free his hand. 
 
 But others had taken in the scene and now three 
 or four gentlemen leaped down to drag the prisoner 
 from lolyn's grip. 'The spy! the spy!" they 
 shouted. " It is Weir, Cumberland's principal 
 spy!" 
 
 Baffled and furious, lolyn stood for a moment
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 12$ 
 
 with blazing eyes and then, as Pengraig loosed his 
 grasp, " The other one! " he cried exultingly, " the 
 one I knocked into the ditch! I'll have a look at 
 that one! " 
 
 Pengraig pressed up close upon the lad's heels and 
 looked into the ditch also. Then a pale wave swept 
 over his face and he leaped down just in time to 
 catch the lad's wrist a second time. 
 
 For lolyn, with one hand upon the collar of the 
 reviving man, was brandishing his bidog aloft as he 
 cried over his shoulder, tears of mad exultation in 
 his eyes: " This one I may kill! this is servant to 
 Maddox. This is John Chapel the spy! "
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 INSTANT help from those nearest enabled Pen- 
 graig to save Chapel from sudden death, and a grim 
 speech into lolyn's ear aided to bring down his fury 
 to demoniac gibberings of unholy rejoicing. " Bet- 
 ter than the knife, lolyn. He shall hang as a spy. 
 Do you hear ? He shall hang! " 
 
 The prisoners were no sooner secured however, 
 than General Ker commanded immediate resump- 
 tion of the advance against Newcastle, and Pengraig 
 was particularly requested to take his handful to the 
 front at once. He took lolyn with him, in order to 
 make sure that no sudden paroxysm of rage should 
 cut off Chapel before confession had been extracted 
 from him ; but before he started he hinted to the 
 General the full importance of the one as well as the 
 other captive. 
 
 ' Then I will send them back to Congleton under 
 guard, for examination and to wait your return," 
 answered Ker at once. 
 
 During all the rest of the advance lolyn rode 
 with his face over his shoulder, looking back towards
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO I2/ 
 
 the place of capture as if already he could see the 
 gibbet and its black fruit. Now and again Pengraig, 
 riding with stern face beside him, would check the 
 lad's muttering, but for the more part he himself 
 seemed like a man who has been wounded in his 
 nearest point. " If Chapel, then what of Chapel's 
 master ?" thought he to himself; " and if Chapel's 
 master, then what of Sir Watkin's rising ? We 
 ought to have heard some rumour of it by this time. 
 I must turn that fellow inside out if need be to get 
 at the truth." 
 
 So racked was he with apprehension and forebod- 
 ing of what Chapel's presence with Weir might be- 
 token, that, when at length the word was given to 
 return, he lost no time in excusing himself, and, 
 accompanied by lolyn, pushed back at a round pace 
 for Congleton. But here, like a blow in the face, 
 the first word was that the prisoner had escaped. 
 
 Escaped!" He towered with grim visage in 
 front of the airy young gentleman who had com- 
 manded the escort. " Escaped, sir. And how ?" 
 
 ' Why, sir," returned the other feebly, now stand- 
 ing shamefaced under the wrathful demand: "It 
 was most unmannerly; I do protest. We were 
 half way back here and passing along the edge of a 
 close wood of young pines, so thick that you would
 
 128 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 swear a terrier could not scratch through, let alone 
 a horse. And this prisoner fellow to look at him 
 you would take oath that he had never recovered 
 from the blow that knocked him out of the saddle ; 
 nay, so dazed and sick did he seem that I gave 
 orders to loose his wrists so that he could clutch the 
 saddlebow. But he did, sir! " protested the officer 
 with emphasis, as Pengraig broke out with a savage 
 groan at hearing of the first stroke of folly. " What 
 would you, sir ? When his feet were still tied and 
 a trooper had hold of his horse by the bridle rein ? 
 How was I to expect such a thing, when the wood 
 was at its thickest and he was at his sickest just 
 there ? 
 
 " For he suddenly lurched so violently against the 
 one holding his rein as to make the man drop that 
 and catch at him to save him from tumbling into the 
 road. And then none of us knew just how the 
 fellow was as all alive as a madman. He slapped 
 his horse on both shoulders at once, as loud as a 
 musket, and let out a yell like forty devils together. 
 The horse sprung away like a shot, scared out of 
 his life, and at the second stride the rider had the 
 rein and turned him straight away into a path that 
 nobody but a poacher could have ever noticed. He 
 must have been looking for just such a path.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 129 
 
 " Of course we all went after him and then this 
 other Weir fellow made off too ; and while I and 
 some of the rest ran this one down again the others 
 couldn't catch the first one; the trees were so 
 thick and he was so quick, besides that the path 
 wound and forked so that most of them ran into 
 bogs. 
 
 " In fact, sir," ended the officer, as one with a 
 righteous grievance; " the fellow must have had his 
 plan laid from the very first." 
 
 " Ho! " returned Pengraig grimly; " and did you 
 think he was in any other mood ? Or perhaps you 
 imagined that his one desire was to come here to 
 be hung, and that he had been placed, not in your 
 charge, but under your care, that you might sustain 
 him with creature comforts on the road ?" 
 
 " But, sir," protested the officer, now in ag- 
 grieved astonishment, " I never dreamed of his 
 attempting such a thing or I should have watched 
 him closer! " 
 
 No doubt it is a monstrous ingratitude in a man 
 that he should turn his back upon a nice comfortable 
 gallows; especially in these times when one finds it 
 so hard to come by any assured settlement of one's 
 daily affairs. Yea, I protest it is a marvellous aber- 
 ration of the intellect, and should be held sufficient 
 9
 
 130 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 to establish such a man as non compos mentis. It is 
 staggering; no less." 
 
 " Well, sir," retorted the other, more than a 
 little nettled; " I did at least bring in Weir safe 
 enough, and he is the most important of the two." 
 
 "Is he?" returned Pengraig, " I pray heaven 
 he may be, and that the escape of that scoundrel 
 Chapel may not mean some fatal miscarriage of the 
 Welsh rising." 
 
 During all this explanation lolyn had been hover- 
 ing with impatient feet about the two speakers ; gib- 
 bering with noiseless lips : his eyes aflame with fero- 
 cious light, the while he fingered the bidogan at his 
 belt. But now, as Pengraig turned sharply to 
 rebuke him, he lifted his face to the sky and raised 
 a long blood-curdling yell, beating the while with 
 open hand upon his parted lips, breaking the sound 
 into a horrible cacophony that made all save Pen- 
 graig fall shuddering back as if from a sudden 
 demon. 
 
 The other had opened his lips to check him, but 
 before the words could break through the torrent of 
 appalling sound lolyn had turned and leaped upon 
 his horse, crying as he dashed away, " I'll find John 
 Chapel! And when I do I'll tie him fast with the 
 edge of my bidogan ! "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 131 
 
 It would have been useless to have attempted to 
 overtake him, and moreover Pengraig devoutly 
 hoped that he might by some marvellous upcast 
 succeed in overhauling the escaped scoundrel. 
 Therefore he stood and watched him as with relent- 
 less knee the lad pushed southward again. Not 
 until he was out of sight of those he left behind did 
 lolyn draw down to an easier pace for the sake of 
 his horse. " I shall need him before the day is 
 out," muttered he, patting the willing crest as he 
 spoke. 
 
 When he came to the wood he kept a wary eye 
 until he detected the path by which the prisoner 
 had escaped, but instead of following it he took 
 good note of its location and then pressed forward 
 again. 
 
 ' Two or three of those dragoons were badly 
 wounded," said he as he trotted on. ' They'll be 
 lying now somewhere in that village ; drawing nearer 
 and surer along to death with every gasp that drags 
 through their throats. One of them shall tell me 
 what John Chapel was doing with them I'll make 
 them tell me." 
 
 Reaching the village he found that one of the 
 dying men had been carried into the cottage of a 
 poor widow, beside whose garden fence the skirmish
 
 132 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 had happened. Dismounting at the door, " Yea," 
 muttered lolyn through twitching lips, " I'll make 
 them tell, if I rive their last minutes of life out." 
 
 But as he came beside the bed, the sight of the 
 grey lips and drawn and bloody features smote his 
 heart to a sudden flood of pity. " Och ! " he 
 cried, " is there nothing I can do to help you ? Can 
 I not get you something to ease your pain ? Here 
 is brandy in my flask will you have some warm 
 milk and brandy ? Surely that would do you 
 good ?" 
 
 "Aye, that's it," groaned the wounded man: 
 
 brandy will warm me. Something to warm me! 
 My feet are so cold, and my hands, too, and my 
 heart is shivering and freezing under my ribs." 
 
 " I have some cream wouldn't that be better, 
 sir ? " put in the poor old widow from the other side 
 of the bed. " And a spoonful of honey to sweeten 
 it, too," she went on, as she moved away to get 
 both ; while lolyn half shouted " Yes " as he stooped 
 on the hearth to rouse the fire. 
 
 Snatching down the funnel-shaped copper warming 
 utensil from' the cornice above, he thrust its sharp 
 base deep into the blazing faggots as the tender- 
 hearted widow poured the cream into it. Then the 
 honey, clear from a newly broken comb, and in an-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 133 
 
 other moment he had added the brandy and poured 
 the whole steaming mixture into a mug, which he 
 was holding to the shaking lips of the dragoon. 
 (There was no doctor there to check them.) 
 
 "Aye, that's it," said the stricken man with a 
 deep sigh as the other supported him. ' That's all 
 the comfort I can have now. Let me die warm at 
 least since I am to die. I've lain in the cold and 
 the wet ; in the snow and the frost so many a year 
 past let me die warm at last ! " 
 
 The twitch of the mangled right arm, as the poor 
 fellow involuntarily attempted to wipe his mouth 
 after the drink, brought the tears into lolyn's eyes, 
 and he wiped the quivering lips as tenderly as a 
 father might wipe the lips of a dying child. " And 
 I came in swearing I'd force you to tell me about 
 that damnable whining spy of a John Chapel! " he 
 broke out in savage self-disgust. " But you'll for- 
 give me that, won't you ?" ended he, with a pa- 
 thetic appeal in his face. 
 
 "Ah! but you never would have done it, I 
 know," answered the dragoon, with in his voice the 
 weary smile into which his drawn features could not 
 relax. 
 
 " But still he is a spy," protested lolyn, as if 
 arguing against his better nature.
 
 134 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " And what should I have been if I had told 
 you ? " said the other faintly. 
 
 " Drink of this again," returned lolyn, proffering 
 the cup token of his defeat in the argument. 
 
 But while the dragoon thanked him with a look, a 
 new path opened. " Did you say a whining spy, 
 sir ? " said the widow. " One with his face all dam- 
 aged, and riding a dun horse ? And his eyes like 
 dead fishes' eyes, sir ? I heard him talking to Mr. 
 Weir when he first rode in to the village." 
 
 " Did you ?" said lolyn eagerly; " then tell me 
 every word they said : him with the whine espe- 
 cially. And if you can tell me what I want to know, 
 mother, I'll send you money enough to keep you 
 all the days of your life. Tell me now." 
 
 "La! sir," answered she sadly, shaking her head 
 at what she thought was a mere youthful reckless- 
 ness of speech. " It would take many a bright 
 guinea to do that, but I'll thank you kindly and 
 tell you what I can, all the same. The one that 
 whined rode in with a soldier and asked for Mr. 
 Weir, and as soon as they got to talking began to 
 say that he had been sent to capture a rebel officer 
 (for that's what they call all you gentlemen, sir: 
 rebels ! As if you were not fighting for the right.) 
 This rebel officer was carrying despatches from the
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 135 
 
 Prince, and the whining spy said that he had 
 wounded him and now wanted a troop of dragoons 
 to go and take him out of a Tory nest he'd got 
 into. Then they got arguing and whining and I 
 couldn't catch the words because they moved their 
 horses, and I didn't dare go closer for fear it should 
 be wrong." 
 
 But surely you heard more than that," begged 
 lolyn, rising and extending his hands in adjuration 
 towards the woman. ' Just think ; that rebel officer 
 that was wounded was Ithel ; poor Presgwyn 
 surely you heard Chapel say where the rebel nest 
 was ? ' ' 
 
 "I'm very sorry, sir, indeed," answered the poor 
 widow, more than a little moved by his distress. 
 " I'm sure I'd have told you and gladly if I could. 
 But I couldn't catch what they said and I didn't 
 hear any name of a place at all." 
 
 " And that is just the thing that I wanted to 
 know : the thing for which I would have given 
 everything I had," groaned lolyn. " But I must 
 after this Chapel the fools have let him escape 
 again 
 
 "And I hope you'll catch him, sir," put in the 
 soldier, summoning his fast ebbing strength to speak. 
 " Only for him we'd never have been surprised.
 
 136 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 It was our sentry that left his outpost, like a gaping 
 gander of a fool; thinking he'd done wonderful and 
 captured a prisoner. That's what comes of put- 
 ting recruits to old soldiers' duty. And that's why 
 I'll be dead in another twenty minutes while the 
 recruit and the spy get clean off. Ah well, it's all 
 in the service! what's one old soldier more or less to 
 be moaned over! " 
 
 " Here, drink again," said lolyn quickly, hold- 
 ing the cup once more. " And you 're not dead yet 
 by a long shot. Moreover, I promise you that, 
 whatever comes of the recruit, the spy shall not 
 come clean off. No, not John Chapel; nor yet 
 John Chapel's master. I am going now ; and when 
 I find them but here, mother, here you are," he 
 broke off, passing his purse to the widow. ' That's 
 all I've got, barring some loose silver, and I know 
 you'll do your best to nurse our poor friend here to 
 strength again." 
 
 " Ah, I know," broke in the dying dragoon wea- 
 rily. " I've been wounded a many's the time be- 
 fore, but this time I'm killed I know," and he 
 shook his head gently in spite of the pain. 
 
 The hasty protestation died on lolyn 's lips and 
 the soldier nodded feebly as he continued. " No, 
 no. I know. Only let her give me brandy like
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 137 
 
 that to keep me warm till I die. I've lain out in 
 the cold so long, I want to die warm at last. Let 
 me die warm that's enough for me." 
 
 lolyn turned to the widow again. ' Yes, sir, " 
 said she earnestly, " everything that I can do and 
 get for him, I will. And there's two others in John 
 Webster's cottage can I give John Webster some- 
 thing out of the purse too ? " 
 
 ' Whatever you like," answered lolyn: " and if 
 you run short with the purse then go and ask Pen- 
 graig for more; he is the Prince's Counsellor, and 
 he'll give you all you want. Say that I told you so; 
 say lolyn sent you. He'll do it then. And so good- 
 bye to you both, and " this to the dragoon " be 
 sure that I'll settle with the spy that got you hurt." 
 
 Once outside again he did not even wait for the 
 stirrup but vaulted into the saddle and started off 
 at a trot. When he reached the place of Chapel's 
 escape he promptly plunged along the path ; a mere 
 trail made by animals seeking other grazing grounds, 
 and after something like half a mile of devious 
 turnings emerged into a broad lane. A couple of 
 miles further on and he came to a village where 
 the gossips had not yet finished spluttering forth 
 their excited wonderings at the flight of the man 
 with the blood on his face.
 
 138 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " That was my hilt," said lolyn, as he sat for an 
 instant longer listening to the flood of words; half 
 a dozen talking at once. 
 
 But as he pushed on he kept a keen lookout for 
 the trail of the fugitive's horse. 
 
 ' There it is," he would mutter from time to 
 time; " three great slab hoofs and one mule shaped. 
 It's as plain as print in the mud." 
 
 At the next village he found that Chapel had 
 checked long enough to get someone to cut the 
 bonds which had bound his feet under his horse. 
 
 ' Then he's free to get down and dart into a 
 thicket if he thinks need of it," commented lolyn, 
 as he lifted the rein and followed on. 
 
 But, scantly a mile further on, he came to a little 
 hamlet at a cross roads, and here he learnt that his 
 man had passed through at a walk. ' He thinks 
 there's no pursuit," commented lolyn again. 
 ' That is on my side and so I may presently run 
 him down in some alehouse, drinking his own 
 health to his own escape. Ho! if only I can just 
 drop in on him when the can is at his lips ! 
 
 " But it's weary on us that Pengraig would not 
 believe me that night at Wynstay, or yea, that is 
 what I ought to have done, I ought to have bido- 
 gan'd the spy, there in the midst of them all: aye
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 139 
 
 and Maddox with him; and Maddox's Pencenedl, 
 with all the cursed tribe of them. What! Ten 
 tribes can never undo the harm of one traitor! " 
 
 Thus while he muttered, he yet never lost sight 
 of the track he followed. Chapel had apparently 
 headed a course which would fetch him by a wide 
 sweep to Stafford. He evidently believed that the 
 troops holding Newcastle had been driven out and 
 forced to retreat upon their next support, and so 
 was himself falling back upon the same point. The 
 pursuer guessed all this. ' ' Aye, he is going south, 
 said he, " while it is certain that Ithel is lying 
 wounded somewhere west or north of us. But 
 never mind, if only I stick to John Chapel's trail 
 I shall find Presgwyn at last. And meanwhile if 
 I am to overtake him at all it must be quickly, for 
 night will soon shut down on us in a country which 
 he evidently knows very well and I not at all." 
 
 In spite, therefore, of the weariness of his horse, 
 he pushed on faster yet, and just as day was gloom- 
 ing down to dark he caught sight of his man. 
 
 But it was unexpectedly and at a point a couple 
 of miles earlier than inquiries had led him to expect, 
 so that he flushed him only to lose him. For the 
 horse that had been walking drew away easily, 
 stride over stride, from the one already distressed in
 
 140 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the pursuit, and the hastily snapped pistols sent 
 their bullets ploughing harmlessly into the road, 
 lengths in rear of their object. 
 
 The dash was short, hopeless from the first, as 
 lolyn speedily recognized, and half a mile further 
 on his horse stumbled so persistently and danger- 
 ously that he was forced to pull in to a trot, lest the 
 poor leg-weary beast should cross and come down 
 altogether. 
 
 Then the night shut down and the fugitive was 
 escaped indeed ; leaving his pursuer, with a horse 
 dead lame, in a strange country. 
 
 " But it's only for the present, friend Chapel," 
 grinned lolyn with bare teeth. " I'll get you yet. 
 Yea, I'll get you just as surely in the end."
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 WHEN Pengraig had seen the last of lolyn as the 
 latter disappeared down the road in leaving, he 
 turned and commanded that Weir should be brought 
 before Lord George Murray at once. Leading the 
 way himself he was therefore present when Weir, 
 under threat of present hanging, confessed all he 
 knew as to the numbers and positions of the troops 
 under the Duke of Cumberland. Yet, though he 
 thereby expected to have purchased his life again, it 
 was only by dint of Charles Edward's positive order 
 that he escaped an immediate gibbet; for with that 
 horror of all severity which was, perhaps, a weak- 
 ness with him, the Prince had, before leaving Mac- 
 clesfield, delivered his written commands that all 
 captured spies should be reserved, after examina- 
 tion, to be dealt with by himself alone. These 
 orders, now exhibited for the first time to the 
 officers and chiefs by Lord George, sufficed to gain 
 a respite for Weir till he could be brought next 
 night before the Prince at Ashbourne, whose merci- 
 ful instincts then made excuses for the captured
 
 142 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 wretch and so provided a future witness whose 
 testimony was afterwards to be so fatal to more 
 than one of his gallant followers. 
 
 Yet, even before the Prince's commands had 
 been shown on his behalf, the spy had stubbornly 
 stuck to it that he knew nothing whatever of 
 Chapel. Rather he professed to believe that the 
 latter had been an emissary of Lord George's own, 
 sent to befool them with some plausible tale where- 
 by to keep them engrossed till the Jacobite advance 
 could surprise them " as had in fact happened." 
 
 " And what was this plausible tale ?" demanded 
 Pengraig. 
 
 " That the Welsh were rising and that we ought 
 to send troops against them at once ;" answered 
 Weir unhesitatingly. Then, as he saw the light 
 flash up into the face of Pengraig, he mentally con- 
 gratulated himself. " For," thought he, " if I can 
 only get you to halt your precious army here for a 
 few days; waiting for the Welsh, then by that time 
 the Duke will have concentrated his troops against 
 you from the south while Wade will be upon you 
 from the north and then ah then." 
 
 But Lord George's next speech effectually dashed 
 his hope. " Ah, if Cumberland be scattered so, 
 from Coventry to Newcastle, then we need trouble
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 143 
 
 no more about him. We have only to slip past 
 and continue on to London and he will at once 
 retreat, since he will fancy that we are trying to cut 
 him off in rear till the Welsh can reach him in front. 
 He will think himself far too shrewd to wait till he 
 is caught between two fires." 
 
 " But why not make the feint a reality ?" urged 
 Pengraig. " Surely it were better to crush him at 
 once, and then the road to London will be more than 
 clear." 
 
 Nay, sir. Pardon me: you do forget. It is a 
 race already betwixt ourselves and Wade, from the 
 other Newcastle that upon Tyne and if we stay 
 to join the Welsh; without which it would be folly 
 to fight the overwhelming numbers of the Duke, 
 then Wade will simply slip past and fortify London 
 against us. No : let me quote your own words 
 against you, sir, when first you spoke to the Prince 
 ' Forward is our word and London our object.' 
 Your words are even wiser now than then, for we 
 are so far into England that our only safety lies in 
 ultimate victory and ultimate victory lies in the 
 possessing London. Therefore the sooner we pos- 
 sess it, the better. Forward then is the word." 
 
 " Aye ; but, let us make sure before we finally give 
 the word," answered Pengraig. " This is a momen-
 
 144 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 tous decision when it is given and it may well be 
 the making or the marring of us 
 
 There was more of such discussion and many ar- 
 guments this way and that in the matter. Pro and 
 con they sat together in a long half-hour's debate; 
 but in the end Lord George prevailed and so next 
 day a forced march was made to Ashbourne, where 
 they rejoined the main body under Prince Charles 
 Edward, whose troops had come from Macclesfield 
 by a nearer route. 
 
 From Ashbourne the march was to Derby, and as 
 the van left the town Lord Elcho rode alongside 
 Pengraig. "Ah," said he drily; "I mind you 
 promised us a Welsh army by the time we reached 
 this place. What; man, it is a brave army no 
 doubt ; but would you object to opening your pouch 
 and let us have a look at it. How many thousand 
 are there ? " ended he quizzically. 
 
 For the first instant Pengraig was minded to re- 
 sent the jest, but the saturnine twinkle in the young 
 lord's eye was irresistible. 'Why now," laughed 
 he in return ; " I am afraid to open my pouch, for we 
 all know how keen you Scots are after the silver, and 
 it's likely you'd be wanting to sell me some mouldy 
 old Peel and a patch of hungry heather in return 
 for my good coin ; so that you could settle down like
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 145 
 
 all the rest in Nova Scotia I mean the London 
 Nova Scotia; not the one over sea." 
 
 " Well," returned the other, still smiling; " an' if 
 these Welsh of yours don't join us soon, I'm 
 thinking I should well like to sell you every tower 
 I've got; Peel or castle; mouldy or otherwise, and 
 as much of the heather as you'll take in with the 
 rest. Moreover I'll not be haggling about the 
 bawbees for it either: just enough to see me over 
 to France and keep me from starvation when I get 
 there. When do you look now to hear of your 
 Welsh ?" 
 
 " At any moment. Certainly this day." 
 
 " Before we reach Derby ? " 
 
 " Yes. I feel sure of it," returned Pengraig. 
 
 " Do you feel sure enough to bet on it ? " pur- 
 sued Lord Elcho. 
 
 "Certainly; the same bet as before. Another 
 dinner to be had in Derby to-night, just as the 
 other was in Manchester." 
 
 ' Well; I feel more comfortable. When a man 
 bets it shows that he has confidence in himself at 
 least. And I'll not deny to you, Pengraig" the 
 twinkle died out and left a grave look in the 
 speaker's face " I'll not deny that we have great 
 need of some such occurrence as the joining of some
 
 146 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 new army to our own. It's a thing that has not 
 been properly counted on by our leaders, is this that 
 some of the Highland chiefs are muttering one to 
 another." 
 
 " And what are they muttering ?" returned Pen- 
 graig quickly; alert for any symptom of the dis- 
 union which he had been long enough in the Prince's 
 counsels to dread. 
 
 It's just this, there's many a man in this army 
 who joined it more for love of Scotland than for love 
 of the Prince himself. Or, to put it another way, 
 there's many a man joined us because he thought 
 that Scotland's only hope lies in the Prince. You 
 must not forget that it's the Act of Union which 
 sticks in Scotland's gorge. The taking away of our 
 Parliament and separate estate sticks with many a 
 man who would not care a bodle whether George or 
 Jamie wore the crown, so that he wore it in Holy- 
 rood. Well, these men think that our business as 
 Scotsmen lies only with Scotland, and that we 
 should have been content to keep Scotland clear of 
 the Hanoverians and the union, call over King 
 James to reign in Holyrood, and let England have 
 whom she likes for king. In fact they want to see 
 Scotland a separate kingdom once more. Nay; 
 never mind your arguments to me; I need none.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 147 
 
 But to come to what I was saying these men then, 
 say that they marched into England out of compas- 
 sion, to help the English to throw off a foreign yoke. 
 And now they say that they have come so far and 
 find that they were mistaken : the people of Eng- 
 land are evidently quite satisfied with the Hanove- 
 rian or else Avhy don't they rise ?" 
 
 " And so they wish to turn back ? " queried Pen- 
 graig grimly. 
 ' They do." 
 
 " And what does the Prince say to it ? " 
 
 " Nothing as yet, and for the best of all reasons; 
 he has never heard of it. But we'll all hear it now, 
 and that before to-morrow night or I'm much mis- 
 taken. Then, too, we'll hear what the Prince thinks 
 of it! " the twinkle came back into the speaker's 
 eye as he uttered the last sentence. 
 
 " Humph! but as long as Lord George Murray 
 keeps right I suppose we are safe enough," returned 
 Pengraig thoughtfully. " The few malcontents can 
 hardly draw off in the midst of England." 
 
 "Aye, but are you so sure of Lord George?" 
 pursued Elcho drily. " I tell you, he is the General, 
 it is true, and he is ambitious; which is more: but 
 the feeling I have spoken of is far wider spread 
 than you guess, and I have already noticed the
 
 148 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 leaders of it plucking him by the sleeve and whis- 
 pering with bent brows into his ear. Besides which 
 you must not forget that the Duke of Perth is one of 
 the keenest for this capture of London, and you can 
 guess what that will weigh with Lord George the 
 same lord who has already put the whole expedition 
 in jeopardy in order to oust His Grace of Perth from 
 the leadership. Nay, nay, it is Murray himself I 
 fear in the next council; for it's in the very next 
 council the thing will crop up ; please God that 
 council do not end in fighting among ourselves." 
 
 " God grant we escape that at least! " answered 
 the other fervently. " And now it all depends upon 
 our hearing from the Welsh. Ah, if we had only 
 moved that way from Congleton ! " 
 
 He pondered in silence for a little while until : 
 " But I know that Wales is up : " said he to Elcho 
 warmly: " there was no slackness amongst any of 
 them. I know that the moment Sir Watkin got my 
 message he would give the word : and that message 
 went by a trusty hand. No : no : my faith is strong 
 as ever: we shall hear to-day and I'll double the 
 bet with you," ended he cheerily. 
 
 "Come away; come away; I'll take it with 
 pleasure," responded the other. " It does one good 
 to ride beside a hopeful heart after a spell of these
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 149 
 
 wrinkled brows and sidelong glances. And we'll 
 have a cup together at the first inn for the relief 
 of it." 
 
 The cheeriness thus begotten lasted the two even 
 till they reached Derby ; in spite of the fact that no 
 news of the Welsh had yet arrived. " I've lost the 
 bet," said Pengraig as they rode in ; but I'll pay 
 with little sorrow ; for I still stick to it that we'll 
 hear news to-day the day is not done yet by many 
 a long hour. No, no," and turning to a group of 
 citizens in the market place " You did not expect 
 to see us so early," cried he briskly as he passed.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 PENGRAIG paid his debt at the best inn in the 
 town and while the dinner was in progress he had 
 ample opportunity of noting how dark and heavy 
 seemed the spirits of the company round the board. 
 It did not need the sardonic innuendoes of Lord 
 Elcho, as he sat beside him, to remind him of the 
 danger impending. " And the day wears out 
 towards the midnight," Elcho would repeat as a tag 
 upon every speech. 
 
 But over the wine a word came flashing in which 
 broke athwart the gloom of the company as the 
 lightning splits a storm cloud and brings forth its 
 voice in thunder. 
 
 " So ! the Welsh are not risen at all ! " 
 
 Pengraig stood instant to his feet ; his face as 
 grey as ashes : his hand upon his hilt. ' Who says 
 so ? " he demanded in a ringing voice. 
 
 'Your own man: the one you call lolyn," an- 
 swered a chief near the door, and before Pengraig 
 could answer, in upon them stalked none other than 
 the lad himself.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 151 
 
 " Did you say this thing ?" demanded Pengraig 
 of him sternly. 
 
 " Nay, I am no liar," answered lolyn, glancing 
 round contemptuously:" I said nothing. The only 
 thing that was said at all was when Weir confessed 
 that Chapel had waylaid and wounded Presgwyn 
 before he reached Wynstay. " 
 
 " Is not that the same thing ? " retorted another 
 of the company. " Sir Watkin was to wait for the 
 letters Presgwyn carried. If Presgwyn were 
 wounded then the letters did not arrive and so 
 
 " And so you jump to an ill conclusion, like a 
 woman. And like a nagging woman if you've 
 preached misfortune, then you'd sooner be hung 
 than misfortune should miss. What ! has this 
 army stolen down back streets or sneaked by 
 hedge and bridle-path to avoid being seen ? The 
 noise of its march has reached Wynstay before this, 
 I'll uphold. Besides, you have not stopped to hear 
 the full of what Weir said," ended lolyn. 
 
 'Then let us have the tale," said Pengraig at 
 once. 
 
 Without further pressing the lad told the story of 
 his interview with the dying dragoon and the inn- 
 keeper, as also his own bootless chase after Chapel. 
 "After I missed him that first night," continued
 
 152 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 he; "I got a fresh horse and followed next day till 
 I was certain that he had reached Stafford safely. 
 Then I thought that the only way left to me was to 
 come back and find this Weir, and make him repeat 
 every word that Chapel had said. I have just come 
 from listening to his confession and some of these 
 people must have heard and carried the tale and 
 twisted it as they came, to boot." 
 
 "And his confession ?" demanded Pengraig. 
 
 " Just the same as the innkeeper's; no more, no 
 less, saving that John Chapel was sent by his mas- 
 ter, Gwgan Maddox," and here lolyn looked the 
 other square into the eyes. 
 
 Pengraig understood the look. ' Yea, you were 
 right, lolyn ; but, God is my witness, I thought I 
 was doing right when I refused to listen to you that 
 night in the hall of Wynstay. " 
 
 " I knew you thought you were right; you need 
 no witness to that. If I had dreamed it had been 
 otherwise then I would have put the bidogan through 
 the pair of them : master and man together, and 
 taken the consequence, let his Pencenedl cry what 
 cry he would." 
 
 "And now ?" 
 
 " And now, having chased the man and missed 
 him for the present, I am going to hunt the master.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF A R NO 153 
 
 Him I shall find with Wynstay, I hope, and wher- 
 ever I find him there I will leave him, if it were 
 under the skirt of the King's own coat and I care 
 not which King of the two it be " for the Prince 
 had just wrested Weir from his clutches. 
 
 " But you will give Wynstay himself all informa- 
 tion as to the Prince and his army," commanded 
 Pengraig. 
 
 " I will sir," replied lolyn. " And now if you 
 will assist me to another horse I will meanwhile 
 dine in some sort, for I have had little food since I 
 left Congleton." 
 
 It took several hours before a horse could be pur- 
 chased, though both Pengraig and Lord Elcho per- 
 sistently followed every rumour which even remotely 
 promised one for sale. ' You see," quoth Elcho 
 drily, " no man likes to part with his horse to-night ; 
 for it seems to be in the air that he may want it to- 
 morrow, and silver in the pouch is but a poor sub- 
 stitute for the iron on four hoofs when a man is 
 travelling in a hurry for the benefit of his health." 
 
 But a fair seeming beast was found at last, and 
 after a few final instructions lolyn splashed away 
 into the night for Ashbourne, heading so far north 
 before striking west in order to avoid any chance of 
 falling in with Cumberland's patrols.
 
 154 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 When the last sound of him was lost, Lord Elcho 
 turned to Pengraig. " I think yon lad will win 
 through. He's an awkward customer to meet alone, 
 for all his elegant figure and his handsome face. 
 Dod ! man ! he was keen to put that bidog of his 
 through the ribs of any chief or lord about the 
 board with us, when he stepped in on the heel of 
 the dinner. And you've heard of the difficulty the 
 Prince himself had to get Weir safe out from under 
 his hand ! Well, this is nine of the clock of a black 
 night and he'll lose little time in getting his hand 
 on the throttle of this Maddox but, if Wynstay 
 and his forces come on wings, they would still come 
 too late; of that I'm wearily sure." 
 
 "Why?" demanded Pengraig startled at the 
 tone of despondent conviction with which the other 
 ended. 
 
 " I fear me that Lord George has cast in his lot 
 with them that draw back, and you know there is a 
 council called at his suggestion for the morning 
 of to-morrow." 
 
 " Then I must make some move at once to coun- 
 tervail him," returned Pengraig promptly. " He put 
 the Duke of Perth out of the command did he not ? " 
 ' You have most surely hit the only hope we 
 have," replied the other. " This would be a good
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 155 
 
 point for Perth to renew the tug between them. If 
 he won it would leave Murray in command while at 
 the same time over-ruling him." 
 
 ' Yes, but does it not at the same time make a 
 personal matter of it, and thus provoke the rest to 
 take sides as before But it is the only course we 
 can shape now, so we must even take the risk," 
 said Pengraig. 
 
 " And I see you have also gauged exactly the 
 little value there is in our only hope," pursued 
 Elcho grimly. 
 
 " That may all be; but, little or much, we must 
 do the best we can." With which last dictum the 
 two wended back to their lodgings. 
 
 At the council next day it was evident from the 
 first that Lord George had fully come to a decision 
 and was prepared to push his point to the farthest. 
 He was not one of those who thought that Scotland 
 might again be set up as a separate kingdom under 
 the Stuarts, and that England should be left to fight 
 out its own salvation. He well understood that 
 there can be only one crown and one king in Britain ; 
 but he hoped by drawing the King's armies after 
 him into Scotland to leave England empty of troops 
 and open to the landing of that army which France 
 had so often promised to send to the assistance of
 
 156 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the Stuart cause. Again he was far too able a gen- 
 eral not to give full weight to all the dangers of their 
 present position, while at the same time he was not 
 sufficiently romantic to give full weight to all its 
 advantages. Only a Montrose could have perfectly 
 filled the post of general to the Jacobite army that 
 day, and it is no discredit to Lord George to say 
 that he was not a Montrose. 
 
 And yet he might well have paused as he looked 
 at the radiant face of the gallant and debonair 
 young Prince for of all the men about him that 
 morning Charles Edward was probably the only one 
 who came to that council absolutely unsuspicious of 
 what was about to follow. Thus he was as one 
 lost in amazement when Lord George opened the 
 point that was in his mind. 
 
 Speaking with a firm, grave tone the latter repre- 
 sented that the Scots had marched into England, 
 depending either upon a landing of the French to 
 their aid, or a general uprising of the English ; neither 
 of which had occurred. Their present small army 
 was totally inadequate to face the three which " the 
 Elector" had in the field against them. Even 
 should they succeed in gaining a victory over one of 
 these three armies, still their own unavoidable losses 
 thereby would undo them, and it was far better
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 157 
 
 that they should go back and join their friends in 
 Scotland and live and die with them. 
 
 The amazement of the Prince had given way to 
 anger before these words were half finished, and he 
 listened to the later arguments with a fiery heat 
 of impatience which broke into white wrath as lord 
 after lord and chief after chief agreed with what had 
 been said as they had decided to do before ever the 
 council met. 
 
 ' Then, gentlemen! " cried Charles Edward pas- 
 sionately: " I see you are all minded to betray me. 
 But rather than go back I would wish to be twenty 
 feet under ground ! " 
 
 Till now the Duke of Perth had not spoken, but 
 at this indignant outburst he opened on the line 
 Pengraig had prompted. He saw at once that there 
 was no hope of bringing the malcontents to a re- 
 sumption of the advance upon London and so he 
 put the middle course. 
 
 " If I might suggest it to your Royal Highness," 
 said he, bowing; " and to you, gentlemen, there is 
 another plan yet remaining. I think it were well if / 
 we should march to Wales and join Sir Watkin Wyn 
 and the Duke of Beaufort. We should have men 
 enough then to meet any army, besides having our 
 rear secure."
 
 158 FOR THE WHITE ROSE. OF ARNO 
 
 " And I, too, think the same," joined Sir William 
 Gordon heartily. " Besides, it were a rank betrayal 
 now to retreat and leave the Welsh alone in the 
 lurch for the Elector to glut his vengeance upon." 
 
 Lord George was adamant. ' We have done all 
 we could. There is nothing now but to retreat," 
 replied he darkly. 
 
 A savage wonder filled Pengraig as he listened to 
 that last word. A chill devil of determination took 
 him and he cut scornfully in upon the speaker. " Re- 
 treat ! away with the word or away with the cause ! 
 Retreat is ruin ! So far you have succeeded by the 
 very audacity of your doings. Men stand aston- 
 ished at the resolute conduct of this march, and 
 rumour helps you by exaggeration till London 
 counts you for forty thousand instead of four. Once 
 turn ; once halt ; once seem irresolute and undecided, 
 and rumour will magnify that, too, just as swiftly 
 and as grossly. From demigods and heroes you 
 fall at one fell swoop to riff-raff and broken men ; 
 ruined lords; prison 'scaping spendthrifts: a mere 
 rabble of ragged thieves and beggarmen. On your 
 forward march armies broke and fled at the sight of 
 you, but once you go back, once you retreat, the very 
 parish beadles will turn out, and each poor pompous 
 knave, secure in gold-laced band and wand of petty
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 159 
 
 office, will come to hale you off to prison as mere 
 tattered footpads and starveling peace-breakers. 
 Will you from what you are, the terror of the 
 usurper, the admiration of the world, the hope of all 
 leal men, become, what you will most assuredly 
 become if you retreat, the derision of Hanover; 
 the scorn of the mob; the victims of block and gal- 
 lows; of outlaw hunt and merciless attainder ?" 
 
 He paused and looked round, his whole soul flam- 
 ing from his eyes in proud challenge, but no man 
 answered him till the Prince spoke. 
 
 ' Yea, gentlemen! listen to our counsellor; every 
 word he speaks is true. Bethink you of the savage 
 butchery which followed the '15, and turn from a 
 project which would bring a double measure of such 
 horrors upon us all ! " 
 
 Just for one instant the atmosphere was slack 
 with irresolute emotion. Each waited for his neigh- 
 bour to speak. Then, softly through the fateful 
 silence, but all too fatally loud, the Duke of Perth, 
 raising his hand in nervous tension, struck the chased 
 hilt of his sword. 
 
 Lord George started; their eyes met; ambition 
 roused in him again and he deemed that he read 
 triumph in his rival's look. The moment was over; 
 the charm was broken and the chance was gone.
 
 l6o FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 He straightened up and his voice came hard and 
 cold as he spoke again. 
 
 " It is because we do bethink us of the '15 and its 
 cruel consequences that we decide. We believe 
 that we shall best prevent any repetition of that 
 time by marching now to secure Scotland for your 
 Royal Highness." 
 
 " You cannot! it is impossible," returned Charles 
 Edward. " Britain is not wide enough for two kings. 
 One must be lord of all: one crown must bind its 
 countries in its one circle." 
 
 " But we cannot win England too," persisted 
 Lord George. 
 
 'Then you cannot secure Scotland either, " re- 
 turned Pengraig. " Scotland is lost or won in Eng- 
 land and England in London. More, how can you 
 reach Scotland again, save as the flying remnant of 
 a defeated army ? Wade on one side of you ; Cum- 
 berland on the other; and your retreat fetching out 
 every man of the militia to oppose you with new 
 courage, born of your own fears. You would be 
 surrounded by overwhelming hosts, and while on 
 your advance you could have swept such numbers 
 to the winds, yet retreat would then have sapped 
 the courage of you all and you would be like sheep 
 in the shambles to the Hanoverian knife."
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO l6l 
 
 "The counsellor is right again," took up the 
 Prince. " How can we hope to retreat, with Wade 
 on one flank and Cumberland on the other ? " 
 
 " But I am ready to warrant you against them 
 both," persisted Lord George. " I will command 
 the rear guard myself and bring you safe to Scot- 
 land once more. And if I fail in making good my 
 words, why, you have my head; take it." 
 
 " I cannot retreat! I will not retreat," reiterated 
 the Prince. 
 
 " No," assented the Duke of Perth. " Let us 
 rather, as I say, march straight into Wales and 
 treble our numbers thrice in as many days." 
 
 " Moreover," put in Sir William Gordon, " that 
 country will just suit our Highlanders, being all 
 mountains and wastes like their own, and we should 
 be at home there, with all England before us to 
 harry as the Welsh did in the old days." 
 
 " And not alone to harry England," took up Pen- 
 graig, " but to march to another Bosworth. For 
 the Welsh would not let you tarry there, but in their 
 thousands would clamour to be led to London. 
 Sir," cried the speaker, turning to the Prince; " if 
 you but go to Wales, then you shall straightway 
 resume your advance upon your capital with all the 
 manhood of that country at your back."
 
 1 62 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " And all the English will rise to join me then, as 
 well," added Charles Edward. 
 
 "It is very strange," answered Lord George 
 coldly: " if there be so many to rise for your Royal 
 Highness I say it is very odd that they should 
 never have sent you money, intelligence or the least 
 advice what to do. If your Royal Highness can pro- 
 duce a single letter from any person of note inviting 
 us forward then we will march at once. But at pres- 
 ent we have had no sign from any such an one and 
 not one gentleman has joined us." 
 
 This last loose sentence touched more than one 
 of those present to the quick. Towneley lifted a 
 foot to move, but Pengraig was quicker as he strode 
 acroes till he stood in front of Murray, his face 
 dark with fury, his voice vibrating with passion. 
 ' You speak of gentlemen. By one stream I draw 
 my blood from the Conqueror's own kin and by 
 another, through Ivor Hael, I draw from a source 
 that was ancient before ever the Bastard was born. 
 Do you draw yours yet more remotely that you so 
 lightly me? Answer! with your blade if you 
 like!" 
 
 But the Duke of Perth on the one side and the 
 Lochiel on the other stood swiftly between them to 
 prevent the quarrel. " It was not your own descent
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 163 
 
 or standing which Lord George spoke of," urged 
 Lochiel to Pengraig. ' He knows as much as any 
 of us, also, how much you have helped us. What 
 he meant was that no other gentleman had followed 
 your example." 
 
 " Of course I did: I do not see what other mean- 
 ing could attach to my words," followed Lord 
 George angrily, his hand upon his hilt. 
 
 But none of the council could afford to allow 
 duelling amongst its members and one and all cried 
 out against the madness of the moment. 
 
 In the attempt to settle the disturbance, there- 
 fore, they were so earnest that the point at issue 
 was forgotten, and the Prince seized the opportunity 
 of dismissing the council till another day, hoping 
 that meanwhile the fatal proposition to retreat might 
 be abandoned. 
 
 Thus it came about that when Pengraig had so 
 far cooled as to bethink him of once more patiently 
 explaining, to the full council, the situation of 
 Wales with regard to themselves, it was too late. 
 The council was dissolved and the members already 
 beginning to depart, most of them with preoccupied 
 looks and full of gloomy forebodings. 
 
 " But I scotched the project of retreat for this 
 council, at any rate," said Pengraig to Lord Elcho
 
 1 64 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 as they passed into the street. " Moreover I hope 
 to get word of Wynstay before the next meet- 
 ing is called, and whether I do or not I'll stand 
 out against this suicidal retreat, if I have to chal- 
 lenge the whole council collectively." 
 
 When the two parted, Lord Elcho looked after 
 the other as he went, " Aye, aye," quoth he to 
 himself. ' This retreat is suicide and I've no 
 doubt but you would challenge the whole council. 
 But I doubt you'll be present at the next that's 
 called. You are over warm for my Lord George Mur- 
 ray and I'm thinking he'll see to your being absent. 
 There's a council within our council as I'm afraid 
 we'll all of us find out ere long. But in the mean- 
 time there's a drop of rare wine at the inn where I 
 quarter and the bill will be paid like the rest with 
 the word to return to-morrow."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 WHEN lolyn left Derby it was too late for him to 
 get further than Ashbourne that night. Accordingly, 
 though he started with the first streak of next day's 
 dawn, yet the distance was so great ; the elongated 
 ditches, mistermed roads, so bad ; the misdirections 
 so many and the winter daylight so short, that one- 
 horse lasted him little more than twenty miles. 
 
 " And I am not more than a third of the way 
 along," said he to himself, as the horse sagged 
 slower at every stride. "A done up horse; the 
 day half gone, and all broad Britain hanging on 
 my speed though that will be little comfort to 
 the first man I meet when I stick a pistol in his 
 ear till we swap horses. 
 
 ' Talk of the Devil and he's sure to appear," he 
 went on, as a mounted figure came round the bend 
 in front. ' Here comes my man; a Whig I'll war- 
 rant by the lean look of him ; but better mounted 
 than any scurvy Whig of them all should be." 
 
 Whig or Tory, the traveller was equally furious 
 at the forced exchange of steeds, but the gleam of
 
 1 66 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the uncanny eyes that looked along the levelled 
 pistol cowed him even more than the weapon itself, 
 and his report to the nearest Justice was that he had 
 been robbed by a madman. 
 
 At forty miles a horse tethered to the gate of a 
 house of good appearance furnished the next ex- 
 change. ' They must put it down to the war," said 
 lolyn grimly as he pricked away. 
 
 Finally, and after dark, Bryn-y-pys remounted 
 him with the second best horse in the stable, and 
 the last short stretch to Wynstay was at a round 
 trot. 
 
 "Never a finger have they moved; never a 
 length have they spurred," quoth the lad to him- 
 self savagely as he crossed the Dee ; all the long 
 brooding of the road breaking into words now that 
 he had found for certain that Wynstay still waited. 
 
 " And we at Derby thought that all the world 
 knew all that we were doing, while here at Erbistoc 
 the folk are but this evening full of the news that 
 we had just reached Manchester and would be 
 marching on to Macclesfield before many days were 
 over the same Macclesfield we left four days ago. 
 And such is news without a special messenger. But 
 all the better for that in one way, since Maddox will 
 suspect nothing till it is too late for him to slip me. "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 1 67 
 
 Then as the thought of Maddox came up again, 
 the hot blood surged in fury through his veins and 
 he forgot the weakness in his body, numb and ach- 
 ing though he was from days of endurance. As the 
 lust for vengeance on the traitor rose higher in his 
 heart he peered forth out of half-closed lids, with a 
 face all smiles, as though he feared that even in the 
 dark some one might otherwise detect the maniac 
 glare of the one, or the convulsive working of the 
 other. 
 
 Higher and higher, furlong by furlong, roused the 
 passion in his soul, till as he entered the park of 
 Wynstay his horse was at the gallop and he flew 
 through the shadows like some weird nightmare 
 rider. He left the reins to hang upon the withers 
 as he leaped down and pushed in past the porter at 
 the door, with a short word of " News from the 
 Prince! " 
 
 In the great hall the cloth was drawn and the 
 wine was free on the board as he stalked within. 
 Caked with mud from head to foot ; swordless and 
 all disordered, he halted under the lights where he 
 could scan the sitters. Black fury blazed from his 
 eyes and twitched his lips as he cast about, seeking) 
 the form of Maddox. 
 
 But Maddox had just left the hall and from his
 
 1 68 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 chamber window had happened to see the lad dis- 
 mount, in the light of the torch by which the un- 
 der porter had examined the newcomer. A sudden 
 dread had seized him and he had stolen fascinated 
 down, till he stood just outside the open door of 
 the hall in time to hear the words that rang out and 
 made him sick with terror. " Lord of Wynstay! 
 lord that sits birling the wine while his prince 
 marches unhelped to battle ! Where is the traitor 
 Maddox ?" 
 
 At the first fierce word Sir Watkin started up in 
 anger, but when he heard the " traitor " he checked 
 both himself and those who would have started for- 
 ward to seize the intruder. " How do you know 
 that he is a traitor ? " demanded he. 
 
 " I captured his servant at Congleton ; the servant 
 whom he sent to waylay and murder Presgwyn 
 that word might never come to raise Wynstay till 
 too late for aught but the block." 
 
 The flush of anger on the chief's face darkened 
 to cold wrath as he spoke again. " So, gentlemen. 
 Now we know why we have been so long without 
 the word we waited for. There was a traitor with 
 us. Seize him then! Up all and hunt him! His 
 wretched carcass shall at least make all possible 
 atonement ! "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 169 
 
 The command came too late. No sooner had 
 Maddox heard of the capture of Chapel than he 
 slipped out past the unsuspecting porter to where 
 lolyn's horse was just recovering his wind. All in 
 one instant he seized the bridle, leaped to the sad- 
 dle, reined round, and was gone; swallowed up in 
 the shadows of the most densely wooded park in 
 Britain, and thus pursuit was hopeless from the 
 first. 
 
 But while the grooms and gentlemen were mount- 
 ing to follow, lolyn in his rage had started forth 
 afoot, plunging through bush and brake like one 
 possessed. ' He has fled to Coed Cynan," he 
 panted as he went: " gone to claim sanctuary with 
 his Pencenedl. But I will get him if all his tribe 
 were mustered in between." 
 
 Presently he heard the crash of twigs and 
 branches, with the thud of chasing hoofs, and in 
 another moment one of the pursuers had mistaken 
 him for Maddox and was charging down upon him, 
 pistol in hand, with a peremptory " Stand ! " 
 
 There was no time for explanations; he had 
 scarcely room to slip behind a tree as the pistol 
 flashed fire and the ball went whistling through the 
 thicket ; but while the rider pulled up to change his 
 course lolyn darted out upon him. Seizing him by
 
 1 70 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the foot he dexterously unhorsed him, and almost 
 before the man struck the sward hac} succeeded him 
 in the saddle and was gone, without troubling about 
 the second pistol shot which the dismounted man 
 discharged after him from where he lay. 
 
 The rest of the pursuers, in various parts of the 
 park, soon recognized the hopelessness of the chase 
 and drew rein to return to the hall, yet lolyn, pos- 
 sessed as he was by a demon of hate, still persisted 
 in his notion of reaching Coed Cynan by the open 
 road, convinced that his man had fled thither. But 
 if the roads of England had been bad in the day- 
 light, the bridle paths of Wales were almost impass- 
 able in the darkness, so that it was long after day- 
 break when he finally came in sight of the hall of 
 the Head of Maddox's kindred. Here, checking, 
 he was soon cunningly in conversation with one of 
 the men of the house, from whom he learnt to his 
 fiery chagrin that Maddox had not only not ar- 
 rived, but that he was not likely ever to do so. 
 
 " For why ? " demanded the lad instantly. 
 
 " Because when the company dispersed from 
 Wynstay, each chief and gentleman to his own 
 house to make ready, Coed Cynan pressed his Lon- 
 don kinsman to ride here with him," answered the 
 man. " But that fop hum'd and haw'd and made
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO I /I 
 
 excuse till the chief named him smartly with a 
 round oath and so left him in high anger; for he had 
 neither word nor sword to answer the insult with." 
 lolyn knew the man for one of those who had 
 been at Wynstay on the night of the declaration 
 and therefore felt no doubt as to the truth of what 
 he heard. There was nothing for it, then, but 
 to return at once and see if the trail could be picked 
 up from some point in Wynstay Park ; for the points 
 of egress from it were naturally so few that this 
 could probably be done. With a tired " Good-day 
 then" he turned rein upon his own tracks; his 
 baffled eagerness burning sullenly in his eyes as he 
 pushed away again. Jogging along, it came upon 
 him like a flash that he had spurred away from 
 Wynstay without delivering the message and news 
 which Pengraig had charged him with. ' Yea, 
 yea," said he to himself with a grin of bitter self- 
 satire : " I am a rare one to be trusted with a matter 
 of weight. I think that I must really be getting 
 as mad as Maddox taunts me with being. What a 
 senseless fool I was not to have halted long enough 
 to tell Sir Watkin what he needed to know. But 
 no; in my blundering rage I must needs go corpse- 
 candling off by wern and waen * as if Coed Cynan 
 
 * = by marsh and moor.
 
 172 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Hall could have mounted and fled too. Aye, this 
 pretty Gwgan seems to win at every turn ; one mes- 
 senger he murders and another he draws off with 
 rage, and both ways keeps the country from rising. 
 Nevertheless, nevertheless here the mutterer 
 drew out the bidogan into the wintry sun, gazing 
 upon it fondly while he softly made slow stabs 
 through the empty air. 
 
 Riding a jaded horse, it was nightfall ere he once 
 more dismounted at Wynstay and again entered the 
 hall. Every eye was turned on him at once, but he 
 looked only at Sir Watkin, who sat returning the 
 survey with stern look and manner. 
 
 " Well ? " demanded the chief austerely at length. 
 
 " I am come " began lolyn. Then suddenly he 
 broke off. " I am like the wilful hound that breaks 
 away from the pack on a trail of his own stubborn 
 choosing. And I am come crawling back like the 
 same hound to his kennel, expecting the huntsman's 
 rating. I am the rare messenger Pengraig trusted 
 to bring you the word that was to start your rising; 
 instead of which I must needs go hunting Maddox. " 
 
 At the repentant simile, so apt in the ear of a 
 Master of Foxhounds, Sir Watkin softened in- 
 stantly. "Nay lad; excuses cannot mend it. Let 
 it lie, and tell us now what was the news you
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 173 
 
 brought. First, however, let me tell you that, when 
 the night passed and you did not return we were 
 forced to guess at what should be done. This 
 morning, therefore, Lord Barrymore and myself 
 sent a letter to the Prince, by the hand of Dr. 
 Barry. But as we knew nothing of the whereabouts 
 of His Royal Highness, we caught at your reference 
 to Congleton, and our messenger goes there first. 
 Now let us hear you." 
 
 Briefly and coherently lolyn ran over the history 
 of the march from Preston till he came to the cap- 
 ture and escape of Chapel, and as he gave the inn- 
 keeper's story the faces darkened round the board; 
 hands closed on hilts and teeth were clenched in 
 grim desire for vengeance. Then as the tale of the 
 chase unfolded, exclamations of fierce disappoint- 
 ment broke like a chorus from the listeners as the 
 lad told how all unawares he had flushed the spy 
 only to lose him. So, too, when he told of Weir's 
 corroboration at Derby, Sir Watkin was fain to 
 speak. 
 
 I quite understand now, how you came to fol- 
 low so far after Maddox last night. Gad ! how I 
 should like to hang him ! " 
 
 But when the tale went on to tell of the fears of 
 Pengraig that the coming council would decide upon
 
 1/4 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 retreat, the Chief sprang to his feet with a great 
 oath. 
 
 "Never," cried he: "no retreat! Thank God 
 we sent Barry this morning. That will stop their 
 retreating for the moment till I can reach them 
 with a force that will carry them on. 
 
 " And now we must move at once. You know 
 each one his part. Ride now and ride readily! " he 
 cried to his kinsmen round the board. 
 
 The command was like a torch to powder and 
 within ten minutes the park was eerie once again 
 with ghostly riders, pricking, some for the meads by 
 sinuous Severn ; some for the upper reaches of the 
 Dee. Others headed for the open swells of lal;* 
 for the sylvan sweeps of Clwyd and the wilder 
 beauties of the Conwy; speeding on, and speeding 
 ever, till the greyest cape of lonely Lleyn and the 
 farthest field of sad pastured Tal y bolion heard the 
 grim summons to war. From Mon to Maelor the 
 cry was " Rise for the White Rose of Arno," for 
 Shackerly of Gwersyllt was spurring to rouse the 
 gallant gentlemen of the Cycle and bid them out 
 and go. 
 
 ' Tell every man of the Cycle," cried Sir Watkin 
 
 * lal, in English written Yale. Elihu Yale was of the family of 
 the chiefs of this country.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 1 75 
 
 as he stood at Shackerly's stirrup ere the spurs 
 went home at parting " tell every man of them 
 not to come here to the general muster, but to 
 mount with the first streak of day and push at top 
 speed for Derby. I want them to be for an earnest 
 of what is to follow when all Wales is risen." 
 
 Then, when the last hoof stroke had died into the 
 sough of the night wind in the park, the lord of 
 Wynstay turned and went within again to question 
 and requestion lolyn, and get from him every detail 
 of the Prince's forces and surroundings. 
 
 " Aye! lad ! " said he at the finish, " the Prince 
 shall see all his desire again, when once our armies 
 foregather."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 BUT though at Wynstay such high hopes were 
 dominant, Pengraig himself was drinking deep of 
 more than the bitterness of death. After the first 
 council broke up in such disorder he had ridden 
 away westward, in hope of lighting upon some news 
 or rumour telling of forces from Wales marching to 
 join the Prince, and his pathetic eagerness had 
 carried him so far that he did not get back to Derby 
 till all the rest of the army was wrapped in sleep. 
 Thus he learnt nothing of that second and more 
 secret council whose decision was so pregnant with 
 the fate of the nation. 
 
 For while Sir Watkin sat, dreaming dreams of 
 splendid triumph, there had already been enacted 
 the first sad scene of one of the saddest tragedies in 
 history : a scene which few men can read or think 
 of without a pang of regret for the pitiful failure of 
 what had seemed heroic endeavour. On that morn- 
 ing, the morning of the fatal Friday, being the 
 sixth day of December 1745, the troops of Charles 
 Edward's army, mustering with high hope of near
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 1/7 
 
 battle against the Duke of Cumberland, were coun- 
 termarched and led about on the first step of that 
 retreat the end of which was fire and sword ; ruth- 
 less extermination, foul massacre of wounded men; 
 exile and starvation. Yea, sadder yet and even 
 worst of all, there was to be ultimate and hopeless 
 wreck, despised and unhonoured death for him who 
 yesterday was the idol of a million hearts, the 
 inspirer of a thousand songs: " The dear White 
 Rose of Arno," " Bonnie Prince Charlie." 
 
 Pengraig mounted in the grey of dawn, with a 
 heart which, while still hot to avenge what he con- 
 sidered the insult of yesterday, was yet full of 
 strong comfort in the idea that the quarrel betwixt 
 himself and Lord George had at least put a decided 
 end to all thoughts of retreat for the present. Like 
 the common soldiers and all the less important com- 
 manders, he understood that the day's march was 
 to end with a battle, and so took his accustomed 
 place beside the Prince in happy ignorance, until, 
 as the party halted to let the Camerons pass, it 
 dawned upon him in the broadening light that they 
 were moving in retreat. 
 
 For a moment he sat as if turned to stone, all 
 the colour fading from his face as it fades from the 
 face of the dead, till even his lips seemed livid and
 
 178 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 his eyes sunk in his head. He turned to the Prince 
 beside him with a world of dumb appealing in figure 
 and in face, as if imploring him to dispel the awful 
 impression which chilled his soul. 
 
 Charles had been gloomy and sullen from first 
 putting his foot into the stirrup, and now, as he saw 
 the cruel knowledge eat into the heart of his "coun- 
 sellor," he made a savage gesture of impotent wrath 
 before he broke into a scornful half laugh. " You 
 see ' his voice broke for a moment and his eye 
 moistened ere he could frame the words coming 
 next " you see that they have carried their point." 
 
 Pengraig's answer came forth huskily and with 
 dry catches as he spoke. ' ' And you are going 
 back ! ' ' 
 
 'Yea, we are afraid," returned Charles Edward 
 in bitter jest as he put his horse into motion again. 
 
 The other said no more, but he kept his place im- 
 movable while the rest passed on, sitting as still in 
 the saddle as if the hand of Death had already mo- 
 tioned him to tarry. The Prince and his staff 
 moved out of sight, but still Pengraig did not stir 
 till the clash of the Duke of Perth's regiment 
 roused him in passing. 
 
 Then slowly rousing, like one recovering from a 
 trance, he looked up. The sight of that body of
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 179 
 
 gallant men, marching in obedience to such an 
 order, stung him to the quick. Next he caught 
 the figure of young Richard Vaughan, hope and 
 heir of Courtfield, riding listlessly by, and a wave 
 of impotent fury surged through all his veins as 
 he thought of the ruin to come. 
 
 Putting spurs to his horse he dashed across. 
 
 Vaughan! " he cried with a bitter curse: " they 
 are going back to Scotland ! " 
 
 But Vaughan had known from yesterday, and his 
 own anger was by this time exhausted. ' Yes," 
 replied he with a patient smile; " but wherever they 
 go I am determined, now that I have joined them, 
 to go with them to the end." 
 
 Savage and sharp came the other's answer, " I 
 had rather be hanged in Wales than starved in 
 Scotland." 
 
 Just then, with his saturnine smile, Lord Elcho 
 rode past. " And is that the best word you have 
 for this fine new jaunt of ours?" said he, darkly 
 sarcastic. ' Why, man, the very Whigs in Scotland 
 had no such bitter word for us when first the old 
 jaunt was new; the jaunt that ended at the council 
 yestere'en." 
 
 Pengraig looked at him with a softening eye, for 
 he heard the undertone of fierce pain in the voice.
 
 180 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " We little thought of this, Elcho, when first we 
 foregathered over the recruiting at Preston." 
 
 The other choked for an instant. " Aye, it's a 
 bitter day to-day. " Then with an effort, "Well! 
 let's hope it may end on the heather and not on an 
 oaken block." 
 
 I wish it may for you," said Pengraig gently. 
 " Pray heaven it may for you; but, for me, I was 
 foretold at starting my own wife saw it, saw it all ; 
 gallows and faggot and quartering knife. I tried to 
 shake it from her mind then, but now God's will 
 be done! " 
 
 The last words came as sad as such a prayer 
 could come from a heart as hot as his. 
 
 Lord Elcho stretched his hand out in a -sudden 
 impulse to grasp that of the other. " Nay, coun- 
 sellor; are you fey indeed?" said he. 
 
 Vaughan, too, sat upright. "Is it so in truth, 
 Pengraig ?" spoke he. ' You never told us that." 
 'Why should I?" answered Pengraig with a 
 smile that lit his face like autumn sunset. ' Why 
 should I say anything which might have cast you 
 down ?" 
 
 No' more words were said; the three put their 
 steeds into motion again, and side by side, mile 
 after mile, they rode along in silence : even the
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO l8l 
 
 angry speeches of the common soldiers, who in the 
 mortification of what they considered this betrayal 
 of their hopes muttered angrily through the whole 
 day's march, failed to provoke a single comment 
 from either of them. Only when at length they 
 topped the rise whence the last glimpse of Derby 
 could be had, the high serenity of Pengraig broke 
 down for an instant as he burst forth in despairing 
 anguish: "Woe for us! we that are defeated not 
 on the field but in the council chamber. The 
 White Rose is broken forever ! Far, far worse than 
 the quartering knife is such an hour as this ! Yea, 
 the gallows will but be a contemptuous mockery 
 hereafter, for we taste ten thousand times its agony 
 in this, the death of a Cause ! " 
 
 The little army halted at Ashbourne that night ; 
 every man sullen and distrustful of his neighbour, 
 for the rank and file saw plainly that the retreat 
 was as bitter to the Prince as to themselves. Pen- 
 graig, brooding upon a watchful pallet over some 
 means of arresting the fatal movement, rose at last 
 in the small hours of the morning and sought the 
 sleeping place of Charles Edward. The sentry on 
 the chamber door did not hesitate to admit him, 
 and presently the Prince was sitting up listening to 
 the scheme the other was unfolding.
 
 1 82 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " If I go now to Wynstay and can manage to send 
 a body of three hundred horse, mostly gentlemen, 
 to overtake you at Manchester, as a token of the rest 
 being ready in Wales ; then will your Royal High- 
 ness undertake to countermand this retreat and 
 march into Wales instead ? " 
 
 " I cannot countermand it with my own word," 
 answered Charles Edward sadly. "If I could, 
 then I should have done so at Derby. But if such 
 an accession of strength does come to me at Man- 
 chester, I can at least insist upon remaining there 
 till Wales is all mustered. After that I have no 
 doubt but that my Scots would readily and cheer- 
 fully march to join you, or both armies could con- 
 verge upon that of the usurper." 
 
 " In that case, sir, I will start at once. And may 
 God prosper your Royal Highness." 
 
 Here he broke off, kissed the Prince's hand, and 
 was hurriedly gone.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 WHEN Gwgan Maddox dashed away from Wyn- 
 stay he carried a black load in his breast. Only 
 that same afternoon he had waylaid Mari on her 
 solitary walk across the lawn and along the edge of 
 the wood, and within the first dozen words had 
 succeeded in rousing her to contemptuous scorn of 
 him. 
 
 I am very sorry for you," said he to her condol- 
 ingly. "It is a pity that Mr. Meredith has failed 
 
 so in his task. We hear " 
 
 'What?" demanded Mari imperiously as he 
 paused upon the word. 
 
 ' That the Prince has reached Manchester so 
 that Meredith should have been with us long ago if 
 he really intended it." 
 
 Mari stoppled short and turned on him. Her 
 lips parted and for one moment it seemed as if she 
 were about to overwhelm him with a torrent of 
 indignation. Then she checked herself. " Ah; but 
 I forgot; it is the brave Mr. Maddox who is so 
 sorry for me. We do not all know Gwgan Maddox,
 
 1 84 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 however, and so I would warn him how he speaks 
 such words aloud here at Wynstay, for there 
 are Merediths within half an hour's ride who 
 might not understand that the gorgeous Gwgan 
 is not worth even the contempt of honest gentle- 
 men." 
 
 'Then you refuse me?" demanded he angrily. 
 " Do you mean that you have finally thrown me 
 over for this Meredith fellow ? " he was half chok- 
 ing with cheap wrath. 
 
 "Thrown you over," repeated Mari disdainfully. 
 4 Then because I was barely civil to you, as being 
 my father's ward, you presume to say that there 
 was something more betwixt us. But, there, good 
 sir, you even do yourself injustice when you s-peak as 
 though you had ever cared for me. I know you 
 better. You did not even reckon that trying after 
 me as worthy to rank amongst the rest of your 
 Society amours until you found that Mr. Meredith 
 was received into my father's house to study. 
 Then your vanity took huff at the bare possibili- 
 ties of the situation, and your dress became more 
 wonderful and your manner more ridiculous every 
 day, as you strutted about, cocking your coat-skirt 
 with the sword you never dared draw. No, sir, only 
 your vanity is hurt and let me advise you to return
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 185 
 
 to those dear Countesses of whom you were forever 
 vapouring. Let them console you." 
 
 Before his passion could compass a reply she had 
 started back across the lawn, as not desiring to hold 
 further converse with such a one. So much beside 
 himself with anger was he, however, that he sprang 
 after her and planted himself to bar her progress. 
 
 " Stop, you jade! stop, or - 
 
 Unperturbed: scornful only, " Out of my way! " 
 she cried. "Or do you wish to have the kennel- 
 men come with their dog whips and teach the mod- 
 ish Mr. Maddox his manners ? " 
 
 Maddox looked over his shoulder, sobered for a 
 flash by a fear lest some of the gentlemen might be 
 watching the scene from the windows of the hall. 
 She took advantage of the moment to move on and 
 in his new fear he let her continue unmolested. In- 
 stead, he plunged into the wood again, and there, 
 biting his nails as he marched feverishly to and fro, 
 pondered and cursed over some impossible means 
 of revenging himself on Mari. 
 
 It was this rebuff which had sent him sulking 
 to his chamber that evening, thereby saving his 
 wretched life from lolyn. 
 
 Now however, as he rode into England, his brain 
 had got a new shock to combat, in the capture of
 
 1 86 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 his servant Chapel. Man's last words had finally 
 shattered his favourite scheme of security; which 
 had been to marry her before his forgeries had come 
 to light ; and next the capture of Chapel seemed 
 1 to have destroyed his alternative scheme of skilful 
 murder and subsequent betrayal of the Jacobites. 
 He did not know as yet that Chapel had escaped, 
 nor did he know that the Jacobites had already 
 betrayed themselves, in the council ended no longer 
 ago than the evening of this very day. 
 
 ' Well, I must find out where I stand first," said 
 he to himself as he spattered along in the darkness. 
 " Congleton is where they captured Chapel I never 
 thought that villain would have allowed himself to 
 be taken alive and I must get as near to that place 
 as I can so as to find out exactly what happened 
 and how much the cur confessed." 
 
 He could not go far this night however and so 
 he stopped at an inn in the first town where he 
 deemed himself beyond the reach of pursuit. Here 
 next morning he purchased jack boots, together with 
 the other essentials of a riding outfit freely curs- 
 ing, in the latest and most modish terms, the make, 
 cut, fashion and seller of each separate article as he 
 bought it before pursuing his journey. By mid- 
 day he learnt that the Jacobite army had marched
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 187 
 
 away from Congleton on the road to Derby and in 
 the evening he pushed cautiously into the former 
 town, there to stay over night to pursue enquiries. 
 
 But Congleton remembered more than any spy 
 could have confessed in a week, and Weir had been 
 multiplied into many spies, so that Maddox felt his 
 hopes sink lower every moment as he listened to a 
 throng of tales, all told at once, each giving a more 
 wildly improbable narrative than the other as it 
 seemed to him, catching a bit of this tale or that in 
 a dazed attempt to follow all. 
 
 There was no part of any one of them which he 
 could possibly assign to Chapel or indeed to any 
 sane human being but the whole pointed to a 
 confession of some sort, and the fear of what that 
 confession had been kept him awake through the 
 greater part of the night, in spite of the utter weari- 
 ness of his body. So, too, it forced him early into the 
 saddle next morning, for now he had no advantage 
 to gain by delaying in seeking the headquarters of 
 the Duke of Cumberland and there finding an 
 early market for what information he could give 
 as to the Welsh Jacobites to betray his own kith 
 and kin, in fact, in return for his own previously 
 threatened safety. 
 
 The first stage of his new journey was to New-
 
 1 88 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 castle under- Lyne, and thus his way lay through the 
 village where the spies had been captured. Here, 
 pursuing his enquiries, he heard of Chapel's escape 
 and the starting of lolyn in pursuit. Learning of 
 the widow's share in that business, he got down in 
 front of her poor thatched abode, boiling with mean 
 anger and cowardly fury against her. Bursting open 
 the door with his foot he strode inside. 
 
 ' Where are you ; you old beldame ? You Jacob- 
 ite hag ? " he shouted. 
 
 But there was some one there quite ready to take 
 him up. Though the first hurt dragoon was dead ; 
 having died within half an hour of lolyn's leaving him; 
 yet another had been brought in to take his place 
 under the gentle old widow's care. One of the two 
 from " John Webster's"; a corporal, shot through 
 the leg, was now lying in the bed, his teeth shut 
 tight upon his tongue, like a lid upon a cauldron, 
 to keep down the fume of fantastic swearing with 
 which his mind was bubbling over as the pain of 
 his wound racked and pincered his nerves. He was 
 practising rare self-denial and foregoing the dear 
 relief of profanity lest he should shock his nurse. 
 Thus the entrance of the blustering fop of a Maddox 
 was as a godsend to him, and he opened upon the 
 intruder with a good round flood of particular oaths
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 189 
 
 and cherished niceties of profanity, which only a 
 trooper of that date could have compassed. They 
 rolled upon his tongue, grateful as the trickle of 
 sweet waters to the parched palate of the desert 
 wanderer, and Maddox fell back half a pace, gasp- 
 ing through lips parted in sheer astonishment at 
 the bear which he had so unexpectedly found denned 
 with the hare. 
 
 Then a heavy jack-boot, spur and all, struck him 
 in the neck, and the click of a carbine sounded from 
 the bed. Turning, he made one leap to the door 
 and another to the saddle, and like a flash was 
 pricking away down the road, with the insult 
 sticking in his gullet, for fear worse should befall 
 him. 
 
 He was soon to be consoled however, for news 
 of yesterday's retreat from Derby was already flying 
 far and wide, and he was scarcely three miles beyond 
 Newcastle, on the road to Stone, before he got a 
 circumstantial account of it which raised his hopes 
 and brought a dozen plans surging up in his mind at 
 once. Now that the rebels had turned he felt, like 
 everyone else, that the movement was doomed. 
 Being doomed it carried doom to all its most prom- 
 inent participators, and Pengraig was too notorious 
 as a fervent Jacobite ever to receive pardon now
 
 1 90 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 that he had actually been in arms. Whoever else 
 found mercy, the " poetical lawyer" * was sure of 
 sharp shrift. 
 
 Once outlawed or executed Pengraig could no 
 more trouble Gwgan Maddox and so the said Gwgan 
 opened his clammy lips and eased his breast of a 
 huge sigh of relief he was now free of danger from 
 the forgery at least and so was at liberty to work 
 for revenge. Thus as he rode his breast was a 
 seething cauldron, wherein savage hatred of Mere- 
 dith, of lolyn, and of Pengraig, mingled with a fe- 
 rocious desire to wreak untold tortures upon the 
 scornful soul of Mari. As he dwelt upon what .he 
 would do to the latter his face flushed darkly, till at 
 last he raised his eyes and cast a quick glance round, 
 as if he feared any one should by any possibility 
 guess the black thoughts in his mind for even 
 Gwgan Maddox could choke over them. 
 
 Plotting and scheming thus he presently reached 
 the little town of Stone, where he was agreeably 
 surprised to find a small party of horse just dis- 
 mounting in the street. Riding closer he recog- 
 nized the cornet in command and straightway fell 
 to eliciting information. 
 
 " Ha! Kingdon! I understand you have chased 
 
 * This was Walpole's description of him.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 19 1 
 
 back this beggarly rabble of Scotch and Lancashire 
 riffraff. Is it true ?" 
 
 "It is true that the Pretender has gone north 
 again from Derby," responded the cornet drily; 
 " but we do not know yet where they are intending 
 for. Perhaps for Wales : I am here to find out if I 
 can. They quartered in Ashbourne last night." 
 
 ' That is not on the road to Wales from Derby," 
 replied Maddox, pluming his confidence. 
 
 The cornet's tone had been none of the most 
 cordial, but now he added a whisper which made 
 the other pale for a moment. " It is understood 
 that you yourself went to Wales to join the Jacob- 
 ites, and it looks marvellously as if you had been 
 on the way to Derby, but, finding yourself too late, 
 had headed South instead, like a prudent man." 
 
 'Then you had better understand differently!" 
 blustered Maddox in seeming righteous indigna- 
 tion ; and as if not desiring to keep the thing quiet 
 by answering in a whisper also. His virtue cried to 
 the world for examination as he continued: " You 
 will find that my servant, Chapel, has already been 
 with your general, and that the boot is on the 
 other leg!" 
 
 " So that fellow Chapel is your servant, eh ? " re- 
 turned the cornet, staring steadily at the other over
 
 192 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 his horse's neck. ' Then, you have come out as a 
 spy at last! Well, well, I, at least, ought not to be 
 surprised at that, considering our last meeting. 
 Still I've no official notice to welcome you as a spy, 
 but on the contrary, have been notified that you 
 had gone to Wales to join the rebels. All the same 
 there are pleasanter ways of riding than with the 
 feet tied under the horse's girth, so that if you still 
 insist that you are a spy and a traitor: why d'ye 
 understand ? " 
 
 Maddox did understand but he was too cowardly 
 to take the hint and ride quietly on. He tried to 
 carry it off with a high front. ' You will be glad, 
 to-morrow, that you did not tie me. You will know 
 then what His Grace the Duke of Cumberland 
 thinks of me." 
 
 The last words came over his shoulder as he rode 
 away. 
 
 " Ah," replied the other imperturbably, " you 
 will find the Duke near Coventry and while you are 
 speaking with him, kindly put in a word for me. 
 Since you plucked me so clean at the tables I 
 haven't anything left to buy my step with, and yet 
 I don't want to live and die a cornet." 
 
 Maddox affected not to hear this parting shot 
 but continued to move off at a walk. His direction
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 193 
 
 was still South, but just through the town he turned 
 left, as though to find some new line of road by 
 which to seek headquarters. He did not care to 
 have Cornet Kingdon called upon for any report of 
 his entrance within the outposts. 
 
 Meanwhile the dragoons were making the most 
 of their bread and cheese and ale, swearing genially 
 over the refreshment, and watching the horses toss- 
 ing the half feed in the nosebags ; for both men and 
 beasts required the rest. 
 
 But hardly was the last bite between the teeth 
 than Maddox came galloping back at top speed. 
 
 " Now, sir," cried he in triumph triumph which 
 yet left a sickly colour in his face " mount your 
 party quickly and you shall see whether I ever had 
 any part with the wretched rebels. Within two 
 miles of here, one of the principal of all these trai- 
 tors can be taken prisoner if you do but move at 
 once." 
 
 " I had rather you said that their principal troop 
 of horse could be charged," growled the cornet, 
 as he gave the order to mount one half of his 
 party. 
 
 "Are you not going to mount all your men ?" 
 expostulated Maddox. 
 
 " D n it! man. A dozen dragoons should 
 
 13
 
 194 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 take the Devil prisoner, let alone one poor British 
 gentleman." 
 
 Maddox ventured no more till the party were 
 mounted. 
 
 " Now then ?" growled the cornet to him, as he 
 pulled down his tunic. 
 
 " In that direction," began Maddox, pointing 
 across country. ' You will go 
 
 " Nay, you will go," broke in the other grimly. 
 " And you will go with a pistol at your ear, too. 
 I am not going to be sent into any trap, my fine 
 spy. So, march, my gentleman, and we'll follow. 
 Now." 
 
 " But," began Maddox, with a face all piteous 
 betwixt shame and fear. 
 
 "But nothing," returned the other inexorably. 
 " If you will meddle with men of action, you must 
 take the consequences. Once more, March! " 
 
 ' Very well, sir, I'll guide you," retorted Maddox 
 in pettish desperation. ' But the Duke shall hear 
 of this " 
 
 " He shall, without a doubt," put in the other 
 with the same exasperating coolness. ' The regu- 
 lations provide for it I have to make a report of 
 all these sort of things." 
 
 The rest of the party caught the tone from their
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 195 
 
 leader, sulkily cursing things in general as they rode, 
 so that Maddox tasted yet more fully the delights 
 of his position. Then he grew feebly vicious, and, 
 goaded into what he mistook for determination, 
 ' This way ! " cried he at a turn of the road. 
 " Faster! " 
 
 " Faster be hanged ! " retorted the cornet. " We 
 have other work for our horses than playing parish 
 constables and apprehending vagrants." 
 
 The other did not deem it wise to reply and 
 presently he pulled up to speak to a countryman in 
 the road. " Still there ?" demanded he. 
 
 ' Yes sir. Never come an inch this road. But 
 where's the guinea ? " cried he as Maddox was mov- 
 ing off again. 
 
 "Damn your impudence!" was all the other's 
 answer. 
 
 " Hold! " cried the cornet. Then turning to the 
 countryman: "Did this man promise you any- 
 thing ? " he asked. 
 
 He said if I watched that lane yonder he'd give 
 me a guinea when he came back." 
 
 " Come, Mr. Maddox, pay as you go," said the 
 officer, grimly jocose. ' You can always get more 
 at the tables, you know." 
 
 Maddox paid ; his hand so shaking the while
 
 196 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 that he fumbled the money and dropped some silver 
 as well as the guinea. 
 
 Keep it," said Kingdon laconically to the man, 
 who picked it up with a dry smile. " Now sir," 
 went on the cornet to Maddox. " March! " 
 
 " But we are here; there is the lane," protested 
 the victim. 
 
 "Aw!" returned the officer ironically. "How 
 truly intelligent ! Now I come to think of it we 
 are here! But we did not come to apprehend a 
 lane, did we ? It would be awkward to tie that 
 on a horse and send it to the Duke at Meriden 
 Moor." 
 
 ' Well, in the house then," retorted the bad- 
 gered Maddox. 
 
 " Which house ? Show me." 
 
 For answer Maddox led the way a little farther on 
 to the entering of a lane at the other end of which 
 a cluster of thatches indicated the presence of a 
 farmstead. 'There," said he: "your man is in 
 that house. Let him slip and you lose your com- 
 mission." 
 
 A hot word was on the cornet's lips to reply, but 
 the grizzled old sergeant brought his horse violently 
 against his officer's knee. Kingdon looked around 
 sharply but the sergeant's face was so especially
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 197 
 
 wooden that he read its meaning at a glance and 
 so took the advice and bit his tongue. 
 
 The absence of retort emboldened Maddox and 
 he lifted his rein, saying; " Well, Kingdon, I leave 
 you to your duty; and now I'll just continue on to 
 the Duke." 
 
 Before he could even put his horse about, how- 
 ever, a nod from the cornet instructed the dragoon 
 on the other side of him, and the muzzle of a mus- 
 ket came cold under his ear, almost causing him to 
 drop out of the saddle from fright and shock. 
 
 ' Take charge of him, Durley," said the cornet. 
 "If he attempts to escape, shoot him. Hartly will 
 stay with you to help you." 
 
 Then the party turned and took the lane for the 
 house. 
 
 A few minutes of mute suspense and then Mad- 
 dox heard the swift reports of a couple of pistols. 
 A burst of confused noises followed and then some 
 fifteen minutes intervened double torture to the 
 dastard as he fidgeted between the silent pair of 
 immovable dragoons. 
 
 Then the party reappeared, Kingdon with one 
 arm in a sling, and one of the men with his head 
 bandaged. Halting in front of Maddox the cornet 
 turned to the prisoner beside him. With a grave
 
 198 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 bow, " This, sir," said he in a voice vibrant with 
 scathing scorn, " this is the most honourable gentle- 
 man who betrayed you." 
 
 And "Ah!" said Pengraig and never another 
 word did he utter on that occasion.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ONLY once on all the long way to the Duke of 
 Cumberland's headquarters did the prisoner break 
 the silence which had held him since the recognition 
 of his betrayer. They had marched for hours when 
 suddenly he turned to Kingdon as if his anguish 
 were no longer to be borne. 
 
 ' Tell me," he broke out: " Why is it ? What is 
 there in our cause that it should seem thus to be 
 cursed ? that one poor pitiful dastard like Maddox 
 should have power to ruin the endeavours of thou- 
 sands aye, of nations ! Did AVC sin, or did our 
 fathers sin ? that all the fire of our hearts should 
 yet issue only in .impotence ? Why is it ?" 
 
 Pardon me, sir, but I fear you are too hard for 
 me," returned Kingdon with respect. " I am but a 
 poor cornet of dragoons and a plain man but I 
 have ever noticed that a spy is a very potent instru- 
 ment when things are aloft and moving." 
 
 " Ah, you do not understand," exclaimed Pen- 
 graig despairingly. " I mean, why did High God
 
 200 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 permit but I weary you and pray you pardon me. 
 Tell me, sir, is your wound any easier ? " 
 
 " Oh, it is nothing sir, I assure you. In truth, 
 if it were not for the sling I should forget it com- 
 pletely. " 
 
 Pengraig understood and a faint sad smile stole 
 out for an instant through the grief in his eyes. " I 
 thank you, sir, and indeed I am sorry for that 
 shot," said he with a winning concern in his voice 
 and manner. 
 
 For it had happened that when the party came 
 upon him at the farmstead he had been in the stable, 
 girthing up to go, and it was his first pistol which 
 wounded the cornet. His second had dropped the 
 man whom they afterwards left behind at Stone with 
 a bandaged head, and then, before he could draw 
 sword in that narrow stall, the rest had piled upon 
 him and overborne him by mere weight of numbers. 
 
 Maddox remained a prisoner also between his two 
 guards, to whom were added the sergeant and an- 
 other man, with strict orders to keep some fifty 
 yards in rear, so that the sight of the man who had 
 betrayed him might not add unneeded poignancy 
 to the anguish of the one whom they all pitied. 
 
 But when at length they came into the presence 
 of the Duke, Pengraig could scarce contain his hor-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2OI 
 
 ror as he saw his ward instantly recognized as one 
 well known to be in the service of " the Elector ' ' from 
 the first. Then his horror changed to hot indignation 
 as he further saw the other released and the cornet 
 put upon his defence for his conduct to him. King- 
 don was one, however, whom promotion had passed 
 by, and he was therefore one less careful to oil his 
 tongue in answering. He had, moreover, a justly 
 grounded belief that Maddox had cleaned him out 
 by cheating at play in other days, and he took no 
 little satisfaction out of him while justifying his 
 conduct to the Duke. 
 
 " The fellow was so shifty in his manner, sir, and 
 so hang-dog in his looks, that I was bound to be sus- 
 picious of him. Moreover I knew him long ago for 
 a rake-hell, and a cheat at cards, and other things as 
 bad or worse, so that, taking all the appearances 
 into consideration, I was naturally more than suspi- 
 cious of him. As to his betraying his guardian into 
 our hands, that argued nothing, since he was quite 
 capable of doing it merely to save his own wretched 
 neck. His protestations counted for even less than 
 nothing, for he was always as notorious a liar as he 
 was a cheat and the rest of it." 
 
 " A liar, sir! and a cheat! " but it was the voice 
 of Pengraig and not that of Maddox which chal-
 
 202 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 lenged so indignantly. " Sir, I was his guardian 
 and I never heard such heavy things even whis- 
 pered of him. That he has become a spy well, he 
 was ever a Whig, and black and dishonourable as it 
 is to be a spy, yet these other charges sir, you 
 make me hot ! Can you 
 
 " Substantiate them ? yes," took up Kingdon. 
 " He was, of course, more than careful to keep such 
 things from you and, perhaps, sir, he had the less 
 difficulty in doing so, in that you were so completely 
 taken up with with the notions which have 
 brought you into your present sad position, sir. 
 
 " Nevertheless these things existed, as I and 
 many another pigeon plucked by him well know. 
 Oh, he was careful to keep upon the very foam and 
 top of the most distinguished and exclusive vice. 
 He was on the closest terms with my Lord this and 
 the Honourable that, but the terms were those of a 
 common debauchery." 
 
 The Duke interfered, for Maddox stood tongue- 
 tied with sullen hate and cold confusion. Even so 
 helpless and hopeless as his guardian now was, the 
 spy yet felt all the mixture of dread, shame, and 
 scowling defiance which he might have felt had their 
 positions been reversed had he been the prisoner 
 and the other the free. Therefore he was grateful
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 203 
 
 when the Duke spoke, though he straightway cursed 
 him in his heart for the answer which his speaking 
 drew. 
 
 " But, Cornet Kingdon," interposed Cumber- 
 land, " you see now that you were mistaken and 
 that Mr. Maddox was an honest and loyal subject. 
 You will therefore, no doubt, wish to apologize 
 for your conduct to him and shake hands with 
 him." 
 
 " Sir," returned Kingdon warmly. " I hold His 
 Majesty's commission : what would he say if he 
 knew that I had bemired it by apologizing to a com- 
 mon spy ? A British officer must be more careful 
 of his honour than that if he wishes to retain even 
 the mere toleration of his fellow officers in the 
 army." 
 
 ' The devil take your British officers and their 
 commissions! " spluttered the Duke. ' You are all 
 as full of points and codes as if you were princes." 
 
 " I should be sorry if they were as empty of them 
 as some Princes we know," put in Pengraig undaunt- 
 edly. 
 
 Kingdon kept silent for a moment. " So like 
 him," thought he to himself, referring to Pengraig. 
 " He saw that I had gone quite as far as my com- 
 mission was worth and so he interposed to turn the
 
 204 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Duke's anger on himself. But he is deep enough in 
 the hole already without that 
 
 Nevertheless he could get no opportunity of put- 
 ting in again, for the Duke had quite forgotten him 
 in his new rage at the prisoner. In his heat his 
 English failed him, with the exception of the com- 
 monest curses and military oaths, and his Royal 
 Highness fell back upon German, which made his 
 anger only appear ludicrous when spluttered and 
 larded out against a man who did not understand it. 
 In the impotence of his wrath he turned against 
 Maddox and cursed him up hill and down dale for 
 a spy and everything else of which Kingdon had 
 accused him and in this case English oaths and 
 curses so nearly sufficed that all the world might 
 understand. 
 
 Thoroughly demoralized, Maddox was mounting 
 as if to ride out of reach of the tumbling abuse 
 when another shock he found himself under new 
 arrest till he could be put under bonds to appear 
 against the man he had betrayed. 
 
 Truly he was the last man in the world for a 
 beggar to envy. 
 
 From Meriden Pengraig was despatched next day 
 under strong escort for London, there to be shut up 
 in Newgate till some day of trial could be found ;
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 205 
 
 while Maddox bent his whole energies to the de- 
 struction of Meredith. To have already compassed 
 the end of one whom he hated it is easy to forgive 
 the man who injures us but not the man we injure 
 only whetted his ferocity to more closely pursue 
 the other objects of his hate. He could now revenge 
 himself upon his rival by dragging him to the gal- 
 lows and also, in the same moment, upon the 
 woman who had refused him, by the awful anguish 
 he would thus inflict upon her. 
 
 ' Yes," muttered he to himself as he marched 
 with the army. ' Yes, we will see how you like it, 
 Mister Meredith. You were looking forward to a 
 pair of white arms about your neck we'll see how 
 you like the hangman's rope instead. When this 
 rebellion was to be over you looked to ride to a 
 bridal feast we'll see how you like to ride head 
 downward on the sledge when they drag you to 
 execution. 
 
 " And you, my high and mighty and most demure 
 Mistress Mari : you are to enjoy yourself without 
 stint. You shall stand by and see your father and 
 your lover hanged on the same gallows, and then you 
 shall look on while the common hangman strips the 
 writhing figure you thought so handsome and watch 
 while they cut the heart out and throw it into the
 
 206 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 fire. Oh yes, you shall see the head chopped off 
 like a bullock's, and you shall watch the saw at 
 work cutting the precious body you loved into 
 quarters, like so much beef, to be stuck over town 
 gates. A fine thing then for you, Mistress Mari, 
 to be kin to and in love with fly-blown pieces of 
 putrid flesh scattered from one end of the country 
 to the other! I'll teach you just what you were 
 doing when you scorned Gwgan Maddox. " 
 
 He had fallen in with Chapel again upon the 
 evening of his arrival at headquarters, and from him 
 learnt all that had happened since they parted at 
 Wrexham. At the end of the narrative he had just 
 opened his mouth to criticize, when the other struck 
 coldly in with a blunt, " No, no; Mr. Maddox; not 
 this time: not any more. We've had about enough 
 of your plots: I'll plot it from now on. That is to 
 say, I'll capture this Meredith and deliver him into 
 your hands for you to do as you like with. Be- 
 cause you you've told me so many different tales 
 of what you want to be and seem and do, that I 
 don't know what it is you really are after and 
 neither do you yourself two minutes together. 
 You pitch a plot and straight away fall in love with 
 the first detail of it and forget all about the rest, 
 till, when you wake up, you have to lay out a fresh
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 207 
 
 line altogether. You talk about Whig and Tory, 
 but what you've wanted all along is to escape that 
 forgery's consequence and get rid of this Meredith. 
 Very well; we march north to-morrow. In two or 
 three days we shall be within reach of Fidler's 
 Ferry. Then \ve will get the loan of a troop of 
 Hessians 
 
 ' Yes," broke in Maddox; " these d d English 
 
 dragoons would let him slip if they could they 
 ought all to be shot for treason 
 
 Chapel smiled and nodded approvingly as he re- 
 sumed " and then we'll just drop down on that 
 ferryman and I warrant you we'll find some way of 
 opening his mouth. You'll have Meredith straight 
 off then and me, dear me; ho! ho! me, I'll have 
 that Ned of the Clough. And I'll shoot that Ned of 
 the Clough! I'll twist that Ned of the Clough's 
 neck round! I'll screw his head off for Mr. Edward 
 of the Clough ! Whaow ! " and the rest of the vil- 
 lain's voice went out in an inarticulate scream.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 WHEN Shackerly of Gwersyllt rode to rouse the 
 Cycle he did his work well, and daylight of the 
 following day revealed all the roads leading eastward 
 to have each its dozen or more parties of riders; 
 from the younger son with his modest single man, 
 to the lord of a whole trev * with his score of re- 
 tainers. The word was for Derby and, as the roads 
 were bad and the distance great, the pace was easy, 
 in order that they might not arrive with useless 
 horses. Naturally, the younger men, riding lighter, 
 rode also faster, and thus it was these who rested at 
 the inns farthest from home that night. 
 
 For the same reason it was the same young men 
 who, early next day, first got word of the retreat 
 from Derby and its continuance through Ashbourne 
 to Macclesfield for the north. The farther they 
 went the surer they became that the circumstantial 
 tale was true, and presently proof positive was 
 forthcoming in a glimpse of a squadron of dragoons, 
 going northwards by a road which crossed imme- 
 diately in front. 
 
 * Here signifying a township or district.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 209 
 
 There was no help for it. Words would not alter 
 it. Nothing remained but a sorrowful return. 
 
 As these more forward ones bore back the news 
 to those behind the more experienced elders recog- 
 nised at once the instant necessity of carrying the 
 news to Wynstay, to stop the rising before the land 
 should be uselessly compromised for a cause that 
 was lost. There was no thought now of sparing 
 horse or man and thus it came about that shortly 
 after the ensuing midnight Sir Watkin was roused 
 to hear the fatal news with which all England was 
 by that time ringing. 
 
 Lord Barrymore, more nervous than his host 
 about the enterprise they had embarked upon, and 
 so less able to sleep, had met the messenger first, 
 and his aged face seemed doubly aged with the 
 weight of the blow as he followed the candlebearer 
 to the door of Sir Watkin's chamber. 
 
 ' What shall we do now ?" exclaimed he when 
 he had told the news. " Shall we still go on raising 
 men ? " 
 
 ' For what? and for whom?" broke out Sir Wat- 
 kin fiercely. " Shall we ask men to venture all for a 
 Prince who will not even come to command them ? 
 who cares so little about them that he marches off 
 as if they did not exist ? Nay, to raise them now 
 14
 
 210 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 would be murder; veritable murder. If Charles 
 Edward has given up and gone back to Scotland, it 
 means that he believes his cause hopeless. The crown 
 of Britain cannot be seized in Scotland. If he turns 
 his back upon the throne, we cannot bring it to him. 
 
 " No, we must send instantly and stop the rising, 
 and meanwhile, before day breaks, disperse those 
 already gathered, in order that they may escape all 
 ill consequence. If it were not worth Charles Ed- 
 ward's while to join us, it is certainly not worth our 
 while to die in vain for him." 
 
 But his anger did not last long. Presently grief 
 broke out above the wrath, and he fell to lamenta- 
 tions for the dream that was dashed. " Oh that so 
 great a stake should have been so meanly lost. What ! 
 did they start out to win without a risk ? I should 
 have thought that after overwhelming Cope they 
 would have turned for nothing. And now to retreat 
 without coming to the shock Oh, it is ruinous! " 
 
 But neither anger nor grief could alter the situa- 
 tion, nor could they form any plot to save it, except 
 that of sending three separate gentlemen to implore 
 Charles Edward to retrace his steps and march at 
 once to Wales. 
 
 The fate of this effort, however, may as well be 
 told at once. The news of the retreat emboldened
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 211 
 
 the Whig Justices and constables as greatly as the 
 news of the advance had formerly terrified them. 
 These and the Government troops together scoured 
 every lane and watched every road in Cheshire, until 
 the retreat had continued so far north that all dan- 
 ger of a junction with the Welsh was over. Not 
 one of the three gentlemen, therefore, could get 
 through, and so Charles Edward was compelled by 
 the chiefs, under the thumb of Lord George Mur- 
 ray, to forego halting a day at Manchester, from 
 whence he passed on to Preston : to the tragic 
 blunder of Carlisle: to Scotland and Culloden and 
 Wales was saved at least from the horrors of devas- 
 tation ; even if she were also at the same time de- 
 nied the perilous honour of again playing a principal 
 part in the terrible game of King making. 
 
 Months afterward Charles Edward learnt fully what 
 he had lost by yielding to the council at Derby, and 
 wrote to his father in mournful strain " Mr. Barry 
 arrived at Derby two days after I parted. He had 
 been sent by Sir Watkin Wyn and Lord Barrymore 
 to assure me in the name of my friends that they 
 were ready to join me either in London or rise every 
 man in his own country." 
 
 And so we write to Charles Edward's chance, 
 11 Vale!"
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 MEANWHILE what of lolyn. On the night 
 when he returned to Wynstay from his fruitless chase 
 to Coed Cynan, he was too utterly done up for any- 
 thing further but sleep that night. Next morning, 
 however, he was early out and gone to rejoin Pen- 
 graig; carrying a verbal message from Sir Watkin. 
 Unlike the members of the Cycle, he could not turn 
 back when he heard the ill news, not even when he 
 saw the dragoons. His fortunes lay with his foster- 
 father in the Pretender's army, and so he must go on. 
 
 By many a wile and many a stratagem he slipped 
 at last through soldiers, Justices and constables, till, 
 late on the evening of Sunday, the eighth, he 
 reached Derby, only to find the retreat an accom- 
 plished fact. Following next day on the track of 
 the Prince, and not daring to make minute inquiries 
 for fear of arousing suspicion, he overshot the trail 
 of Pengraig at Ashbourne, and it was not until he 
 finally overtook the Jacobite army, on its first march 
 beyond Manchester, that he heard from William 
 Vaughan of what had happened.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 213 
 
 ' Then Pengraig will be at Wynstay by this," said 
 lolyn; "and I have to start even once more for 
 that place. I am like a kitten chasing its own tail 
 for this last fortnight. Ah well! perhaps I shall 
 get wind of poor Presgwyn on the way : I have to 
 go over the same ground in any case." 
 
 He took the nearest road for Warrington, believ- 
 ing that it was there he should first pick up the 
 trail of Meredith. But that town was now alive 
 and ready to arrest all suspicious travellers, so that 
 our rider, forced to deviate and still desirous of 
 crossing the river, found himself chaffering with 
 Jone Fidler over the ferry fee. 
 
 For Jone suspected him to be an escaping Jacob- 
 ite and, therefore, one who would suffer extortion 
 rather than delay. 
 
 lolyn, however, had inquired the proper price 
 when he inquired the way, and now he roundly 
 told the ferryman that he would see him hanged 
 before he would pay more. Then while he spoke a 
 sudden gleam of cunning came into his mind and 
 he set a trap for the other. 
 
 " D'you think," said he sneeringly, " because 
 one gentleman paid you in gold the other night, 
 rather than wait till daylight, that every other man 
 wanting to cross is in just as great a hurry ? "
 
 214 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " Who told thee he paid gold ? " exclaimed Jone, 
 starting back at the word. 
 
 But before lolyn could answer he himself was 
 startled in turn by a voice from the hut which cried 
 cheerily, " Good day to thee, lolyn, lad. By th' 
 mass, but Aw'm fain to see thee! " 
 
 Looking hastily up, he was little the wiser of his 
 sudden mystification to behold the new speaker 
 advancing, with a twinkle of enjoyment in his eye 
 as he continued, " Aw thought thou'd turn up soon 
 or late if Aw no'but tarried here lung enoogh." 
 
 " Who are you ? and how do you know me ?" 
 demanded lolyn. 
 
 " Aw'm Ned o' th' Cloof, an' Aw know thee th' 
 same way 'at thou knows a gentleman paid gowd 
 here t'other neet. Aw guessed it." 
 
 ' You could only guess it after some one had first 
 told you my name and described me. Now where 
 is Meredith ? for I take it that you must be friendly 
 or you would not have spoken." 
 
 ' What if Aw were paid to guide thee into some 
 trap ?" returned Ned caustically. " Such a thing's 
 bin done afore to-day an' at this same ferry, too." 
 
 Then, as the other looked scrutinizingly at him 
 for a moment, he continued: "But thou'rt reet; 
 Aw am friendly. Meredith keeps axin' for thee
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 21$ 
 
 whenever he comms round a bit, and he towd me 
 weel what mak' of a lad thou wert. He said ther'd 
 be no mistakkin' thee, and as soon as Aw yer'd 
 thee Aw lippened (expected) naught else but thou 
 wert lolyn." 
 
 "In that case where is Meredith now?" de- 
 manded lolyn. 
 
 " Where he's bein' well looked after in a place 
 on t'other side o' th' river. Aw'll tak' thee straight 
 theer; never thee fear." 
 
 " All well and good. And I'll keep a pistol handy 
 to your head as we go," replied lolyn. 
 
 Ned laughed. " Aw lippen o' naught else. But 
 thou'lt be weary o' howdin' it theer afore we getten 
 to th' far eend. It's a dal'd roogh road, lad." 
 
 " All the more need for the pistol then," re- 
 torted the other. ' John Chapel might crop up at 
 any corner of a rough road." 
 
 " Nay, he'll crop none up i' this gate yetton 
 a while; John Chapel! Hast ta seen aught o' that 
 chap lately ? " 
 
 " I knocked him out of the saddle the other day. 
 That was beyond Congleton, but the fools let him 
 get away again. Do you know him too ? " 
 
 " Aye, an' Aws' know him better another time," 
 grinned Ned; "for Aw put some marks on him
 
 2l6 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 wi' mi clogs th' last time Aw seen him. Aw gan it 
 him wi' a wuther* and punced him th' hauve to 
 t'dyeth." 
 
 " Half to death," repeated lolyn savagely. 
 " He'll go to the far end when once I have time to 
 hunt him up." 
 
 " Aye, but happen he'll be huntin' thee first. 
 For he intends seechin' this t'other lad, an' happen 
 thou'lt find him soonest by tarryin' i' th' one 
 place." 
 
 ' With Meredith, you mean. In that case then 
 you cannot take me to him too soon," answered 
 lolyn. 
 
 By this time they were aboard the boat. 
 
 " Sitha," said Ned. " He stood theer wi' his 
 pistol i' one hond while he poo'd out th' two guineas 
 wi' t'other. He'd bargaint to pay me two guineas, 
 an' he paid it like a mon i' th' spite o' what he 
 knew were happenin'. An' happen that's why 
 Aw'm takkin' thee to him, now." 
 
 When they were landed on the other side Ned 
 turned to the ferryman. " Bear i' mind, Jone," 
 said he; " Aws' hearken to naught tha' may say 
 if thou has ony truck wi' yon Chapel or th' soldiers. 
 Aws' do for thee, no matter what 'scuse thou mak's, 
 
 * Wi' a wuther = with all the strength of rage.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 217 
 
 an' A\vs' do it wi' mi clogs too. Mak' no mistake. 
 Thou'rt fause (cunning) we o' knowen; an' thou 
 reckons thysel' fauser yet. But thou'rt none fause 
 enoo' to chet Ned o' th' Cloof. " 
 
 As they struck away from the ferry Ned ex- 
 plained. " Yon Jone o' Fidler's is none a gradely 
 mak'. I' th' dayleet he reckons to be a bit of a 
 Quaker, but i' th' dark o' neet he'd stop onybody's 
 wind for th' price of a new hatband. An' he'd 
 sell me or ony o' th' rest of us chaps beheend our 
 backs if he wer'na' feared o' my clogs. Aw've 
 wondered a time or two what he'd think if Aw were 
 to tell him what's true 'at Aw know wheer his 
 brass is hidden. But to his deein' day he'd ne'er 
 understond how one thief could know of another's 
 brass an' yet not steyl it. He's an ill mak' of a 
 mon, is Jone o' Fidler's." 
 
 While he talked Ned was leading warily away 
 towards the nearest point of what was still, at that 
 date, the great Delamere Forest. At the northern 
 extremity of it the bluff sloped steeply down to the 
 marsh through which the Weaver sluggishly dis- 
 charged its reedy waters into the broad estuary of 
 the Mersey. In a little hollow, hardly a clough, in 
 the face of this bluff there dripped and matted a 
 close-grown thicket of oak and ash, hazel and holly,
 
 218 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 thorn and briar, and it was to this spot that Ned 
 ultimately guided his companion. 
 
 Penetrating the depths by a trail so narrow and 
 overhung that lolyn who had already left his 
 horse at a woodman's cottage on the way was 
 forced to stoop, he finally halted in front of a non- 
 descript building; plainly the handiwork of thieves 
 and night lurkers. He did not knock on the door, 
 but, taking down a rusty horseshoe from the wall, 
 struck three sharp blows upon the huge nail which 
 had held it up. These three he followed with two 
 and then one, whereupon the door flew open and 
 from the black interior emerged a surly visaged 
 fellow whose eyes blinked in the light. 
 
 "That thee, Jonty ? " said Ned, pleasantly, by 
 way of greeting. 
 
 " Well, it's none th' Lord Chief Justice, nor yet 
 Owd Nick." 
 
 " Nay, thou'st no need to tell us thou'rt not th' 
 Owd Lad, Jonty: thou'rt none hondsome enoof. 
 He'll ha' naught to do wi' aught as feaw (ugly) as 
 thee. But, sitha, lad, Aw've brought a visitor 
 no, ne'er mind combin' thy yure (hair); an' there's 
 not time to wesh thysel' now. Besides th' tide's 
 not in yetton, an' naught less'll wesh thee clean." 
 
 " Aye, Ned lad, tha keeps on makkin' gam' o'
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2ig 
 
 me, but Aws' punce thee t' one o' these days, 
 afore tha'll give o'er," replied Jonty, with a grin as 
 comprehensive as a mortgage. 
 
 Ne'er mind me. How's yon lad ? " 
 
 " Better; a bit better. But he's rare an' weak 
 yet for o' that." 
 
 " Dal it ! Jonty. What doesta poo sich a face for ? 
 If he's wick (quick) at o' then he's worth a church- 
 yard full o' dyed uns. By th' mass! thou'rt as ill 
 as an owd hen crowin'. Come in," ended Ned, 
 turning to lolyn. 
 
 Following him, the latter found himself in what 
 seemed a large room, as well as he could make out 
 by the light from the door and the glow of the fag- 
 got fire from a wide hearth on the right hand side. 
 Window there was none, and so he could only guess 
 at the figures of two men, whose faces were picked 
 out in ruddy outline by the flicker of the fire, as 
 they lay with heads in the light and feet away in the 
 gloom, turning to look over their shoulders for a 
 glimpse of the newcomers. 
 
 Ned greeted them both. " That thee, Juddie ? 
 That thee, Noggin ? " 
 
 'That thee, Ned?" answered they both, and 
 forthwith returned to their steady gazing into the 
 coals. Ned went forward into the darkest corner of
 
 220 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the room. " Here's th' dur," said he to lolyn. 
 "Com' inside." 
 
 As he spoke he opened a door in the blackness 
 and at once stepped through into a room just as 
 light as the other was dark. Inside, lolyn paused 
 to look round. At a broad, low window sat a little 
 wizened man, clad in a coat a world too big for him : 
 a coat which had once been a brave one, but which 
 now was sadly stained with snuff, hard wear, and 
 much beer. On his head was stuck a ragged bob- 
 wig and on his nose a pair of horn spectacles, for on 
 his knees he held a bulky volume, labelled with a 
 title then famous in every stable in England, "The 
 Masterpiece of Farriery," by Gervase Markham. 
 
 " Aye," said Ned to lolyn, as he indicated the 
 one whose spectacled eyes were staring at him over 
 the tome. " This is th' doctor 'at's tending Mere- 
 dith. He're used to be a bit of a cow doctor, an' 
 he's getten a book theer 'at he studies out of afore 
 he tries aught fresh on his patient." 
 
 " Duw ! " exclaimed lolyn in swift grief as he 
 thought of what Meredith must have suffered. 
 
 Ned caught his meaning and took it up. " Aye, 
 lad ; but what wouldst thou ha' said if we'd done 
 naught, an' so letten him dee for th' want of even 
 so little as a cow doctor can do : What ? "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 221 
 
 ' You are right ! I should have said hard things. 
 But let me see him now. I am heavy to see him : 
 show me." 
 
 The doctor laid down his volume and got up. 
 ' This way," said he, leading to where a great sheet 
 of canvas, which had been a ship's sail, hung across 
 the farther end of the room. Drawing this quietly 
 aside he motioned them to step beyond, and lolyn, 
 first and eager, could not suppress another excla- 
 mation of grief as he found himself bending over a 
 rude bedstead, whereon was lying the still and 
 wasted form of Ithel Meredith, lord of Pres- 
 gwyn. 
 
 "Och! och!" he broke out under his breath. 
 " Oh! to look at him and to think of the man that 
 bowed good-bye to Mari." He took the thin hand 
 in his own, wondering the while that the eyes did 
 not open. 
 
 " Nay, he'll not waken," said the doctor. " He 
 was in some pain, so I gave him a sleeping mixture. 
 He'll be better when he rouses agen; but that'll 
 not be this side of dark, for I gave him the same 
 dose as a thoroughbred horse him being a gentle- 
 man." 
 
 4 The same as a horse! " lolyn laughed wearily. 
 But half-way in the laugh he caught his breath.
 
 222 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " And will he live ? Do you think he'll live ? " he 
 went on eagerly to both. 
 
 " Yes, he'll pull through now all right; especially 
 since it seems he'll have a friend to unburden his 
 mind to ; for that has been as much against him as 
 the bullet almost." 
 
 " Aye," put in Ned. " Never fear. If thou'd 
 seen him five days sin' thou'd ne'er be feeart for 
 him ony moor. Aw said then 'at if he poo'd 
 through that he'd live forever. Yigh; he's wo'th o' 
 th' dyed uns 'at e'er were buried." 
 
 lolyn wrung his hand with a grip that fairly 
 astonished the caustic Ned. ' Why, lad, thou'st 
 getten a gradely gripe i' thy hond. By th' mass! 
 if thou con no'but get that gripe on Chapel's 
 throttle aw reckon he'd be fain to swop it for my 
 clogs, even." 
 
 The other grinned weakly while he took a gentler 
 clasp of the doctor's hand. " If there is anything 
 that I can ever do!" said he, trying to brace the 
 tremor in his voice. " If money, or fighting, or 
 anything else, can help you after this 
 
 " Say naught moor just yet, lad," broke in Ned. 
 " Happen we'st want moor nor thou bargains for. 
 Aw reckon tha' has a good notion o' what we are, 
 here?"
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 22$ 
 
 " I care not what else you are to other men. To 
 me you are the men who nursed my best friend 
 bar Pengraig. That wipes out all scores with me." 
 
 " It's a pity th' judges are none o' th' same opin- 
 ion," answered Ned drily. " An' agen, thou'rt 
 forgettin'. Aw geet my pay afore Aw did a hond's 
 turn for him. Lad! he bargaint to gi'e me two 
 guineas for showin' him th' road to a crossin', an' 
 then, though he were weel sure 'at Aw'd betrayed 
 him, he wouldno' break his word. ' Here is your 
 money ' says he that's th' mak' of a mon for me. 
 
 " An' aw'll tell thee what. If he were weel an' 
 hearty tomorn Aw'd rob him if Aw could though 
 he'd be a wick un to try that gam' on but Aw'll 
 see John Chapel i' hell afore Aw'll let him or ony- 
 body else do an ill turn to th' lad while he lies 
 theer like that." 
 
 lolyn extended his hand again but Ned drew back. 
 
 Nay; thou's yerd naught yetton about how th' 
 lad coom here. Thou axes naught." 
 
 I have no need. John Chapel did it." 
 
 " Aye, but why ? " said Ned. 
 
 " Didn't he tell you ?" 
 
 " If he towd aught at o' he towd it to th' Narker. 
 Aw yerd naught, an' th' Narker' s dyed an' connot 
 tell us aught," returned Ned in a puzzled tone.
 
 224 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO. 
 
 "Well, what guess do you make?" asked 
 lolyn. 
 
 " None. There was a papper on th' lad, an' th' 
 doctor here read it out to us, but it were no' but a 
 business letter. We could mak' naught on't, 
 'speshly as th' Narker had said when he fust come 
 to me about th' job 'at this were a Government 
 affair, an' 'at if we could capture this lad bout 
 (without) hurtin' him we should get our pardon fro' 
 th' King hissel'. We did it a thisen " and Ned 
 ran rapidly over the history of the waylaying of 
 Ithel, as we know it, up to the kicking of John 
 Chapel. " An' at th' after Aw'd done puncin' 
 him," continued the narrator, " Jone o' Fidler's 
 went through him as he lee an' we found ninety 
 gowd guineas on him: so tha' sees we'n bin weel 
 paid aforehond for what we've done since for th' lad. 
 
 " Nay, bide a bit till Aw tell my tale out. At th' 
 break o' day, th' doctor here, comin' whoam fro' 
 prowlin' on th' Manchester road, drops across th' 
 lad in a ditch. If he'd met him wick an' whol' 
 he'd ha' brought him to a stond for his brass, but 
 findin' him so nee done for he thought he'd try his 
 hond at doctorin' him up agen. So he brought him 
 here. 
 
 " Noggin an' Jonty were for finishin' him off an'
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 22$ 
 
 havin' done wi't, but when Aw fund it were th' 
 same lad Aw towd 'em Aw'd punce 'em a bit if 
 they didno' mak' a less din. Then we had him 
 into this bed an' geet th' owd doctor a book for to 
 study in, an' he picked up a wig fro' somewheer 
 he says a mon con study better wi' a wig; wigs 
 keepen th' brain moor equal he thinks an' so we've 
 done what we con fro' that time to this. 
 
 " Nay, howd on a bit," for lolyn would have 
 interrupted with thanks and queries " A neet or 
 two after, this same Chapel turns up agen at th' 
 ferry an' tries to buy Jone o'er. Jone stowed 
 him off an' coom away, but he ne'er towd me about 
 it till Noggin spoke ; for Noggin had been hid close 
 by, unknown, an' yerd it o'. That's why Aw'm 
 none trustin' Jone o' Fidler's till Aw've bin an' 
 seen him agen. 
 
 " An' now let's yer what thou has to say ? " 
 
 What lolyn had to say did not include any ex- 
 cuses for Ned's conduct either in guiding Meredith 
 into the trap or in tending him afterwards. He let 
 one balance the other so far as words went, and 
 simply said, " I suppose you know by this time that 
 Meredith was mixed up with this affair of Prince 
 Charles Edward's ?" 
 
 " So likely: he's just that mak' of a lad! " 
 15
 
 226 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ' Well then, since this retreat things are altered 
 and we shall have to get him away from here as soon 
 as ever it is possible to move him." 
 
 " An' that'll be mony a day, yetton an' besides, 
 which way is he to go ? Th' roads are swarmin' wi' 
 redcoats," answered Ned. 
 
 " He must go into Wales and we'll take him by 
 water. Meanwhile the thing is to make sure of 
 Fidler. Can you manage him ? " 
 
 " Aw'm hardly sure, he's one o' that mak' 'at 
 saves every penny. He doesna' rob for summat 
 to keep him alive or because he con do naught else, 
 like th' rest on us. He robs for th' sake o' havin' 
 more brass to hide an' think o'er. But Aw'll do 
 what Aw con by th' Mass Aw'll cob him into th' 
 river if Aw con do no other gate." 
 
 " If money will do it," said lolyn eagerly; " then 
 tell him he shall have forty guineas the day we are 
 safe out of this." 
 
 " Aw'm feart yon Chapel 'ud gi'e double and 
 buy him o'er our yeds a-that gate," returned Ned. 
 ' What makes yon Chapel so keen on ? Govern- 
 ment chaps are none so keen every day even for 
 rebels." 
 
 ' You are right this is a private affair." 
 
 " Oh! Well, as Aw were sayin', Aw lippen Aw
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 22/ 
 
 could do best wi' Jone Fidler bout brass. But it's 
 different wi' these chaps inside; they mun oather 
 ha' brass or else goo out and look for some. Now, 
 th' doctor here fund forty odd guineas on th' lad, 
 but him an' me we kept it quiet 
 
 " Never mind, use it if you can do any good with 
 it," broke in lolyn : " and I've got as much again if 
 that will help you at all." 
 
 " Nay, lad, steady a bit. Keep that forty o' thine 
 for another day; we're none gone yetton. An' 
 here, put thee this t'other forty o' th' lad's i' thy 
 own pocket too for a while, an' Aw'll bargain wi' 
 th' chaps for them to ha' so mich apiece when it's 
 o'er. Then a couple on us mun go an' talk to Jone 
 o' Fidler' s " 
 
 Just at this moment the door opened and Jonty 
 stuck his head inside. "Weesch! Ned! We con 
 yer summat outside."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 NED looked quickly and questioningly at lolyn, 
 but the lad's " Are we even too late with Jone Fid- 
 ler already ? " showed him at once that no treachery 
 was there. 
 
 " Stond ready," he whispered to the doctor, who 
 instantly drew a pair of brass pistols from beneath 
 the flap of his waistcoat and faced the window. 
 Then he led the way back into the dark room again. 
 "Dowse that fire!" commanded he beneath his 
 breath to Noggin. 
 
 Scarce was this done than they heard a hasty step 
 outside, retreating from the door. Then a slight 
 hiss became distinctly audible and before Juddie 
 could more than finish his whisper of " Ecod ! what's 
 that?" a deafening explosion burst in the door, 
 with part of the wall as well. 
 
 'Th'sodiers! by th' mass!" ejaculated Jonty, 
 and as if in answer there came the sound of heavily 
 booted feet crashing over twigs and brambles, and 
 a clamour of shouts in a foreign tongue as in 
 through the gap burst a throng of Hessian soldiers.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 229 
 
 Instantly the room was lit and deafened by a 
 simultaneous volley from the five within. Four of 
 the foremost Hessians piled in a writhing heap upon 
 the floor, and a second volley immediately added 
 three others. Then as the rest hung hesitating at 
 the door, Ned seized a blunderbuss from somewhere 
 in the dark and emptied it into the throng. 
 
 With wild cries of dismay they broke and fled 
 back into the thicket, but hardly had the five time 
 to reload than the doctor's voice was heard shout- 
 ing, " This way, a couple of you ! " 
 
 Dashing in to his help lolyn and Ned saw that the 
 window was smashed inwards, while half-a-dozen 
 muskets were thrusting through and firing wildly 
 at the opposite wall. The doctor was coolly kneel- 
 ing under the window, pistols ready, and now, as a 
 couple of the most eager of the Hessians leaped in, 
 he put a pistol up to each body and shot them from 
 where he knelt. At the same moment Ned pulled 
 loose with both pistols into the crowd of heads, 
 while lolyn, who had seized a blunderbuss from 
 Noggin as he passed, sprang with a mad laugh to 
 the window and fired right along the faces of those 
 nearest. Here, too, the repulse was as complete as 
 in the other room and weapons were swiftly re- 
 loaded against another attack.
 
 230 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Up to this every advantage save that of numbers 
 had been with those inside, but now the Hessians 
 were warned of what they had to expect and so 
 became more wary. This turned the odds com- 
 pletely, for the bush was dense right up to the very 
 eaves of the house, which again was a mere patch- 
 work of driftwood, logs and thatch. Fire would 
 lick it up like a stack of faggots and the bush gave 
 complete cover to anyone applying it. 
 
 Ned knew it well. ' They'll burn us out if we 
 tarry here," said he at once. He turned to the 
 darkest corner of the room, just beyond the inner 
 door, and seemed to drag down the wattle . wall. 
 Then he flung open another door behind it. 
 " Come lads, we mun be shiftin'. Doctor, thee an' 
 Jonty lap yon lad up an' carry him out this gate. 
 Juddie, thee tak* th' lanthern an' show 'em a leet 
 through th' tunnel. Noggin, thou'll go fust wi' 
 thy pistols ready, while me an' lolyn keepen this 
 eend till yo' getten clear off. Hei yo' ! " (Hie you!) 
 
 Hastily rushing to the bed the doctor wrapped up 
 his patient in the blankets. Then, placing him on 
 a rude litter which had evidently been used before, 
 he and Jonty came swiftly back with their heavily 
 drugged burden to where Juddie stood ready with a 
 lanthorn to light them.
 
 231 
 
 - Already the fire had been applied outside and by 
 this time the crackling of flames overhead betok- 
 ened that the thatch was well alight. As the litter 
 and its bearers disappeared Ned spoke. " It's a bit 
 of a tunnel through a shouther o' this hill. About 
 forty yards on an' then dayleet an' a path to th' 
 river. We ha'n a boat theer. " 
 
 They two stood at guard, each with a belt full of 
 extra pistols and a double-loaded blunderbuss in his 
 hand ; for the place was a veritable armoury. Then 
 a sound of shouts and shots came through the tunnel 
 behind them and straightway Ned turned. " Come 
 on," he shouted. ' Jone Fidler mun ha' shown 
 'em. Couch!" (Stoop!) 
 
 The floor was smooth and the two went swiftly. 
 
 The exit had indeed been betrayed and the 
 three men with Meredith had all dropped at the 
 first volley, fired by a party ambushed not four 
 yards away. But Noggin had escaped the first 
 blast, and was now fighting with the stubborn 
 courage of a bull-dog, surrounded by the Hes- 
 sians. 
 
 Help came too late to save him, though not to 
 avenge him. Not a shot was wasted; not a tricferer 
 
 o oo . 
 
 pulled save at arm's length range, and the two who 
 fell to the blunderbusses fell almost blown in twain.
 
 232 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 The pistols followed instantly, each with its mass of 
 slugs, while the bidogan in that red right hand was 
 like lightning in its stroke. The soldiers had been 
 a dozen in ambush : three only escaped to rejoin the 
 ranks where the rest of the troop came crashing 
 through the bushes towards the sounds of the 
 firing. 
 
 " Come lad! look to thysel' now! " shouted Ned, 
 starting to run. 
 
 But lolyn was stooping to lift Meredith. " Not 
 without him," he muttered as he lifted the blan- 
 keted form. 
 
 Ned, looking back over his shoulder, saw the sight 
 
 and stopped irresolute. 'Well I'll be d d! 
 
 He'd sooner be kilt ! An' Aw'm to be slain, too, for 
 o' he'll drop that. Well, here gwos. " * 
 
 With the word he dashed back and seized the 
 loaded musket of a dead soldier. At that moment 
 the officer leading the Hessians appeared in view. 
 Instantly the report of the musket rang through 
 the wood, and the officer pitched headlong down 
 the slope. 
 
 His fall checked the whole line, and the men drew 
 back for an instant deeper into the shelter of the 
 
 * In the same way that stone makes " stwon " instead of " stooan " : 
 bone, " bwon," etc.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 233 
 
 thicket, from whence they began a wild blind fusil- 
 lade, which could hurt nothing because they dared 
 not come out to take aim. 
 
 " This road now! " cried Ned to lolyn. " Mind 
 thy feet : it's narrow underfooht. We s' do 'em yet 
 if we looken sharp." 
 
 Evening was just beginning to gloom and the path 
 was one only for those who knew it. What with 
 this and the check given to the Hessians, it was 
 speedily apparent that the two were gaining ground, 
 even in spite of the burden which lolyn carried. 
 But soon they came to the outermost fringe of the 
 thicket at a point where the open ground stretched 
 away, for some two fields' breadth, between them 
 and the marsh. Here the going was so much better 
 that they had won three-fourths of the way across 
 before a great shout from behind told them that 
 they were discovered. 
 
 "Aye, stond and skrike ! " quoth Ned with a 
 grin. " Stond and skrike for about another two 
 minutes, an' then yo' may stond forever for o' th* 
 catchin' of us yo'll do." 
 
 But the pursuers had no intention of standing 
 and shouting. As fast as their heavy jack-boots 
 would allow, they ran down in full cry ; each man 
 of them pantingly eager to win the price which a
 
 234 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 wild scream in their rear was proclaiming on the 
 heads of all three fugitives. 
 
 "Oh, if Ithel were but well enough to run!" 
 ground out lolyn between his clenched teeth : " then 
 I would stop that screaming for ever. That is John 
 Chapel egging them on and yet I am forced to run." 
 
 " Aye, an' yon's Jone Fidler, showin' 'em th' 
 gate (road) and yet Aw'm forced to run too," an- 
 swered Ned. " But here we are at th' edge o' th' 
 moss (marsh). Now keep close, an' step wheer Aw 
 step, foot for foot, an' when they tryen to follow 
 thou'lt yer 'em splash in o'er th' yed; for even Jone 
 Fidler knows naught o' this path." 
 
 Two hundred yards or so in front of them swelled 
 a green knoll, making a firm island some two or 
 three acres in extent, and towards this Ned was 
 heading by a seemingly zig-zag and haphazard line. 
 When as yet they had still some forty yards or so 
 to cross, however, a babel of new cries rose at the 
 edge of the marsh behind them. 
 
 ' What did Aw tell thee ? " chuckled Ned again. 
 " An' this bit of a knowe i' th' front once we 
 getten to that we're safe. Con t' last so furr wi' 
 thy bor'n ? " (burden). 
 
 lolyn nodded, he had no breath left for speech. 
 Ankle, nay, half knee deep, he ploughed along
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 235 
 
 with his burden, and Ned, glancing at him over his 
 shoulder, broke out with deep approval. 
 
 " Lad! thou'rt built as fine as a woman an' yet 
 thou'rt as strong as a horse, an' tha'rt all o'er a 
 bulldog. By th' mass! Aw'd like to see thee at 
 Ovvdham Wakes or Rachda' Rushbearin', for there's 
 some rare lads theer for feightin'. But just another 
 strid' or two an' then ! " 
 
 With the last word they stepped out on to the 
 firm ground of the island, whose gentle crest swelled 
 up from right under their feet. The edge o' dark 
 was falling lower and lower as they panted up, and 
 mist wreaths were already filming over the wet waste 
 as they paused at the top ; one to rest and gasp for 
 breath, and the other to look behind. 
 
 A sharp oath of anger from Ned caused lolyn to 
 turn and look also. Then his dry lips parted in a 
 savage grin as he beheld some half dozen Hessians, 
 led by the unmistakeable figure of the ferryman, 
 filing across by the very path they had just quitted. 
 
 " Oh then, Jone o* Fidler's, " began Ned, grimly 
 apostrophising the figure approaching. " Aw begin 
 to know thee better. Pause ! Aye thou wert olez 
 a fause 'un but Aw never thought thee as fause as 
 thou shows thysel' now. Yigh, Aw'll own up, Jone, 
 thou had us o' for fools, for thou mun ha' watched
 
 236 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 us neet after neet to larn that path; an' that too, 
 when thou knew weel what we'd ha' done if we'd 
 fund thee. 
 
 " An' now thou'rt usin' what thou larnt. Aw've 
 yerd say 'at whatever it is a mon wears (spends) 
 time i' larnin' it'll com' in useful some day. And 
 so will this larnin' o' thine, Jone; for it'll save thee 
 fro' o' sickness or doctor's fees. 
 
 " Aye, that's reet, come thee forr'ad, Jone, owd 
 lad an', by Him that made me!* Aw'll gie thee 
 sich a welcome as'll do thee forever! " 
 
 During this speech lolyn had taken his burden to 
 lay it down on the farther slope out of the possible 
 line of fire. When he came back Ned read his 
 face, and answered it instantly. " Aye, we mun 
 feight it out here. There's no'but th' hauve a 
 dozen foreigners an' one dal'd Judas. We'll mak* 
 as if we were feeart, an' run this twothri steps o'er 
 th' top as if we ne'er would stop agen. Then as 
 soon as we're out o' th' sect we'n check an' couch 
 down. That way we s' surprise 'em, for they'll 
 come o'er this knowe like schoo' lads. Then we'n 
 let into 'em." 
 
 Suiting the action to the word, there was scaicely 
 
 * Another common form of oath in the same districts as " by the 
 mass ! "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 237 
 
 time for more than to reload musket and blunder- 
 buss as they lay waiting, before they heard the pant- 
 ing of their eager pursuers racing up the slope. 
 
 ' John Chapel is not with them," muttered lolyn 
 savagely. " I saw the cur jackanaping and snarling 
 on the edge of the marsh but never daring to fol- 
 low." 
 
 Then the fleetest of the Hessians showed their 
 faces over the rise, and the two stretched up and 
 fired, muzzles touching, into them. Both pistols 
 next, and then the two hindermost of the soldiers 
 turned and fled in panic at such a deadly ambush, 
 leaving their comrades lying on the sward, gasping 
 and dying. 
 
 But one; the one who had guided them; Jone o' 
 Fidler's Ferry; had come to his last action in this 
 world. Surprised as completely as the rest, he yet 
 recognised in the same flash that for him at least 
 there was no fleeing back. He was the hindermost 
 of all, but he kept straight on for Ned, hands spread 
 to catch a hold. 
 
 Ned dropped the pistol and stooped forward. 
 " Aw gan thee fair warnin', Jone!" he cried. As 
 they came within reach both darted out the grip, 
 but Ned was quickest and with a clutch of the 
 ankles turned the other full length backwards down
 
 238 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the slope. Then, swift as lightning, he leaped and 
 kicked just as the head of Jone touched the ground. 
 The heavy, iron shod clog struck him fairly in the 
 temple with a crash of shattered bone : one single 
 shudder ran through the frame and stirred the limbs, 
 and then Jone Fidler's corpse lay still and white; 
 while still, and white, and tenderly upon it, shone 
 softly down the evening star's first ray. 
 
 " Aw gan thee fair warnin', Jone, an' Aw've kept 
 my word," said Ned o' th' Cloof, in -grim quiet, to 
 the thing at his feet. 
 
 Then turning to lolyn. ' We're safe, at last. 
 Aw'm th' only mon left livin' now 'at knows his 
 way through this moss."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 WHERE the other slope of the green island met 
 the marsh again, it was fringed by a belt of catkin 
 willows, strong and pliant. ' We'n cut another 
 litter out o' yon," said Ned. " It'll tak' us bwoth 
 o' our time to get through wi' this lad, even if we 
 ha'n saved him so far." 
 
 Few minutes sufficed for the fashioning of the 
 litter and then the two lifted their burden and set 
 forth anew by a path which even Ned was dubious 
 of. ' Yon poor owd doctor made a good job o' 
 sendin' this bur'n o' ours to sleep," said he as they 
 floundered forward. " An' it's well he did," as he 
 slipped to his knees in the mud. 
 
 " Is there much more of this ?" demanded lolyn 
 in savage anxiety. 
 
 " Nay, we s' come on a water lane i'now: th' 
 one we keepen th' boat in." 
 
 True enough they presently entered a patch of 
 tall reeds and dwarf willows, and pushing through 
 these Ned checked upon the edge of a livid strip of 
 stagnant water, which in the closing darkness
 
 240 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 looked like the tongue of some foul pestilence, 
 whose breath was the clammy vapour reeking up 
 from the miles of rotting reeds and ooze. 
 
 " Steady now," said Ned, as he stepped aboard 
 the boat at his feet. 
 
 Carefully following, lolyn breathed a great sigh 
 of relief as they laid their burden down upon the 
 thwarts. " Ah! he'll rest easier now. Thank God 
 he did not wake while we were carrying him. That 
 would have torn him to pieces." 
 
 Ned was busy pushing off and as they went 
 along the lane the other could see, by the light of 
 the stars and the reflection of the water, that the 
 boat also was a nondescript of the thieves' own 
 building, like the house still blazing redly against 
 the bluff behind. Almost flat bottomed; its gun- 
 wale was yet so high above the thwarts as to look 
 like the bulwarks of a miniature ship, so that it 
 would not leave much of any occupant in view. 
 Moreover its timbers were of stout oak, and more 
 than one bullet scar was plainly visible to witness of 
 hot work seen at some time or other. 
 
 "Aye," said Ned, divining the thoughts of the 
 other: " we used to tak' this boat when we went 
 down to see if there were aught to be getten from 
 among th' ships by Liverpool. Yigh, it's bin i'
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 241 
 
 some roogh jobs, but Aw reckon it's done its last 
 do o' that mak',' ' ended he mournfully. 
 
 No more was said as they pulled or poled along, 
 until at length they emerged from the reeds into 
 the river proper. This was the Weaver and 
 they continued down it till they opened the wide 
 estuary of the Mersey itself and Ned drew in his 
 oars. 
 
 " Which way now ? " said lolyn. 
 
 " Nay, lad, thou'rt th' gaffer now. In that moss 
 we'n just left: in that house 'at's brunt beheend 
 us; or up at Fidler's ferry, Aw were th' gaffer of o' 
 'at coom. But Aw'm nob'dy now; Aw've noather 
 kin nor come-fro' ony moor. Aw'm not talkin' 
 o' my feyther's house and folk, for sich a gallows- 
 wastrel as me can ha' naught to do wi' a feyther 
 or a gradely whom'. But whom', an' friends an' 
 country are what Aw've just lost, for yon 'at 's 
 brunt, an' thoose 'at lien slain, an* that stretch o' 
 moss and forest 'at Aw cornt go back to, were o' 'at 
 Aw had by way of ony o' th' three. 
 
 " 111 as they were, Aw had no better, an' Aw 
 thought as well on 'em as Aw could me 'at should 
 ha' been hung lung sin' for no'but th' first o' mony 
 things Aw've done. 
 
 " But it's o' ended wi' now, an' so, lad, thou'rt 
 16
 
 242 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 th' gaffer fro' this on. It's thee at mun say wheer 
 we gwoen. ' ' 
 
 For answer lolyn reached his hand across and 
 over the inert form of Meredith they two shook 
 hands in unspoken compact. 
 
 As they dropped the clasp, Ned at his forward 
 thwart picked up and stepped the mast and rigged 
 the low lugsail it carried. 
 
 ' We want to get to Wales," said lolyn, as he 
 shipped the rudder. " We can't cross the open sea 
 in this boat and so we must get a passage in some 
 coaster out from Liverpool. There may be difficulty 
 in that and there may be none; but if our guineas 
 won't bribe a captain then our pistols must per- 
 suade one. So we'll hold down the river and board 
 the likeliest." 
 
 Ned was a perfect pilot and his skill was of all 
 advantage as he took the helm, for the tide was just 
 swelling to the full against them. Behind them 
 slowly opened the silvery fan which white armed 
 Luna lifted in the heavens to herald her own gracious 
 rising, and presently, all full and soft the tender 
 smile of Night's white queen uncurtained to the 
 world, and the glamour of it stole along, past and 
 ahead of them, to wash with sweet enchantment all 
 the eerie reaches of the whispering river, and to
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 243 
 
 break in dim auroras on all the elfin outlines of the 
 spectre ships at anchor. 
 
 The new light enabled the voyagers to judge 
 better what vessel appeared most suitable to steer 
 for, but it was not till they had passed the port 
 that lolyn at length decided. Here, farthest down 
 the river and well over to the Cheshire shore, was a 
 good sized coasting smack, bearing no sign of life. 
 
 " Aye," commented Ned, as they pointed for her 
 quarter; "but keep a pistol handy, for they'll 
 tumble up from below like whelps from a wisket 
 (basket)." 
 
 As they came close enough, however, lolyn read 
 the name, " Myvanwy. Rhuddlan," and he felt 
 at once that the thing was half done. " She's 
 Welsh, and no Welsh skipper will refuse us, I 
 know." 
 
 Nevertheless, hardly had they leaped aboard, 
 Ned with a looped line to drop over the nearest be- 
 laying pin, than a great shaggy head with a forked 
 red beard popped up from the cabin hatch. 
 
 One glance and then the captain's body followed 
 as he sprang nimbly up with a drawn knife in his 
 hand and a furious " Cotsplut ! " choking out 
 through his hairy lips. 
 
 But lolyn was already well into a speech in
 
 244 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARXO 
 
 Welsh. " Ah! Shon Goch! then I've found you at 
 last. Diaoul ! but I've been looking for you all 
 along the river. I wanted a passage to Rhuddlan 
 and here you have very nearly missed this tide. 
 Still, if you brisk about a bit ; lively ! but give me 
 your hand, Shon Goch." * 
 
 This guess at the name, safe enough in view of 
 that red shock of hair and beard, worked like 
 magic. The tone helped also, and the captain 
 stopped short, his knife lowered, as he answered 
 in a relieved voice, "Splut! I thought you were 
 river-pirates. But I don't remember you." 
 
 " No and I have not time to stop and explain. 
 Here; give me a hand here to help our passenger 
 aboard. He is sore wounded and we want to get 
 him home to his own country." 
 
 " Och! and how did he get his hurt ? " said Shon 
 Goch pityingly. 
 
 ' Under the white cockade. That is why I came 
 to you, for it is well known that you love the White 
 Rose of Arno." 
 
 " Och, sure! and of what family is he ?" 
 
 " Meredith of Presgwyn." 
 
 " Presgwyn ! that is enough. And we'll have him 
 down to my cabin at once. So, gently now. 
 
 * Shon Goch = John the Red.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 245 
 
 Steady; steady," for lolyn was already lifting the 
 burden over the rail where Ned and the Captain 
 stood ready to receive it. 
 
 Hardly was Meredith laid gently in the bunk than 
 Shon Goch was back on deck, swearing and brisk- 
 ing about as he ordered his crew of two men to be 
 lively in getting under weigh. The two rushed to 
 get up the anchor, while Ned lent a hand to the 
 Captain at the halyards, and the clank of capstan 
 and the whimper of sheaves were like music to 
 lolyn's impatience. 
 
 Then he jumped to take the skipper's place with 
 Ned, in order that Shon might lash the tiller before 
 he sprang away to hoist the jib, with a torrent of 
 hearty profanity which told how much his heart was 
 in the work. 
 
 All in a moment, as it seemed, the anchor came 
 dripping, muddy, up; the captain was back at the 
 tiller; the jib caught ; the great brown belly of the 
 mainsail filled, and the smack swung away on the 
 heel of her own shadow as sweetly as my lady moves 
 in the minuet, while lolyn heaved a great sigh of 
 relief as he muttered to himself, " I've cheated you 
 this time ; Gwgan Maddox. And as soon as Pres- 
 gwyn is well again I'll cheat you once and for all 
 I'll cheat you of life itself."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 FROM the short chill days of December, when 
 Shon Goch steered the " Myvanwy " out of Liver- 
 pool, till well along into April, Meredith lay at 
 guess betwixt life and death, lolyn alternating the 
 while betwixt hope and fear, despite the unshaken 
 dictum of Ned that, " th' lad " would pull through. 
 " If thou'd seen him as Aw seen him first, thou'd 
 ne'er gi'e him up agen till he're buried," Ned would 
 retort to all spoken forebodings. 
 
 The case, too, was made all the worse by the 
 need for constant change of hiding places during 
 the first three months. On the morning when, 
 upon the swell of the tide, the smack came calmly 
 up to Rhuddlan, lolyn had made no more ado but 
 boldly claimed asylum for his charge at Bodel- 
 wyddan. Bodelwyddan himself, near kinsman to 
 Wynstay, had answered by immediately coming 
 down, " horse, foot, and dragoons " as Ned phrased 
 it, to carry the wounded man across the flat to a snug 
 chamber of his house, and here for a full month 
 Meredith bode, mending a little on the whole.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 247 
 
 But on a day one came from Rhuddlan with a 
 copy of the proclamation there stuck up ; a procla- 
 mation which offered no less than a thousand guin- 
 eas for the capture of Ithel and lolyn, together with 
 a free pardon to any person hitherto aiding and 
 abetting or concealing them. 
 
 Ned grinned sardonically when he heard the 
 news. " Aw see now why yon Chapel were so keen 
 o' catchin' Meredith. He'd ha' paid us fifty pound 
 and then pocketed t'other. By th' mass! Aw'm ill 
 off 'at Aw didno' punce him to t'dyeth when Aw 
 were on th' job. Aw could like some weel to see 
 him. Yigh, he'd be as welcome as t'flowers i' 
 May. Aw'd rive his dal'd yed off: him an' his 
 chettin' us. Th' Narker desarved shootin' for 
 havin' no moor wit (sense) than lettin' hissel' be 
 getten o'er by a skimp-skump of a cockney." 
 
 To have been made a catspaw of by Chapel 
 roused Ned's ire to a degree totally unusual with 
 him. No man likes to be done down in his own 
 especial line ; least of all such a stubborn craftsman 
 as he of the Clough. 
 
 Then lolyn made it worse. " Nay, Ned, it was 
 not John Chapel who would have gotten any great 
 sum, but the man he worked for that is, if there 
 was any great sum to be made. Chapel was not
 
 248 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 doing his own errand, but working for a wage that 
 another doled out to him. It is this other, too, 
 who got this price put upon us." 
 
 " Oh! " returned Ned, still more hot. " By th' 
 mass, that's wor' nor t'other. This new mon 
 didno' even tak' Chapel's risk. Dal! my fingers 
 fair itch to throttle him! Ecod! Aw'm wantin' to 
 clap een on this new boggart! " (apparition, ghost.) 
 
 " And he wants to see you if I am not mistaken," 
 answered lolyn. " It is my belief that he counted 
 on you when he had that pardon put in to anyone 
 who had helped us but would betray us now. He 
 thought a thousand guineas would fetch you at 
 once." 
 
 " An' art ta none unyezzy ? (uneasy) " returned 
 Ned sarcastically. 
 
 " He may multiply the thousand by twenty and 
 then I shall not be uneasy. If I had thought you 
 were that kind of a man I should have put the 
 bidogan through you long ago," said lolyn content- 
 edly. 
 
 "Ho! that's if Aw'd letten thee: if Aw hadno' 
 punced thee to t'dyeth first," retorted the other 
 genially. " But thou'rt reet, lad; Aw've done wi' 
 that mak' o" wark now. Aw've gan' that trade up 
 for good. Aw s' do no moor on 't."
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 249 
 
 " That is exactly what Chapel's master reckons 
 on. He thinks you would jump at this chance of 
 cutting loose from that. With the free pardon 
 you would have also a fortune to begin life with 
 again. Just what he calculates upon." 
 
 " Does he? Then he's off his horse. Even if Aw 
 were still stickin' to th' owd job Aw'd get my 
 brass i' my own way: Aw'd ha' nought gan me i' 
 onybody else's way. My own road or none. But 
 Aw didno' myen (mean) 'at Aw're done wi' hidin' 
 an' sich like. What Aw myent were 'at Aw'd 
 done wi' harmin' other folk. It's none worth while 
 to live that gate, and if there's naught else, then 
 when this business is o'er an' th' lad's getten weel 
 agen, Aw'll go back to wheer Aw were born, aye, if 
 Aw ha' to wortch at weighvin' for a livin'." 
 
 If I hear any more of your work and your 
 weaving, then you'll hear a din," retorted lolyn. 
 ' You have to share with me, for I've got some- 
 thing; enough to keep the two of us going at any 
 rate. And that is beside what Meredith will expect 
 of you when he comes round again." 
 
 " Oh! " Ned looked at him steadily for a minute 
 or two. Then, "Aw'd like to ha' a nice, quiet, 
 gradely feight wi' thee, lad. But happen tha 
 wouldno' just reetly understand Lancashire ways
 
 250 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 so Aw think Aw'll tak' a bit of a smooke i' th' 
 stead," ended he, charging his pipe with slow 
 deliberation. 
 
 But though lolyn was so free of doubt of Ned, 
 yet he fully understood the altered aspect of things 
 caused by this proclamation. All the country knew 
 that they were at Bodelwyddan ; a chance word 
 might ruin them, therefore they must shift their 
 quarters. He knew the difficulty there would be in 
 persuading Bodelwyddan himself to this, and so he 
 took advantage of that gentleman's absence from 
 home on a hunting day, and, pretending sudden 
 danger, got his charge carried away to Garthewin, 
 leaving behind all manner of apologies. 
 
 This necessary move across the brown shoulder 
 of Moelfre Isa', to the foot of its sister, Moelfre 
 Ucha', threw the wounded man back, and hardly 
 had he more than recovered when a search on the 
 upper Elwy drove them down to Dolben for new 
 shelter. Then move upon move, until at length the 
 beginning of April saw them back a second time at 
 Dolben, where Meredith so gained in strength that 
 when, in May, a final party of dragoons made search 
 along the Elwy, he could first lie out for a few 
 hours and then be taken across and hidden in the 
 great cave of the Cefn in front of the house.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2$l 
 
 Here they stayed till June was leafy over the land, 
 and here they were when there came a letter to 
 hand, brought by Peake of Perthewig, who had 
 been on a jaunt to Chester a letter which made 
 lolyn turn sullen and Ned grin. 
 
 They had heard of Pengraig's capture during their 
 stay at Bodelwyddan and had heard also that his 
 wife and daughter had instantly journeyed to Lon- 
 don in order to do what they could for him. 
 
 lolyn had then found means to let him know of 
 Meredith's escape and present condition. He did 
 not name the place where they were sheltering, for 
 fear of the letter falling into wrong hands, and so 
 was not greatly surprised at receiving a passionate 
 appeal from Mari, beseeching him to let her know 
 their hiding place, that she might come and nurse 
 the man she loved. 
 
 " Exactly," was lolyn's comment. " Just like a 
 woman ! She would come posting up here with all 
 the medicines and half the doctors in London, so 
 that the whole army could follow and nab us, for all 
 she would dream of harm. But I'll write again as 
 though I hadn't received her letter, and perhaps 
 Ithel will be well enough to move by the time her 
 next appeal comes. Once he can mount and ride, 
 then I don't mind her coming, for we can give any
 
 252 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 spies the slip and there's always Snowdon to fall 
 back upon." 
 
 But when her next letter did arrive, they were at 
 Dolben the first time, and Meredith was far indeed 
 from being well enough to mount and ride. This 
 time then he put his comment on paper as an 
 answer to her letter, and was more astonished than 
 Ned when, in her reply, she bewildered him with 
 reproaches. She did not want to wait till Ithel 
 could ride; then she would only be a burden and an 
 added danger to him. She wanted to come now, 
 while he was ill and helpless and needed a woman's 
 care. In her heat she said that she would not come 
 later if she were not allowed to come now. And so 
 on, etc. 
 
 Another set of letters passed between them and 
 then came this one which put lolyn out and made 
 Ned's tongue take wondrous edge as he alternately 
 made a grim jest at the other's consternation, or 
 apostrophised nothing in particular. 
 
 Mari had arrived at Chester, having come by sea, 
 and now from the house of one of Meredith's kin 
 had despatched a last and most pathetic appeal. 
 
 Her father had not yet been tried, she said, but 
 his trial could not much longer be delayed, and 
 both her love and duty demanded that she should
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 253 
 
 be in London to help and sustain him when he 
 should be finally brought to the bar. But mean- 
 while she was racked with anxious grief for Ithel, 
 who, she had come to fear, was slowly dying. 
 Why was the answer to her letter always the same ? 
 Why was it always hoped that Ithel would be well 
 enough to write presently, and then why did that 
 presently never arrive ? Alas ! she had begun to 
 feel that the man she loved was either dying or 
 already dead. How should a man, however se- 
 verely wounded, lie so long in such desperate case? 
 Either he would be recovered to some extent in six 
 months, or he must be surely dying which last 
 was by far the most probable case with one who 
 had to be moved continually through a wild country. 
 Her grief had preyed upon her so that even her 
 father had consented to her present journey, and all 
 spies had been baffled by her secretly and suddenly 
 taking ship and coming by sea. And now all that 
 she wanted was one sight of Ithel to assure her he 
 was yet alive for handwriting might be simulated, 
 and moreover she had never seen his handwriting. 
 She would do anything; she would go anywhere and 
 though any discomfort, hardship, or peril which 
 lolyn might deem necessary; she would submit to 
 any wretchedness and adopt any disguise he might
 
 254- FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 think fit, only she prayed him by all that could 
 move him to grant her one sight of Ithel ; to ease 
 her load thus far, and then she would go back with 
 new strength and courage to comfort and sustain 
 her father, whose position must so strongly appeal 
 to lolyn as well as herself. 
 
 The terms she used were far more potent than the 
 brief summary here set down : they were as moving 
 as a woman's heart in such a terrible position could 
 pour forth in pathetic appeal to one who had power 
 to grant or withhold the dearest boon of life. 
 
 And they moved lolyn. 
 
 Ithel had already been told, a month ago, o.f all 
 the correspondence, and had, some ten days since, 
 himself written a long and loving letter of assurance 
 to Mari in London. To this, therefore, he was now 
 awaiting an answer, with what impatience may be 
 judged when it is remembered that he was both a 
 sick man and a lover. He had no means of know- 
 ing that she had left London before his letter arrived, 
 and in the ordinary course could not expect an 
 answer for three weeks or so yet. All the same, 
 however, he was dreaming of nothing else, by day 
 or night, and now he instantly divined that lolyn 
 had heard news of Mari. 
 
 Nor could lolyn withhold the letter, though he
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 255 
 
 well knew that Ithel's first words would be a half 
 command, half entreaty, to bring Mari through at 
 once. 
 
 Ned was no support. " It's no use sayin' aught 
 to a woman if hoo's (she's) set her mind. It's no 
 use to tell her hoo'll get us o' hanged: hoo'll come 
 o' th' same, an' then when we are o' hanged of 
 a row, like three crows in a field, hoo'll skrike 
 hersel' to t' dyeth, and co' hersel' names, an' 
 then drown hersel' i' th' nearest water but we's 
 still be hangin' up like bacon flitches, for o' that. 
 Tha mun go, lad; there's naught else for it. There 
 is a chance o' thee fottin' (fetching) her through 
 bout being discovered, while if tha* does no'go, then 
 hoo'll come bout thee, and th' spies'll follow her 
 like pack gals (galloways; pack horses) followin' a 
 bell." 
 
 " Oh yes," returned lolyn discontentedly, " but 
 there's a proverb of your own that fits you now: 
 'Talk's cheap, but it takes money to buy beer.' 
 And the same here. If this had happened when we 
 were at your old place in the forest you would have 
 figured up the consequences, and hum'd, and haw'd, 
 and weighed and balanced, and offset, till one would 
 well nigh have forgotten what the debate was about. 
 Of course you were captain there, but still
 
 256 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 "An* thou'rt captain here," put in Ned with 
 a grin; "an' Aw'm takkin' no weight o' my 
 shoothers. Dal ! lad, thou wouldno' believe how 
 nice it is to none ha' to think what next, and no'but 
 to keep ready to feight if need be. Why mon, Aw 
 feel as leet i' th' heels as a two year owd cowt." 
 
 " Aye, but in your old forest den you would 
 make every man help you with his counsel and here 
 you will not even think, much less come to coun- 
 sel." 
 
 " Counsel," repeated Ned satirically. " Coun- 
 sel about a woman ! Dal ! Aw'm no scholar but 
 Aw've moor wit nor that. A mon con do naught 
 wi' a woman unless he's i' love wi' her, an' then he 
 con do aught he will if he is a mon for if hoo's i' 
 love wi' him i' return hoo'll do it for love, an' if 
 hoo's not, then hoo'll do it for pity. Now Ithel's 
 th' one 'at's i' love wi' her, an' thou connot ax him 
 to tell her not to come, for he's like another mon 
 o'ready, just wi' thinkin' 'at hoo's comin'. Moor- 
 o'er, if hoo does come it'll be just what he wanted 
 to set him up, an' i' th' inside o' two days he'll be 
 wantin' to feight wi' somebody, he'll be so fain of 
 hissel'." 
 
 ' Then you think I should go ? " said lolyn im- 
 patiently.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 257 
 
 " What arta' short on ? brass ? Aw ha' some 
 coppers left," returned Ned, with a wooden grin. 
 
 And between this cold comfort of Ned's and the 
 eager appeals of Ithel, lolyn was forced to give way 
 and start the same day for Chester.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 MARI was fully confident that in coming by sea 
 she had outwitted all pursuit, but she had not 
 fully gauged the desperate hatred of Maddox. 
 As soon as he discovered for certain that she had 
 left London, he started John Chapel and a select 
 band of Old Bailey runners to Chester; which city 
 was to be the headquarters whence they were to 
 spread over all North Wales. 
 
 Chapel himself remained within the walls of the 
 city, like a spider in his web, the centre of a net- 
 work of spies. He kept two of the best men with 
 him as a sort of body-guard, in case any of the 
 Welsh in the street should recognise him as having 
 been servant to Maddox at Wynstay. It was not 
 his outward appearance which he feared might be- 
 tray him; the scars from Ned's clogs and lolyn's 
 sword hilt insured his face, aided further by a com- 
 plete change of wig and clothing; but he knew well 
 enough that, in any moment of sudden excitement, 
 his voice would set forth his identity plain as a
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2 $9 
 
 printed writ to anyone who had ever heard it be- 
 fore. Therefore in taking the air he confined 
 himself to the top of the City Walls, where he was 
 not likely to encounter either casual Welsh country- 
 folk or drunken brawlers, the one to recognise or 
 the other to provoke him. 
 
 His favourite stretch of the wall was from the 
 Watergate to the Castle, where he could overlook 
 the green Roodee with the placid stretch of river 
 where in those days the ships came calmly up from 
 the coasts of the outer seas. Here then, on the 
 third day after his arrival, he was leaning upon the 
 battlements of the Watergate, conning the chances 
 and cursing the delay, as with an idle eye he watched 
 a sail almost as idle reaching up the river. Then 
 suddenly his chin stuck out ever so little and his 
 eyebrows brushed together to hide the steely gleam 
 of suspicion which shot from beneath them. From 
 behind that idle ship, a boat, making believe to be 
 even more idle, drew shoreward to land three people 
 on the Roodee. 
 
 " Now that's somebody wanting to appear as if 
 they were just people from the city, out a pleasur- 
 ing and now coming home. But they are from 
 that ship, and ships don't land passengers there : it's 
 either higher up or lower down when all is fair and
 
 260 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 shiplike. I'm going to watch these pretty passen- 
 gers," thought John Chapel to himself. 
 
 He never took his eyes off the party as they 
 paced, in a would-be casual manner, across the flat 
 towards him. " H'm! coming in through this very 
 Watergate," said he mentally. 
 
 "One man; ship's captain by the cut of him. 
 Got his shore clothes on : gold lace, no doubt, and 
 all green and brown with snuff and rum and sea- 
 water I'll warrant. And he's doing the gallant to 
 a couple of unprotected female passengers: that's 
 plain. Queer set out altogether. H'm." 
 
 Then as they came nearer, his shoulders mo.ved. 
 " I think; oh, I think that I've met you before, my 
 pretty little dear," whined he under his breath, 
 apostrophising the taller figure of the two women. 
 In another five minutes they were come within 
 twenty yards of the gate, and looking down, he 
 made no further doubt. " Oho ! " he began in a low 
 .whispering singsong to himself, "so it is you, my 
 dainty little mistress Mari! Oho! with your wim- 
 ple, and your fine clothes all altered and changed. 
 You thought you had disguised your handsome 
 self so cleverly with those clothes, and your dear 
 little face with that mask and those patches. It 
 never occurred to you that a man recognises a
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 261 
 
 woman by her shape and carriage more than by 
 all else. Look you, look you, my charmer! there, 
 that one little movement of the head and hand as 
 you turn to speak to that sea porpoise of a captain 
 is quite enough to betray you among a thousand 
 others. Oho ! my dearest mistress Mari. Do 
 come on ; please enter and honour this poor city 
 with your most charming presence. Don't hesi- 
 tate: that's it; enter and then; you'll lead me 
 straight to that lolyn who knocked me out of the 
 saddle and that sweet Ned that kicked me within 
 an inch of my life; the little dears." 
 
 As she passed under the gateway he turned to 
 the nearest of his two men. " Forey; follow the 
 tallest of those two women. Follow her and don't 
 let her slip; no matter what happens that's the 
 woman we've come here to watch. 
 
 "And you, Wanlon," he continued to the other; 
 " you come with me. I want you to start straight 
 away for London and carry the news to Mr. Mad- 
 dox. Tell him that I've found the girl here and 
 say that he'd better come as fast as he possibly 
 can. Come now," and with the last word he 
 started down the steps for the street and their 
 lodging. 
 
 And meanwhile Mari passed on to the house
 
 262 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 where she was to stay, and when she was shown 
 into the room which was to be hers, felt a great ela- 
 tion, even through her sadness, as she thought 
 of how cleverly she had eluded Maddox and his 
 spies. 
 
 Her letter was written next day and straightway 
 went to the nearest member of the Cycle, but it 
 was not till the last of June that lolyn received it, 
 and it was on the evening of that day that he rode 
 into Chester, dressed like a hillside farmer, and with 
 an empty pillion behind him. 
 
 Full of impotent discontent, his greeting was as 
 little orthodox as hers, who was so full of gnawing 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Do you still stick to your notion ?" demanded 
 he. 
 
 " Oh, tell me, is he still living ?" exclaimed she 
 in the same breath. 
 
 " Of course he is living," retorted he. " Why, 
 he has been sitting up these ten days " letting out 
 more than he intended. " But I can't take you out 
 there. Why, the spies 
 
 " Now, lolyn, dear, you are not going to argue 
 with me about that " she had taken his arm in her 
 two hands and was gazing into his irritably flicker- 
 ing eyes with a look he could not deny. " I will
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 263 
 
 not listen to you if you do. I know very well that 
 you would never have come in to Chester unless you 
 meant to take me back with you. Why, dear, I 
 know already that you rode with a pillion saddle : 
 so you see " and a little smile broke through the 
 pleading of her face as she saw his lips part for a 
 hasty denial. 
 
 But the words did not come ; instead he laughed 
 a short laugh ; sharp, may be, but still a laugh and 
 she read her victory in it. 
 
 A single minute had finally settled the point, and 
 five more sufficed to arrange the plan of carrying 
 it out. It had been about eight o'clock, that is, 
 within half an hour of sunset when lolyn entered 
 Chester; but the last of the great disc of molten 
 gold was hardly down behind the indigo mass of the 
 Moels, when through the Bridge Gate and across 
 the Dee there passed a pair on horseback; nowise 
 particularly to be distinguished from any pair of a 
 hundred already gone that way since morning. 
 
 lolyn, in the nondescript garments of a hillside 
 farmer, was bestriding the stout Powys nag whose 
 steadiness did not prevent his possessing both pace 
 and bottom while Mari, riding a-pillion behind him 
 with one arm round his waist, was scarlet cloaked 
 and beaver hatted, shoulder shawled, frill capped,
 
 264 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 and linsey kirtled, like any hillside wife in her fair- 
 going best. 
 
 Once across the river the nag was headed for 
 Mold and as they went lolyn kept his eyes alive 
 for possible spies and trackers. All that he saw, 
 however, was one woman riding alone a couple of 
 hundred yards in rear, with nothing noticeable 
 about her save that her horse seemed a bid above 
 the common farm-wife's cob. He drew no inference 
 from the goodness of her mount however, until, 
 having passed through Broughton and noticed that 
 she still kept the same distance behind, he bent a 
 closer scrutiny upon her through the dusk and, as 
 she passed a roadside cottage, saw the gleam from 
 its window light up a steel stirrup swinging upon 
 the off side of her saddle. 
 
 "That is a good horse to belong to a man who 
 cannot afford a side saddle for his wife," said lolyn 
 mentally. 
 
 Ruminating upon this he presently discerned a 
 light ahead of him and, coming at length abreast 
 of it, saw that it proceeded from a low hedge ale- 
 house. A sudden plan struck him. "We will 
 light down here for a few moments," whispered he 
 to Mari. 
 
 "Wrap up your face as though you had the face-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 265 
 
 ache and then follow me in and let me do the 
 talking." 
 
 Dismounting by throwing his leg across in front 
 of him, he helped Mari down from the pillion, and, 
 after hitching his horse to the shutter catch of the 
 window where he could command it with a pistol 
 from the inside led the way within. Simulating a 
 half tipsy voice he called loudly for a jug of hot 
 ale. 
 
 "Hot ale?" repeated the keeper of the house. 
 "What do you want with hot ale in June ? " 
 
 "None of your business! " retorted lolyn. Then, 
 as if thinking better of it. " But I'll tell you. 
 Can't you see that my sister here has a bad face- 
 ache? And don't you know that there is nothing 
 like mulled ale for that ? " 
 
 " Och! " assented the aleman, as he disappeared 
 to obey. 
 
 As soon as he was gone, lolyn set a seat for Mari 
 in the shadow, while he himself dangled one leg 
 from the table betwixt her and the observation of 
 anyone who might enter. 
 
 Presently, as he had expected, he heard a horse 
 halt outside and a moment after in came the 
 woman who had followed them ; walking with a sus- 
 piciously awkward stride. She sat herself down on
 
 266 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 the spere * at the opposite cheek of the chimney to 
 Mari, evidently choosing that spot so that her face 
 might be in the shadow cast by the hanging lantern, 
 which gave but a smoky light at best. 
 
 lolyn was just on the point of opening a jesting 
 conversation with her when the ale entered, hot 
 and smelling delicious. He changed his opening. 
 " Sit down and take a drink with us," said he to 
 the aleman, while he filled four mugs with the 
 liquid. " But first hand this pretty blue mug to 
 my sweetheart there in the corner; she just came in 
 as you went out." 
 
 As the woman received the gift she nodded her 
 thanks and smiled sheepishly. Then the aleman 
 took a second mug and sat down at the other end 
 of the spere from her, while lolyn bowled out for 
 himself and Mari. Just as he was about to lift and 
 lead the quaffing, however, a sudden further spasm 
 of half tipsy generosity seemed to seize him. In 
 those days a lump of sugar was a rare delicacy, 
 and accordingly he had, at a great expenditure, 
 procured a small quantity wherewith to tickle Mere- 
 dith's palate on his return. But now, setting down 
 his cup, " Wait a bit ! " he cried, as he pulled the 
 
 * A wooden bench with a back reaching sometimes a height of six 
 feet and sometimes on up to the ceiling.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 267 
 
 precious package from his coat pocket. " Here is 
 something to put velvet in the ale. Sugar! that is 
 the thing: we'll all have sugar in our ale. Here, 
 catch! " ended he, tossing a small piece to the man 
 of the house. 
 
 The man instinctively brought his knees together 
 to prevent the dainty dropping between them to the 
 floor. He caught it. 
 
 "Now you, sweetheart; catch also," went on 
 lolyn, tossing a second piece to the woman and in 
 the shadow he saw her bring her knees together in 
 the same convulsive manner as the man, 
 
 lolyn's face gathered a flicker of excitement. 
 
 Taking out another piece, " Here," said he again; 
 " a man should give his sweetheart double of all 
 good things. Catch this too." 
 
 Again the woman closed her knees to catch and 
 lolyn turned swiftly to Mari in order to hide the 
 flash he could not keep out of his eyes. Then in a 
 gentle tone; "and here, to you also, sister. 
 Catch!" 
 
 He smiled outright; a smile like the flicker of a 
 sword in firelight, as he saw her spread her knees 
 with easy movement, so as to offer a wider lap to 
 catch the toothsome fragment. 
 
 He did not waste any more of his package upon
 
 268 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 himself but straightway lifted his mug. " Here is 
 to my sweetheart in the nook of the spere," quoth 
 he as he took a long pull of the beverage, winking the 
 while at the landlord with a tigerish facetiousness. 
 
 Setting down his own mug he turned to Mari who 
 had barely tasted. Affecting surprise, " Why, your 
 face must be bad indeed if you can't drink a drop 
 of good ale like that. I see I must be jogging again 
 and get you home to be looked to." 
 
 He paid the reckoning and grabbed at the change 
 as if every second were a matter of life and death, 
 hurrying Mari out with a string of thickly uttered 
 urgings. 
 
 " Well, he is pretty drunk at any rate," quoth 
 the aleman to himself as he saw them go. 
 
 They had barely mounted when lolyn struck into 
 a brisk trot, and before they had gone three hun- 
 dred yards they heard hoof strokes behind them. 
 " Hearken to the hoofs," said lolyn over his shoul- 
 der. ' There are two horses now. I saw the sec- 
 ond coming up as we mounted." 
 
 ' The new rider is a man," answered Mari. '" He 
 came from Broughton. I saw him leave the town 
 a long way behind the woman." 
 
 " The woman," quoth lolyn. " Did you not 
 notice how she caught the sugar ? "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 269 
 
 " Not particularly." 
 
 " Oh! I thought a woman would have seen it at 
 once. That woman is a man ! " 
 
 " A man! " echoed Mari in astonishment. 
 
 " Aye; did you not notice how she closed her lap 
 to catch ? Only a man does that. That is one 
 man, and your other man from Broughton makes a 
 pair. They can't speak Welsh however, for the 
 woman-man was only guessing at my words when I 
 spoke; I could tell that by his eyes, and if the 
 other could have spoken it he would have been the 
 woman. So they are spies; Gwgan's spies; on our 
 track."
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THERE was silence between them during the next 
 
 few moments, for the news had come with such a 
 
 shock to Mari that she was scarcely able to gather 
 
 her thoughts to meet the surprise. Then at last, 
 
 ' What shall we do ? " she asked faintly. 
 
 " It would serve them right if I pistolled both; 
 as I would have done if I had been alone," growled 
 lolyn. "As it is, we'll give them the slip;, well 
 mounted and all as they are. Now listen: the 
 cross roads are somewhere not far ahead and I know 
 there is a broad place just this side where there is 
 a row of giant beeches. I will check beneath the 
 first tree; there is a good turf underfoot, and just 
 as they jog past I'll shock into them and roll the 
 nearest over. The other one I'll knock out of the 
 saddle with a pistol it will be just such a trick all 
 round as when I captured Weir and Chapel." 
 
 " God help us! " exclaimed Mari involuntarily. 
 ' You will stick fast to me," went on loiyn, as not 
 noticing the interruption; " there will be no danger 
 and nobody hurt. The trick will be done before
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2? I 
 
 you can well see how. I dare not kill them because 
 that would bring you into the proclamation, which 
 is just what Maddox would wish, to make his 
 scheme complete. He would put a price on you 
 too, and bring you to the gallows as his father 
 brought my mother." 
 
 As ever, the mention of his mother set light to 
 his madness again. But Mari felt the mighty breath 
 he drew in, and before the strident yell in his throat 
 could burst forth she had covered his mouth with 
 a soft firm hand, while in his ear she whispered 
 pleadingly, lolyn ; dear lolyn, do not give way 
 now. Remember how it pains us all and that we 
 have no one else but you to succour any of us." 
 
 He kept his lips shut and his chest strained full, 
 every sinew in his body set like iron, till fifty yards 
 were passed. Then in a great sobbing sigh he 
 loosed his breath and she felt a hot tear of baffled 
 rage. "Is my mother to wander forever?" he 
 muttered thickly. ' You cannot lay a ghost ex- 
 cept with blood, and I tell you she cannot sleep till 
 I lay her spirit with the blood of those who mur- 
 dered her." 
 
 " But they are all dead now, lolyn," answered 
 Mari softly. " The Lord God is her avenger " 
 
 " Aye; but the Lord God must use an instrument
 
 272 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 for avenging her, and I want to be that instrument," 
 broke in lolyn. ' Yea, I tell you but, hush now; 
 here are the trees." 
 
 Checking as he spoke he walked the horse into 
 the deep shadow of the first of a file of embower- 
 ing beeches, where the mould was like velvet under 
 the iron hoofs, yielding no slightest sound. Almost 
 immediately they heard the horses behind first 
 pulled down to a heavy walk and then crowded up 
 again to a sort of shogging amble, as if their riders 
 came peeringly, suspicious from losing the sound 
 ahead. lolyn gathered his horse together with knee 
 and rein ready for a dash; a long horse pistol 
 clubbed in his right hand. 
 
 The other two came on, craning forward, and in 
 the gloom which is a June night lolyn could see that 
 the supposed woman was on the farther side of the 
 road, with the new rider between himself and her. 
 " But I'll take the shine off her beaver," thought 
 he to himself with an iron grin. 
 
 Then they shogged abreast of him and with a 
 plunge of the rowels he drove his horse forward in 
 a mighty spring. 
 
 So swift, so sudden, was the shock, where it 
 quartered in behind the shoulder, that the nearest 
 nag went down right under the hoofs of the one be-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 273 
 
 yond. That one stumbled to its nose as if shot, then 
 reared upright and plunged wildly away down the 
 road, with its rider astride of its withers, scram- 
 bling and clutching at its mane in a frantic endeav- 
 our to regain the saddle. The woman's hair and 
 woman's beaver had both been jerked off, exposing 
 the cropped head of a man, while the string of gasp- 
 ing curses exploding at every jump from the scared 
 lips bore unmistakeable testimony to the sex. 
 
 As he went lolyn levelled the pistol to fire, but 
 instantly Mari threw up his hand. 
 
 "Don't, lolyn, don't shoot!" she cried implor- 
 ingly. 
 
 One moment he hesitated. " Remember what 
 you said of Maddox," urged Mari again. 
 
 He lowered the weapon. 
 
 ' Very well, Mari," snapped he, a fierce begrudg- 
 ing in his tone. " But we'll chase him at any rate," 
 he went on, urging the horse to double speed in 
 wake of the flying nondescript. 
 
 As they disappeared, "All right lolyn!" 
 growled the dismounted rider of the fallen horse, 
 dragging himself out of the ditch into which he had 
 rolled. "And all right, Mari, too. I'll not forget 
 the names of either of you. And oh ! if I only 
 knew that cursed Welsh lingo of yours, so that I 
 18
 
 274 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 could tell what else you said besides the two names. 
 But never mind; I'll make all that up and so it's 
 even better as it is. Your names'll do for Chapel, 
 I'll uphold." 
 
 lolyn checked at the cross roads, for he heard 
 the flying hoofs pounding away down the road to 
 the left. 
 
 ' That will do well enough for us," said he to 
 Mari. " We'll go on by Mold and up through 
 Rhyd y mwyn. There Elis Bryn Eithin shall guide 
 us out across the waste to Ystrad * Clwyd. The 
 spies will only think of the road, while Elis will 
 take us through between Moel Arthur and P.en y 
 Cloddiau yea, we shall do well enough now." 
 
 ' Thank God for it," he heard her repeating fer- 
 vently to herself. 
 
 He had, as he believed, effectually put an end to 
 the efforts of the spies to follow him, and so he 
 pushed on without further qualm. Skirting Mold 
 he soon reached Rhyd y mwyn and before long had 
 roused Elis of Bryn Eithin to get them a supper of 
 wholesome flummery and milk, which, together with 
 the hour's rest, did Mari a world of good. 
 
 Starting again, lolyn led the horse while Mari 
 rode; Elis guiding them by sheep trails a hand's 
 
 * Ystrad = strath.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 2?$ 
 
 breadth wide, over rock and through heather, till at 
 last the arching daylight found them in green pas- 
 tures again. The silver ribbon of Chvyd wound 
 brightly beneath their feet, and yonder in front the 
 dark wildernesses of Hiraethog were warming to 
 life under the wine of the new sun, that tinted 
 them all tawny with elusive gold. 
 
 A handshake at parting was to have been for all 
 reward to Elis, but Mari from under the frilled cap 
 loosed the embroidered ribbon that snooded her 
 hair beneath. " Give that to your sweetheart," 
 said she with a sad little blush. 
 
 " Not till she is your wife," put in lolyn promptly; 
 "for either she'll grow jealous and give you the back 
 of her beaver to stare at, or she'll worry the secret 
 out of you and then then it will be a woman's 
 secret," ended he with a significant smile. 
 
 The smile went round, evoking another hand- 
 shake, and then lolyn started forward to cross the 
 river, keeping to no path saving in so far as it might 
 lead -towards the stream. Reaching the bank he 
 mounted and pushed into the first ford that 
 offered, gaining the other bank without further 
 incident. 
 
 " And now for the cave," said he, as he set the 
 nag's head towards Trefnant.
 
 2/6 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Coming into the road from Denbigh to St. Asaph 
 he followed it till it dipped into the beautiful Glyn 
 Elwy. Here crossing Avon Elwy they turned to 
 the left up one of the loveliest glyns even in 
 Wales, and as she gazed around Mari could not 
 suppress the cry, " Oh if my father were only 
 free!" 
 
 "Ah!" answered lolyn, "this valley is indeed 
 fair enough to tempt you, yea, I reckon you would 
 wish to hide here and nurse Ithel forever." 
 
 Her only answer was a sigh of distress and 
 lolyn kept silence as they passed along the edge of 
 the level, under the beautiful hanging woods which 
 on this side, as on the other, clothed the enclosing 
 steeps with bosky robe. Then, where the river at 
 another bend opened a scene even fairer yet, he 
 followed the bridle path as it quartered down to 
 the edge of the water and up along its pebbly mar- 
 gin till he came abreast of a grove of ancient syca- 
 mores. 
 
 Stretching his hand, " This is the demesne of 
 Wigfair," said he to Mari, as he turned in the 
 saddle to look at her. " Yonder on the height is 
 the house of it the trees hide it but here in the 
 low land ; here in this grove, is Ffynnon Fair itself. 
 But come you, Mari, and look at it in the daylight;
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNQ 277 
 
 for it is deep in my mind that you'll stand beside 
 it at midnight before the days be many." 
 
 He had already reined to his right across the 
 mead that was as green as living emerald and level 
 as a floor, and before the wonder in her eyes could 
 shape itself into a question she saw, in the midst 
 of the grove, the grey walls of a ruined chapel, 
 from whence issued a purling stream of crystal 
 clearness. The roof was gone ; the stone tracery of 
 the windows was gone; the two doorways were 
 empty of oak or bar ; here and there the ivy threw 
 its green mantle over the desolate walls; and yet 
 the glamour of hoar loveliness kept it more sacred 
 still in its decay. From it no sweet toned bell 
 would ever again call weary hearts to vesper rest ; 
 only the blackbird whistling clearly from the bough 
 o'erhead might call the ploughman's mind to the 
 days that were long evanished only the lark from 
 the mead would chant the matins of that scene of 
 peace. The sad and crumbling beauty of the 
 ruined Capel Fair; Our Lady's Chapel, hallowed 
 with mystic peace all the tender scene, till the spirit 
 of it stole into the heart of Mari like the incense 
 of heaven, and she turned her face away that lolyn 
 might not see it. 
 
 But he felt the effect and without a word assisted
 
 278 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 her to dismount. Leading her inside, he yet kept 
 silent till he stood with her at the edge of a broken 
 shrine, within whose carved and masoned base 
 welled the cool deeps of Our Lady's Fountain. 
 "This," said he gently, "this is Ffynnon Fair:* 
 and perhaps you will see it again sooner than you 
 look for." 
 
 Mari knew to what he alluded, but she stood still 
 and quiet, gazing into the well, for the place was 
 holy, and she felt the peace which keeps the spirit 
 steady in sorrow or in joy. 
 
 No more was said as he led her out and mounted 
 her again, though this time he took the bridle and 
 walked beside the horse's head. For they were 
 come nigh to the end of their journey. Another 
 hundred yards or so and they found the river 
 drawing along close under the wooded slope, where 
 the glyn was narrowed to a gap scarcely more than 
 wide enough for the water. 
 
 " Here we must leave the horse," said lolyn 
 halting. ' This trail up through the wood will take 
 us to where we are going." 
 
 The top of the path led out upon a rocky point, 
 one of the two horns of the vast cliff in whose 
 breast is the cave of hiding. When lolyn reached 
 
 * Fountain of Mary. 
 
 V
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 279 
 
 the point he saw on a seat by the cave mouth the 
 figure of Ithel. He felt the tremor run through 
 the arm he supported. A few steps more and they 
 were face to face. He loosed her arm ; he heard 
 the cry of recognition and he passed on in to 
 where Ned was suddenly busy in preparing break- 
 fast. 
 
 Said he of the Clough, " He'd ha' deed, lad, if 
 thou had come back bout her."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 BUT while this happiness was in the cave, some- 
 thing occurred in Chester which boded ill for its 
 continuance. The two discomfited spies had re- 
 turned crestfallen to meet John Chapel, and were 
 more than pleased to be able to report to Maddox 
 himself instead of to his ferocious lieutenant. They 
 quite smiled with relief to find that he had arrived 
 from London ; so much had they dreaded the other. 
 
 Maddox did not stop to curse their stupidity; he 
 was learning the sleuth-hound's business better; 
 but he straightway laid information against Mari as 
 an aider of forfeited rebels, and a partaker with 
 them in the attempted murder of two of the King's 
 Peace officers. Not content with the warrant, he 
 proclaimed a reward for her arrest in a sum equal to 
 that upon her two " accomplices." 
 
 This done he gathered all the band of his crea- 
 tures and started for the mountains, while one of 
 Meredith's kin copied the proclamation and de- 
 spatched it, by the most innocent seeming of mes- 
 sengers, westward for Dolben.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 28 1 
 
 In this same ill shadowed train of circumstances 
 Elis Bryn Eithin had an unwitting share. When 
 he received the ribbon he first turned straight for 
 home, but with every step he took the words of 
 Mari drummed louder in his ear. " Give it to your 
 sweetheart." A black eye was haunting him. The 
 day was beautiful. What better day to go and see 
 Gwen Holland ? 
 
 So he sat him down and debated, with the natural 
 result that presently he was striding back with his 
 face towards Trefnant, where, in Nant Patric, quick- 
 tempered Gwen resided. 
 
 Now Gwen was bound that day for Denbigh 
 market, so never a gift came handier than this in- 
 comparable ribbon. She tied it round her neck and 
 let the embroidered ends hang down upon her 
 bosom. It was such a pretty ribbon. 
 
 But none of these things were known as yet in 
 the cave which had been the refuge of hunted crea- 
 tures from paleolithic days. Instead, Mari was try- 
 ing to thank Ned, who stubbornly refused to be put 
 on any pedestal. 
 
 " Aw'm no'but a footpad miss; though Aw've 
 never hit ony mon fro' beheend, nor took aught fro' 
 a poor chap. Aw trapped Ithel for brass an' naught 
 else; an' as for nussin' him at th' after, why, that
 
 282 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 were th' Doctor, an' how could Aw say aught agen 
 nussin' him after th' way he kept his word about 
 th' two guineas ? An' that Hessian dooment too, 
 why, Aw were feightin' for my own neck, and don't 
 yo' ne'er believe aught different." 
 
 But all three of the others were by this time smil- 
 ing so broadly that he gave it up and walked away, 
 lolyn followed him and there befel what at first 
 blush might have been the prelude to a very pretty 
 fight. Said Ned sharply, " What 'st ta bin tellin' 
 yon mak of a tale to th' lass for ? It maks a foo' 
 o' me, as if Aw reckon't to be a mon 'at ne'er did 
 an ill deed in his life." 
 
 " D'ye think I told her anything at all ? " retorted 
 lolyn, his turn now to grin. " I've better use for 
 my breath than trying to persuade a woman to 
 believe this, that, or t'other. A woman guesses some 
 tale that pleases her and a whole bench of bishops, 
 talking a whole day, wouldn't shift her belief. But 
 you'll learn these things some day. You are young, 
 yet, Ned." 
 
 " Ecod!" swore the other, his anger lost in mild 
 astonishment; " An' thou'rt a rare an' ancient owd 
 mon thysel'. What were thy address afore th' 
 Flood ? and what breed did they book thee under 
 when thou went into th' Ark ? "
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 283 
 
 " A donkey, I suppose," retorted lolyn genially; 
 and so the breeze blew over. 
 
 Ithel seemed to have gained weeks of strength in 
 the hour since Mari's arrival, as they two sat in the 
 warmer air of the mouth of the cave. Though the 
 prospect at their feet was one of such rare beauty, 
 yet mere landscape was not the thing which Ithel 
 was so earnestly pointing out to her. Instead he 
 was explaining the peculiar safety of their retreat. 
 Two paces in front of them the limestone cliff 
 dropped down a hundred and fifty feet, to the level 
 strip of mead through which the Elwy gleamed on 
 its arrowy course. Above their heads the bare front 
 rose straight as a wall into the blue, while on either 
 hand it pushed out two horns like the crescent 
 moon, sixty paces or more from tip to tip, and in 
 the centre of the hollow breast between yawned the 
 mouth of the cave. 
 
 The only approach to the latter was along a nar- 
 row ledge which stretched from point to point of the 
 crescent at the level of the opening, forming a path 
 at first barely wide enough for one person to pass 
 at a time,* but becoming broader as it neared the 
 
 * There is now a good and well made path for both ap- 
 proaches, and thick bushes protect against an ordinary slip or 
 stumble.
 
 284 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 cave, until it gave a platform of two or three paces 
 wide in front of the opening. 
 
 The easiest way to come at the cliff was that by 
 which lolyn had brought Mari ; up the wooded slope 
 from Ffynnon y Capel, but even by that, once the 
 horn was reached, the path was so dangerously nar- 
 row for the first few steps; the cliff towering so 
 straight above and dropping so sheer below, that a 
 single resolute man could there keep a company at 
 bay. The other horn was even worse if anything; 
 the broken and densely wooded craigside beyond 
 having nothing better than a goat trail leading 
 through to the outer world. 
 
 While Nature had provided the place against all 
 assaults save that of famine, it had also furnished a 
 curtain to screen it from observation. Where the 
 ledge broadened in front of the cave, the cliff im- 
 mediately below was ragged and broken for a few 
 feet down, and here green bushes clung in the crev- 
 ices, screening the path, while right in front of the 
 opening rose a long limbed oak; one branch of 
 which extended backwards as if it would take fresh 
 hold of the cliff above the entrance. 
 
 'You see that we are impregnable," ended Ithel 
 as he laid the points of their security before Mari. 
 
 But as she listened while he dwelt upon this aspect
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 285 
 
 of things, more and more poignantly did his words 
 bring up in her mind the contrast between these 
 free wilds and those grim walls of Newgate which 
 pent her father in. 
 
 Ithel read the thoughts which made her clasp her 
 hands so tightly and filled her eyes with unshed 
 tears. "Courage; sweetheart," he whispered; " I 
 shall be well now in a day or two at farthest. Then 
 we will go to London and plan some way of escape 
 for your father. Remember what Winifred * of the 
 Black Herberts did : surely we can do something 
 too." 
 
 " Ah; I do remember her, but so does the gov- 
 ernment," responded Mari with a despairing ges- 
 ture. ' The very first time I was admitted to New- 
 gate the jailer shook his keys and pointed to the 
 irons that hung and clanked about my father. ' You 
 see we remember what that other Welshwoman did 
 after the last rebellion,' said he, jeering at me; ' But 
 we know better this time.' No, Ithel; the only 
 hope lies in the clemency of the king, and you 
 know what that means." 
 
 All the new dreams in his soul could not avail to 
 shake the mournful conviction which had settled in 
 
 * Winifred, Countess of Nithsdale. She was a daughter of the 
 Lords of Powys.
 
 286 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 Mari's breast, though he continued the debate in 
 fondest terms. The shadow of the prison cell was 
 on her heart too heavy to be lifted. 
 
 But while they were thus engrossed lolyn took 
 the opportunity to depart upon an errand the object 
 of which he kept to himself. Even Ned did not 
 know that he was gone to Rhuddlan, where Shon 
 Goch was about due from a voyage to Ireland. 
 
 It was evening when he returned, and at the be- 
 ginning of the path he met Ned. There was a smile 
 upon the latter's features so dark and hard that 
 lolyn checked at once. ' What is it ? " demanded 
 he under his breath. " Is Ithel dead ? or Mari ? " 
 
 " What is it?" repeated Ned. " By th' mass, 
 lad, yon Chapel and his Maddox are rare uns. Dal ! 
 but Aw'd like to rive th' yeds off bwoth on 'em. 
 Lad! it's no'but about ten minutes sin' yigh, hap- 
 pen it's th' hauve an hour sin' there coom one o* 
 Dolben's men up here wi* a papper fro' Chester. 
 What dost think ? Maddox has getten Mari out- 
 lawed too; for that's what th' papper coom to i' th' 
 finish. 
 
 " Aw gan it to Ithel, but he went so white at 
 readin* it that naught would do but hoo (she) mun 
 ha' a look too. Just at th' first hoo seemed relieved 
 like; hoo thought it had bin some harm to him, said
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 287 
 
 hoo. He kept his een on her then and so Aw did 
 mine, for Aw knew what were written on the pap- 
 per. Then hoo begun to gawm (understand) what it 
 meant, an' we could see it getherin' in her face. 
 
 " Lad, her face was summat to see when at last 
 hoo begun to get her words out: feightin' wi' her 
 throat to help 'em come. It wer' a sort of a whis- 
 per an* hoo were tellin' hersel' 'at this papper meant 
 'at hoo couldno' go back to London; 'at hoo should 
 ne'er see her father again; 'at hoo'd sin him for th* 
 last time i' this world; an' 'at when hoo did see him 
 that last time hoo were irreverent, talkin' of hope 
 and release not of death an' askin' his blessin', as 
 hoo ought to ha' done. 
 
 " Then hoo began to say 'at it were o' her fault 
 for comin' here against our advice but by that 
 
 time Ithel had howd of her an' Aw coom away 
 
 ' Yigh, lad, Aw ne'er did want to see a mon so 
 mich as Aw want to come across oather Chapel or 
 Maddox." 
 
 lolyn's features were twitching with the intensity 
 of his excitement as he listened, and Ned could see 
 the effort which he was making to restrain himself. 
 His words however were perfectly calm and col- 
 lected. 
 
 " Where is Dolben's man ? " said he.
 
 288 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ' Yonder, at th' other point. Aw put him 
 theer for sentry till thou geet back," answered 
 Ned. 
 
 ' Then keep him there till I get back again a 
 second time," said lolyn promptly. ' There is no 
 time to lose now, and I am going to make arrange- 
 ments with Shon Goch for getting these two safely 
 beyond the reach of proclamations. Keep a good 
 guard" the last word came from ten paces down 
 the slope, where the speaker was already moving 
 away.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 MEANWHILE the web was weaving on in Denbigh. 
 In the late afternoon Maddox and two of his crea- 
 tures had ridden up the main street, with eyes keenly 
 alert, and half way along they met Gwen Bolland 
 with her finery well to the fore. 
 
 The ribbon had been a favourite one of Mari's; 
 one she had ornamented with her own needle, and 
 thus Maddox recognised it at the first glance. 
 Drawing rein, " That is a pretty ribbon," said he; 
 " What will you take for it ? " 
 
 " More than you can give," retorted Gwen. 
 
 " Come now," said Maddox; " you must let me 
 have it: I want it for my sweetheart." 
 
 " So did the man who gave it to me," snapped 
 Gwen. 
 
 " And who is he and where did he get it ? " re- 
 turned Maddox. 
 
 " A better man than ever you dare be, and he 
 bought it, and if you want to know any more go 
 and ask him he'll then give you the thrashing you 
 need." 
 
 19
 
 290 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 " Oh, will he ?" retorted Maddox. " Well I am 
 going to see him. That ribbon you are wearing 
 belonged yesterday to a farmer's wife, who left 
 Chester with her husband only last evening. They 
 were riding a brockle faced bay, with three white 
 fetlocks, and they were set upon close to Mold and 
 robbed and murdered ; the horse being shot too, 
 and I want you before the magistrate about it." 
 
 ' You lie," broke in Gwen, her hot temper blind- 
 ing her to the clumsiness of the trap. ' That 
 woman and her man went past Nant Patric this 
 very morning, when I was going milking; riding the 
 same brockle faced nag with the white fetlocks and 
 that was an hour before Elis gave me the ribbon. 
 They rode on into Glyn Elwy, too, and if you'll 
 follow them you'll find them and see what a liar 
 you are." 
 
 " But you'll have to come before a magistrate," 
 reiterated Maddox. 
 
 " Magistrate! " shaking her fist in his face. " If 
 you're not off this minute; you curd-faced rabbit, 
 I'll call the constable to you yourself for a drunken 
 highwayman only you have not the spunk to be 
 one." 
 
 By this time a crowd had collected and Maddox 
 was in a quandary. He felt sure that Gwen had
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 29 1 
 
 told all she knew and that to have her arrested in 
 the face of the crowd would turn suspicion loose 
 upon himself as a stranger: suspicion which would 
 speedily result in warning the three he sought, and 
 thus start them on some new flight. He drew in 
 his horns therefore and put his horse into motion 
 again, followed by the shrill clamour of Owen's bit- 
 ing tongue. 
 
 To shake her off he turned to his left and trotted 
 smartly through a side street till he came to Chapel 
 Street. One or two more such cuts freed him, and 
 then he immediately made his way to the house of 
 the most unpopular person in the town ; the only 
 Whig magistrate the place possessed. This indi- 
 vidual, one of no particular kin or come-fro', jumped 
 at the chance of helping to hunt down a rebel and 
 so dealing a back handed blow to popular senti- 
 ment. 
 
 He listened eagerly to all that Maddox chose to 
 impart of his errand, and when he heard that Gwen 
 had seen lolyn and Mari pass into Glyn Elwy he 
 gladdened on the trail at once. 
 
 I know just where they are," said he; "I have 
 been pretty sure of it for a long time but I could do 
 nothing here, alone, where every man is openly a 
 Tory and secretly a rebel. Moreover I can furnish
 
 292 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 you with a guide, too. He is in the lock-up just 
 now; these pig headed Tory Justices have a grudge 
 against him and want to transport him. But you 
 can bail him out. Now how many men have 
 you ?" 
 
 " I can have fifteen of them here by darkfall," an- 
 swered Maddox. ' Just wait one moment and I will 
 start off the two fellows I have with me to gather 
 the rest." Which done, he returned to draw up 
 the plan of operations. 
 
 Darkness had fallen a good hour or more that 
 night when the first of the party stole out from 
 Denbigh along the road to Henllan, where the meet 
 was to be. One by one the rest followed until the 
 whole were mustered. Then, Chapel and the guide 
 leading and Maddox bringing up the rear, they 
 moved stealthily forward along the road till they 
 descended into Glyn Elwy at the boundary of Dol- 
 ben, right opposite the cliff of the cave itself. 
 
 Creeping with wolfish cunning; keeping well 
 within the gloomy shadows of the overhanging 
 woods, they passed beyond the sleeping house till 
 they could cross the river dry shod by the Pont 
 Newydd. The soft grass underfoot gave forth no 
 sound as the guide now led the way up the steep 
 slope of the Cefn, and the dusky web of the mid-
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 293 
 / 
 summer night hid them completely from any 
 
 watcher on the cliff. Their arms were short hangers 
 and pistols, so that their coat skirts covered all, and 
 there was neither gleam nor sound of metal to be- 
 tray them. 
 
 Once on the top of the ridge they paused to 
 breathe and then Chapel, taking nine men, followed 
 silently where the guide started forward again for 
 the sheep path which would ultimately lead them to 
 the most dangerous horn of the cliff. Almost at 
 the first step they plunged into the tangle of wood 
 and scrub which there runs steeply down into the 
 glyn, and it was necessary to clutch the stems 
 and branches to prevent the feet from slipping and 
 betraying them. Then as they drew forward they 
 went with very breath abated ; feeling for each step 
 before setting down the foot, until at last they stood 
 firm on a more open spot within a dozen yards of 
 the horn. 
 
 That horn, being the least likely to be attempted, 
 had been given by Ned into the keeping of Dolben's 
 man till lolyn should return ; and this man, weary 
 with a day's hard work and lulled by the sensuous 
 summer night, had fallen asleep as he lay along the 
 ledge where it jutted farthest out. But the guide 
 knew nothing of this as he seized Chapel's hand in
 
 294 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 token that where they stood was the limit till the 
 rush itself was made. The path was plain and firm 
 from there on to the jutting nose, and so he left 
 them to wait till he should have conducted Maddox 
 and the other five round to the opposite approach. 
 
 The way of this smaller party was along the level 
 ridge above, and so within a quarter of an hour 
 Maddox found himself standing on the trail leading 
 up through the wood from Ffynnon Fair; and within 
 half pistol range of the point which Ned lay guard- 
 ing. 
 
 The signal to begin was to be a shrill whistle, 
 both parties then simultaneously to rush forward to 
 the attack. A couple of minutes to gather breath 
 and then weapons were out; the whistle sounded; 
 and with a crash of twigs the five men dashed after 
 the guide where he made straight for the point. 
 Two paces past it and the leader's legs were jerked 
 from under him as he leaped. One wild upward 
 fling of his clutching hands; one instant rattling 
 gasp of dread, and then head foremost through the 
 empty air he went down, headlong down, till the 
 dull thud of his mangled corpse came up from 
 the glyn below. 
 
 The man next behind sprang back from this unseen 
 danger. Straightway a shriek from him proclaimed
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 29$ 
 
 that he had missed his footing and he followed the 
 guide through the blackness, while Ned rose from 
 his knees and with a step forward fired his pistol 
 right into the body of the third, where he hesitated 
 at the outmost face of the point. Then as he 
 jumped to the point himself he distinguished the 
 other three hanging back irresolute in the bushes 
 just beyond. He only grinned as the balls of their 
 hasty unaimed volley whistled past him, and at two 
 paces' range his second pistol dropped the nearest of 
 them, while the others turned and flew down the 
 trail, following the craven Maddox, who had run at 
 the first shot. 
 
 For a stride or two Ned seemed inclined to fol- 
 low, but, halting, he drew another pistol and fired it 
 after the fugitives. " Aw've settlet that lot for 
 one neet, chuzhow," said he to himself in grim 
 complacency. 
 
 " Hello! " the awakening came too late. A rush 
 and a flash of light behind him, and as he whirled 
 to meet the danger a crashing blow half stunned 
 him, while in the same moment a pair of sinewy 
 arms seized him and bore him down upon his back 
 in the bushes. Instantly half a dozen hands clutched 
 him, pinioning his limbs and holding him helpless, 
 while his first assailant knelt upon his chest and
 
 296 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 pressed the cold circle of a pistol muzzle against his 
 forehead to emphasize the wolfish snarl. 
 
 " Quiet ! or to h 11 you go ! " 
 
 For John Chapel, leading his own rush, had 
 stumbled upon the sleeping Dolben man and 
 straightway stunned him where he lay. Almost 
 without pausing he had resumed the rush, leaving 
 the last two me-n to bind the sentinel, while the rest 
 followed after himself. Seeing the pistol flashes at 
 the other horn he had dashed on past the cave and 
 attacked Ned from behind, his venomous soul 
 savagely set that none of the hunted party should 
 escape. 
 
 Ned recognised his voice at once and instantly 
 shut his teeth upon the answer which was on the tip 
 of his tongue. If Chapel had not discovered his 
 identity it would be foolish in himself to betray it. 
 Neither was he disconcerted by the flash of the dark 
 lantern which shone upon him, for he knew that the 
 other had never seen his features and would only 
 know him by his voice, even as it had been with 
 himself. 
 
 Next moment however, he felt a cold chill of back- 
 set in his heart as his captors whipped a stout cord 
 round him, binding his wrists and elbows close to his 
 body. Then one of them remained kneeling beside
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 297 
 
 him, with a pistol to his ear, while the rest followed 
 their leader as he darted back to the cave mouth, 
 where the two who had bound and left the Dolben 
 man were now standing guard. With the lantern 
 held aloft Chapel turned to the left and, pushing 
 past the straw mat which served for a door, found 
 himself within ten feet of a rude table, where, in the 
 light of a single candle, sat Meredith, while beside 
 him, white with dread and yet risen as if to protect 
 him, stood Mari. 
 
 One glance at the fiendish triumph in Chapel's 
 face and she turned to her lover. 
 
 ' We are lost ! Ithel ! We are lost! lolyn was 
 right my coming has betrayed you." 
 
 Then as Ithel, too weak still to fight, looked up 
 with a world of sorrow for her in his face, she added, 
 with a cry of agony; " Oh can you can you ever 
 forgive me ? "
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 JOHN CHAPEL'S fury, when he found that lolyn 
 was not in the cave, transformed him into a howling 
 demon for the next few minutes ; and his paroxysm 
 of rage so startled his men that they forgot all else 
 in watching it. He tore into the long reaches 
 behind, panting and snapping curses, till a sudden 
 stumble jerked the lantern from his hand and left 
 him in darkness. Then he stood rolling out a string 
 of blasphemy till his subordinates had lit torches 
 of greased rushes from a pile near the table, by the 
 light of which he stumbled back again, still raging. 
 
 Sticking a pistol into Meredith's face where he 
 sat, " Tell me where he is ? " screamed he, " or I'll 
 blow your head off! " 
 
 With a shriek of horror Mari dashed the weapon 
 aside. "Oh!" yelled he; "that's you, is it? 
 Take that for meddling then; you - ! " and with 
 the word he aimed a savage blow at her face which 
 would have crushed it completely had not Ithel, 
 with a gasp of pain, risen and flung himself upon 
 the villain's throat. 
 
 ' To strike a woman ! Help me if you be men ! ' '
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 299 
 
 panted he to the rest, and two or three of them, 
 being still Englishmen, dragged Chapel away 
 towards the entrance. 
 
 ' They are prisoners," said one sternly, " but 
 they are not convicted yet." 
 
 Ho! you too," screamed Chapel with a horrible 
 sneer; " We are lawyers too; are we! But I'll see 
 you roasted alive yet for interfering with me. Ho! 
 I will!" 
 
 But the other lifted his pistol so swiftly at the 
 threat that the half crazed fool had yet sense 
 enough left to pause before arraying his own party 
 against himself. Then he suddenly remembered 
 and with a dreadful whine of " Oh, there's that one 
 we captured outside. If he won't tell us I'll cut it 
 out of him with a knife!" he seized a torch and 
 darted out again, the rest following. 
 
 Halting in front of the opening, " Bring that pris- 
 oner here! " he screamed, gesticulating towards the 
 point beyond which Ned was lying. 
 
 One of the men immediately went to obey and in 
 another minute Ned was led along between his 
 guards and placed before the man whom he had 
 aforetime punced. 
 
 ' Where is lolyn ; tell me, you gallows bird, or 
 I'll "
 
 300 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 The temptation to snatch a brief triumph was too 
 strong for Ned. " Gwon ! hours sin'. An' thou 
 '11 ne'er catch him if thou runs till thou drop's 
 dyed!" 
 
 The tone was enough for Chapel. With a gasp 
 of rage, " Oh you are the one who kicked me to 
 death nearly. Ho! I'll burn you, burn you! 
 burn " 
 
 He made a savage thrust with his torch at Ned's 
 face as he screamed the threats, but the flame made 
 the guards dodge also and like a thunderbolt Ned 
 planted a murderous kick in his assailant's abdo- 
 men. The curses broke short off as the raving 
 villain dropped like a beef under the butcher's poll- 
 axe, and a great slow groan betokened the paralys- 
 ing nature of his hurt. 
 
 The guards threw Ned upon his back again too 
 quickly for him to repeat the blow, but as they held 
 him down they heard him chuckling grimly. 
 " Happen he'll larn some day 'at a mon's feet are 
 for feightin' wi' as weel as his honds." 
 
 The unexpectedness of the blow so astonished the 
 men that they stood blankly gazing from one to the 
 other and wondering how it was done. Then all of 
 a sudden, with as little warning as they themselves 
 had given, a volley of shot belched in amongst them,
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 301 
 
 dropping three of them in their tracks, while lolyn, 
 with Shon Goch and the Dolben sentinel, fell upon 
 them like wolves upon a prey. 
 
 The movement was swift as it was deadly. The 
 Dolben man, fierce to retrieve his disgrace, leaped 
 past the other two and seized the nearest foe. That 
 one in turn clutched at the next man to save him- 
 self and in that instant all three went over the edge 
 together; growls, oaths and screams commingling 
 as they went whirling down through the black abyss 
 to the bloody mead below. Shon Goch with his 
 clubbed carbine drove down another corpse, while a 
 fourth man, firing at him with extended pistol, 
 received a blow in the neck from lolyn's broad bido- 
 gan that sent him to join his fellows in the glyn. 
 
 That one was the last, for previously lolyn, seiz- 
 ing a torch from the ground, had ripped up one in 
 the cave mouth as he rose, and then, heedless of the 
 slash that laid the side of his head and face open, 
 had driven the heavy blade into the next man's 
 brain, withdrawing the ghastly weapon in time to 
 half behead the one who had wounded Shon Goch. 
 Then his eyes fell upon the crouching figure of John 
 Chapel and the red steel lifted instantly with the 
 impulse to despatch him. 
 
 But Ned had risen to his feet. " Nay, lad,"
 
 302 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 cried he; " ston' out o' th' gate till Aw punce 
 him to t' dyeth gradely this time." 
 
 lolyn turned, lowering his weapon. " Oh! then 
 you are safe, Ned ?" 
 
 " Aye an' so are t' other two," answered he. 
 " Now ston' wide till Aw show this Chapel 'at Aw 
 dorn't need honds to kill sich a mak as him." 
 
 "Nay, Ned; neither boot nor bidogan : we'll 
 hang him ! hang him ! " the lad's voice rose in frenzy 
 with the words and Ned, noting the glare in his 
 eyes, drew back and yielded. 
 
 ' Yigh, we'n hang him wi' this rope he teed my 
 honds wi'. It comes in just reet, John," he went 
 on in iron jest to the doomed villain. 
 
 But Chapel, sick as he was, did but snarl and spit 
 at him, showing his teeth like a trapped wild beast, 
 and when Shon Goch, in spite of his wounded arm, 
 strode over to help lolyn to untie Ned's bonds, he 
 made a limp movement as if he would roll off the 
 ledge and cheat them yet by suicide. Instantly 
 Shon plumped down upon him, knocking the little 
 remaining wind out of him, and he lay, gasping 
 blood curdling curses while the others prepared a 
 noose. 
 
 Then the rope was ready and Shon Goch rose and 
 stood aside while Ned stooped to fit the cord to the
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 303 
 
 villain's neck. With a swift snap Chapel closed his 
 teeth on Ned's right hand and at the same time 
 making a mighty effort, caught him by the throat 
 with both hands, growling and shaking him with 
 dog like ferocity. Straightway with a great oath 
 Shon brought the butt of his carbine upon the side 
 of the growling jaws, smashing them out of all sem- 
 blance, and Ned lifted his mangled hand, showing 
 it streaming with blood in the torchlight. 
 ' Up with him ! " shouted lolyn. 
 They dragged the doomed man to his feet. 
 They fitted the noose to his neck. They passed 
 the rope over the limb above. "Now!" cried 
 Shon Goch, " Yo ho! heave oh!" and then the 
 body of John Chapel was swinging and kicking con- 
 vulsively between heaven and earth, paying the 
 dread penalty to which his treachery had doomed 
 so many others.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THERE was no time for lagging however. Almost 
 before the grisly pendant of the oak had ceased to 
 quiver, Ithel and Mari had been apprised of their 
 rescue, and the wounds of the three had been 
 roughly and hastily bandaged. With the same 
 speed and inspiration the lovers seemed to realize 
 that the future held but one course for them, and 
 that lolyn's argument was unanswerable when, as 
 delicately as he could, he insisted that they should 
 be forthwith married and then take ship at once 
 with Shon Goch for France. 
 
 " Mari is a virtual outlaw now and she can never 
 go back to London," he went on. ' The well 
 wedding, too, is just as binding to-day as it ever 
 was. Look through the books of pedigrees and 
 you will find shield on shield whose quarterings 
 come from such marriages. Everything is ready 
 and the curate of Henllan is waiting for us at the 
 well for so I arranged with him before I went the 
 second time to Rhuddlan for Shon Goch. 
 
 " And we must make haste before we are
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 305 
 
 attacked again ; for a troop of dragoons marched 
 into Llanelwy (St. Asaph) this evening, only three 
 miles away." 
 
 Not even one poor minute could be spared 
 wherein Mari might have endeavoured to seize and 
 possess her own soul against the surging emotions 
 of the moment. The hour brooked no delay and 
 thus at the mid of the summer night a grimly 
 pathetic procession issued from the cave and along 
 the ledge for the trail to Ffynnon Fair. lolyn, his 
 head all bandages, led the way, torch aloft and 
 weapon ready. Next came Shon Goch, arm in 
 sling, supporting Mari, whose eyes were bound that 
 she might not see the corpse which dangled in the 
 cavern's mouth, or the ghastly stain that glistened 
 underfoot. Lastly Ned, his hand tied up, more 
 than half carried the wan, weak frame of Ithel 
 surely as strange a wedding procession as ever 
 sought the altar. 
 
 With eager haste they descended through the 
 wood and crossed the mead till they reached the 
 ruined chapel of Our Lady, where the first flash of 
 the torch discovered the grey old curate beside the 
 well, standing impassively ready for the ceremony. 
 Then the two lovers took their places, kneeling on 
 the curb of the outer trench of the fount, and with-
 
 306 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 out a whisper of preliminary the parson proclaimed 
 the banns. 
 
 Three several times he cried them, the smoky 
 light of the torch turning the tinkling water at his 
 foot into a sheet of quivering fire, and making the 
 roofless chapel all eerie to the sight. 
 
 And at the last word lolyn answered, " No one 
 denies us. Proceed ! " 
 
 Then from the printed page the words began, 
 until " Who giveth this bride ? " cried the curate. 
 
 Straightway lolyn stepped to the other lip of the 
 well, his head all red in the dripping bandages, the 
 grisly bidogan flashing in his hand as he answered, 
 " I give this bride. I give her!" Then plunging 
 the blade without a splash into the water, he laved 
 it clean, crying as he did so, " No one denies me. 
 Proceed!" 
 
 ' ' With this ring' ' But Ithel did not hesitate for 
 lack of a golden band. Reaching up, he plucked a 
 tendril of the ivy which hung down over the broken 
 wall. The leaves were small upon it and interfered 
 but little as he twined it tenderly round the finger of 
 his bride,* tying it fast in a soft knot of glinting green. 
 
 * The ring is not so all important in Welsh mountain weddings. 
 The loop of the Church door key, and even a piece of string, have 
 served before now to tie two fond hearts together.
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 307 
 
 In another moment the words were ended and the 
 two drank together of the Fount of the Chapel to 
 bind them man and wife, linked in as iron a bridal 
 as ever a pair could wish. 
 
 lolyn stood fast till the rest had passed out and 
 then, as the last foot crossed the threshold, plunged 
 the torch into the water. " So may all their troubles 
 be extinguished," cried he. 
 
 " Amen! " concluded the curate from without. 
 
 Still with the same stint of time the brockle faced 
 horse was brought out again and Meredith straight- 
 way hoisted into the saddle. The curate kissed 
 the bride gallantly as he helped her up to the pillion 
 behind, and then lolyn took the hag's head and 
 struck out for Rhuddlan ; Shon Goch and Ned 
 walking one on each side to assist Mari in keeping 
 her husband from falling. 
 
 In spite of frequent rests for Ithel's sake dawn saw 
 them safely aboard and the " Myvanwy " dropping 
 down with the tide along the edge of Morva Rhudd- 
 lan. But as they passed the then tenantless sand- 
 hills of Rhyl, lolyn turned to Ned who stood beside 
 him. The other two were safely in the cabin. 
 
 Here, Ned," said he, " take the purse now. 
 There will be enough to keep you all going till you 
 can hear from Ithel's kindred for you will have to
 
 308 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 stay and look after the two of them in France till 
 Ithel is strong again. Tell Mari that I am gone to 
 see what I can do for Pengraig and Maddox. 
 
 " And now, good bye, Ned : and all that I have is 
 to go to you if anything happens to me. Good 
 bye ! ' ' 
 
 ' Thee be d d! " broke out Ned, letting the 
 
 purse drop on the deck, as he stepped back to avoid 
 it. Then he darted forward to clutch lolyn, but too 
 late, for the lad had leaped his farthest overboard 
 and was swimming for the tufted shore. One 
 instant Ned hesitated and then the strange smile on 
 the other's upturned face struck into his heart with 
 the hopelessness of any attempt to change that 
 iron-set will, and so he stood, silencing Shon Goch 
 with a word and a touch, while he watched his late 
 companion cleaving the grey waters in momentary 
 widening of the distance between them. 
 
 He saw him touch the bottom : he saw him 
 wade the three strides to the strand, and then, 
 as he gazed, the lad turned upon the top of the 
 nearest sandhill and waved his hand in final part- 
 ing. 
 
 One long look and one long stride and then he 
 had vanished into the hollow beyond. 
 
 "Lad! lad!" broke forth the watcher on the
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 309 
 
 deck: " Aw's ne'er see thee agen i' this world an' 
 Aw'd liever ha' lost a brother! " 
 
 But while Ned hesitated on deck, finally binding 
 Shon Goch to keep the secret of lolyn's leaving 
 till they should be well on their way for France, the 
 one he mourned for was lying in a gap of the 
 dunes, straining his gaze after the swelling sail as 
 the breeze caught it upon the free waters of the 
 open sea. The little gusts darkened after it, crest- 
 ing softly white the line where they reached the 
 black hull's quarter; the foam track churned in the 
 wake of her; the figures on deck dimmed and died 
 out, undistinguishable from the mass; the hull itself 
 drew down, and then only the canvas stood out in 
 the rays of the young sun of a soft summer morning 
 and still the two eyes, changeful in their light as 
 the sea they struck across, strained after it. 
 
 Then from a mere feature of the coastline, the 
 bold front of Rhiwleden * suddenly lived into the 
 picture, planting its inexorable foot forward into 
 the dark glory of ocean between the watcher and 
 the thing he watched so hungrily. " Thus far hast 
 thou beheld ; Oh mortal of brief years ! Now is 
 thy vision shut out. Turn thee and weep, for thou 
 shalt see them never more. And, yet; though thou 
 
 * Called in English, " The Little Orme."
 
 310 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 mayest find it iron-hard of belief, The High God 
 still sits immovable over ye all! " 
 
 And with a passionate cry lolyn flung his wounded 
 face forward upon his arms and wept his last tears 
 on earth.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 MEANWHILE the final tragedy had begun in Lon- 
 don, where, on the 23rd of June, the special com- 
 mission assembled in the Town Hall of St. Marga- 
 ret's to try the Jacobite prisoners. This was while 
 Mari was on her voyage to Chester, all unwitting 
 that such proceedings were so near. But it was not 
 till the 1 8th of July that Pengraig was actually 
 tried, and it was on Tuesday, the 22nd of the same 
 month, that he and sixteen other companions in 
 misfortune, were sentenced, collectively and in 
 block, by that dread formula. 
 
 ' That ye be taken hence to the prison from 
 whence ye came, there to remain till upon a date ye 
 be drawn to the place of execution, and when ye are 
 come there, that ye be severally hanged by the neck 
 but not till ye be dead, for ye must be cut down 
 alive that your bowels be then taken out and 
 burnt before your faces; that your heads be then 
 severed from your bodies and your bodies severally 
 divided into four quarters and those to be at the 
 king's disposal."
 
 312 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 To this barbarous sentence Pengraig listened little 
 moved, for he had never ceased to expect it from 
 the moment when, newly captured, he had come 
 face to face at the end of the lane with his infamous 
 ward and betrayer. Thus it came to him now but as 
 the final milestone, telling of the nearness of his 
 journey's end ; for he had spoken truly when, turn- 
 ing for that last long look at Derby, he had ex- 
 claimed that in that moment the bitterness of death 
 had passed his soul for ever. 
 
 Within the prison his immediate friends were the 
 officers of the ill-fated Manchester Regiment, and 
 he and they were together when, at two o'clock on 
 the 29th of July, the order arrived for the execution 
 next morning of himself; Francis Towneley; George 
 Fletcher; Thomas Chadwick; James Dawson, and 
 others, all of the same regiment. The doomed men 
 heard the warning with a manly cheerfulness born 
 of their unshakeable belief in the sacredness of their 
 loyalty to the Stuart Cause. Men of stainless faith 
 and courage, their original sense of the justice of 
 their conduct in taking up arms had been fired and 
 exalted by daily intercourse with each other, and 
 above all by the passionate words of Pengraig as he 
 poured forth his poet's soul in indignant refutation 
 of the foul libels which political hacks turned out
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 313 
 
 unceasingly, all with the one object of vilifying and 
 misrepresenting the motives and characters of the 
 doomed men and their cause. 
 
 At his instigation it was that each of his fellow- 
 sufferers had already drawn up a statement and a 
 justification of the faith that was in him, together 
 with a reiteration of the steadfast loyalty which had 
 led them all to this supreme witnessing. 
 
 So now, when the words were ended which told 
 them that tomorrow was the last day which should 
 dawn for them this side Eternity, the cheerful light 
 that broke over Pengraig's face went round the 
 whole group as each re-echoed his deep and fervent 
 resignation, " God's will be done! " 
 
 The mournful news soon spread through the town 
 and evening brought the hardest hour of all, when 
 the friends and kindred of the doomed came in to 
 take their last farewell. What mind is there which 
 can picture that hour unmoved ? the tears, the sighs, 
 the terrible sobs which shook the forms of the deli- 
 cate women ; some so soon to be so awfully widowed ; 
 all to- lose those whom they loved devotedly, and 
 one, distraught, who was to prove the depth of her 
 love for poor Dawson by dying at the sight of his 
 death next day these made a scene to think of 
 which yet thrills the soul with horror.
 
 314 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 And through it all, not with stoical indifference; 
 not with the scoffing levity which jests at God and 
 deems irreverence the barb of wit ; but with a calm 
 and manly resignation ; with that gentle firmness 
 and tender strength best becoming Christian gentle- 
 men in the shadow of the Bar Eternal, the prisoners 
 kept their fortitude amidst the wild abandonment 
 with which their friends bewailed them. 
 
 The merciful sternness of the jailer's orders cut 
 short the torture at last. A callous kindliness 
 forced asunder the convulsive entwinings and loosed 
 the last embraces. The clang of barred doors 
 drowned the last wail of grief; the grind of .grim 
 locks shut out the last sob of bursting hearts, and 
 all was once more silent in the cells of the doomed 
 
 " they went to rest at the usual hour and slept 
 well!" 
 
 Next morning when they were roused the con- 
 demned men were unfastened from the floor, to 
 which they had before been chained, and were 
 further allowed to descend to the courtyard of the 
 prison for an hour's exercise. They might have 
 been going to saunter in some pleasant garden of 
 flowers and singing birds, so cheerfully they went, 
 each walking with his own particular friend. Pen- 
 graig and Towneley were first and as the former
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 315 
 
 caught sight of the prison caterer he spoke to him 
 with playful sternness. " Ha! now you shall make 
 us some coffee to breakfast. And I warn you to 
 make it good and strong, for I have never drunk 
 any since I have been here that was fit to come near 
 a gentleman." 
 
 A smile went round the whole company as they 
 heard the words. " Still looking after us, father," 
 said Towneley in gentle jest; " but you will have 
 little more trouble with us, I fear." 
 
 " And yet," he went on after a moment's pause; 
 " there is one more thing which we would have you 
 do. At the last moment we cannot all speak at 
 once, and therefore we think it would be well if one 
 should speak for all and that one you, dear friend. 
 Will you add this last favour to the many you have 
 already done to us ? " 
 
 And so that point was settled, for Pengraig could 
 not refuse. 
 
 Breakfast over, their irons were struck off and 
 then they were pinioned. Next, after a short inter- 
 val, they were tied, head downward, on three 
 sledges each drawn by three horses, and presently 
 the great gates of the prison opened to give them 
 egress upon their last journey. With a refinement 
 of cruelty the sledges were accompanied, not only
 
 316 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 by the executioner, but also by " certain butchers 
 of the town" in ghastly presage of the hideous 
 office they were presently to perform in the mutila- 
 tion of those beside whom they now strode with 
 steels and choppers clanking. 
 
 The melancholy procession was surrounded and 
 guarded by a troop of dragoons and several com- 
 panies of the Foot Guards, while all around pressed 
 a jeering mob, the scum of every slum in a city of 
 slums. The soldiers marched in stern silence, but 
 the taunts and execrations of the mob rose to a wild 
 yell of delight when, upon reaching Kennington 
 Common, it was seen that the gallows was ready, 
 and close beside it a huge pile of faggots and a 
 block. 
 
 No minister of the Established Church nor priest 
 of Rome had been allowed to attend for the admin- 
 istration of the last solemn consolations of religion to 
 those about to die. Yet, still undaunted, Pengraig, 
 kneeling, book in hand, read prayers and medita- 
 tions while his companions, kneeling also, followed 
 the words earnestly and joined with fervent voices in 
 the prayers he offered. No faltering, no wailing; 
 tears all done and eyes turned consecrately forward ; 
 earth with all its hopes put firmly yet tenderly 
 behind them ; these nine heroic souls knelt in sad
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 317 
 
 valour beneath the gallows, nor suffered the sound 
 of the crackling flames beside them to shake the 
 hearts so soon to be consumed therein. 
 
 Nor when at length, devotions ended, they stood 
 upright once more, were there any recantations, real 
 or simulated, of their faith to the Stuarts, or any 
 admission of the rights of the usurper. Such 
 things they left to others who might be moved by 
 considerations beyond their simple comprehensions. 
 Instead, Pengraig, with firm utterance, made the 
 short speech which he had promised to make, reiter- 
 ating their ideas, comparing the respective rights 
 and merits of Stuart and Hanover; rebutting yet 
 again with infinite scorn the infamous report that 
 they themselves had offered to recant upon a prom- 
 ise of pardon; and freely forgiving all their enemies 
 from the usurper down to Weir and Maddox; finally 
 ending with " And lastly, we beg all we have 
 offended that they will forgive us for the sake of 
 Jesus Christ; Our Mediator and Advocate. Amen." 
 
 With the concluding word Pengraig took the 
 papers of his own declaration out of the book of 
 devotions which he held in his hand and flung them 
 amongst the crowd ; following them up with the 
 book itself and next with his gold laced hat. So 
 likewise did the rest.
 
 318 FOR THE WHITE. ROSE OF ARNO , 
 
 And now on their part remained no more to be 
 said, no more to be done. The cart was ready, the 
 ropes were adjusted, the signal given, the wheels 
 moved and they were gone to where there is only- 
 Infinite Pity for those who die for the faith that is 
 in them, be it never so mistaken.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 JUST as this first part was done there fell a short 
 commotion in the ranks of the infantry guarding the 
 scaffold. A wild, unkempt and ragged figure had 
 attempted to thrust through and reach the gallows. 
 One soldier with his elbow attempted to push it 
 back and at once received a blow in the face which 
 sent him all his length. Instantly the next man 
 brought the butt of his musket down upon the rag- 
 ged intruder's head, stretching him senseless. 
 
 " What is that ? " demanded the nearest corporal 
 sharply. 
 
 " Some thief or cadger pushing through to see 
 better," answered the private. 
 
 But it was neither thief nor cadger lying there so 
 still behind the ranks ; it was poor lolyn. Through 
 many a hindrance, many a peril, and many an hour 
 of hiding or stealthy progress, he had at length 
 reached London only too late. A country jail had 
 held him for days till, with incredible toil and 
 patience, he had worked his way out and escaped. 
 To this he had added a grim stroke of daring, for
 
 320 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 he had then immediately broken into the house of 
 the Justice who sentenced him, and from the portly 
 man's own bedroom recovered the bidog which had 
 been taken from him at capture. 
 
 Late last night he had entered London, walking 
 on till he reached the top of Ludgate Hill. There 
 he paused, and his mad hatred broke into a dreadful 
 muttering. " Ho! you that murdered my mother! 
 Ho! that usurping line whose pressgangs seized my 
 father! All the marches on from Preston I pictured 
 the ruin of you. But Maddox! Maddox, whose 
 father used the Usurper to seize my father and used 
 you tradesmen to ensure the hanging of my mother: 
 he stepped in ; he betrayed us and turned us back. 
 Tomorrow Maddox shall pay the recompense 
 and Here the blood rushed to his temples, and 
 out through the mirk of midnight rang the terrible 
 cry of his unappeased mad longing " And then I 
 will come for you, ye smug batteners upon bloody 
 laws ! And you shall count the cost in blood and 
 ashes when I gather the gutters against you! " 
 
 The clatter of the approacing watch had roused 
 him, and he turned and made his way to Holborn 
 and the labyrinths and rookeries of Newton Street, 
 where fugitives from justice were then surest of 
 shelter. Here he intended sleeping no more than
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 321 
 
 a few hours, but the utter exhaustion of his now 
 emaciated body prolonged his slumbers till late next 
 morning. Awakening then, he learnt that Pengraig 
 had already been carried from Newgate to execu- 
 tion, and the news stung him to self-torment for 
 having selfishly slept so long, as he considered it. 
 Dashing away at top speed he had no clearer plan 
 than a frenzied notion of suddenly falling upon the 
 procession of prisoners and rescuing Pengraig single- 
 handed. 
 
 But the streets were vacant, drawn empty by the 
 brutal show already passed, and as he came to the 
 common and saw the crowd he put on a fresh burst 
 of speed in hope to strike a blow before the actual 
 tragedy should commence. 
 
 And this was he, breathless and spent with haste, 
 weak from his wanderings and the still raw wound 
 on his head and face, who had come up just as the 
 last figure fell from the cart, and pushing through 
 had been unceremoniously stretched out. 
 
 As he lay there in merciful unconsciousness he 
 did not see the horrible details that followed. He 
 did not see the ghastly work of quartering knives 
 and choppers; he did not see the dripping fingers 
 that tore out still living hearts and cast them into 
 the flames, nor hear therewith the savage formula,
 
 322 FOR 7 HE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 ' This is the heart of a traitor!" But he roused 
 in time to hear, when the hideous butchery was 
 ended, the revolting yell of the executioner, " God 
 save King George! " 
 
 He stood for a moment like one dazed and then 
 he caught the commotion at the edge of the crowd 
 beyond, where the affianced bride of young Daw- 
 son, after watching every stroke of the mutilation of 
 her lover, had finally fallen back dead, with his name 
 upon her lips. Striding over to the place he laughed 
 vacantly as he heard the story from one of the 
 excited bystanders. Then the crowd began to melt 
 away and he saw, sitting in a state of collapse in one 
 of the coaches beside him, the wife of Pengraig. 
 
 Stepping up to the window he took a paper from 
 his breast and thrust it through into her hand. 
 " Give all I've got to Ned," said he. 
 
 The touch roused her; she looked into his face 
 and the look brought all the old wild light into his 
 eyes. 
 
 " Ho! and I had forgotten Maddox for a mo- 
 ment," cried he. 
 
 " Oh heaven! lolyn! " ejaculated the poor lady 
 in fresh grief, forgetting for the moment his outlawry 
 and the danger of his being discovered. 
 
 But his own utterance of " Maddox! " had already
 
 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 323 
 
 attracted the attention of two persons riding past, 
 and at the name " lolyn ! " one of them turned 
 instantly to the other, crying excitedly: "Gad! 
 Weir! Here is that cursed lolyn too. Call the 
 dragoons; I'd almost sooner the other came to life 
 again than lose this one." 
 
 The lad caught the speech. He took the hand of 
 his past benefactress in his and kissed it fervently. 
 " Good-bye, mother ! " said he. " Here is Gwgan 
 Maddox." 
 
 Then he turned and the bidogan was bare in his 
 hand as Maddox stared in dumb surprise at his 
 altered face, recognising nothing save the lurid 
 light that glowed with awful fascination from his 
 eyes. A convulsive jerk of the bridle reins, added 
 to the animal's own instinctive dread, brought the 
 horse round with a whirl to escape. But it was 
 too late. 
 
 One spring of the ragged figure and the left hand 
 seized the rider by the collar and dragged him from 
 the saddle. His heels struck the ground ; his head 
 was stretched backwards over the avenger's knee. 
 The heavy bidogan touched the taut muscles of the 
 throat and then, while the bystanders stood paralysed 
 in beholding, the grim steel went remorselessly 
 through flesh and through joint, and as the grisly
 
 324 FOR THE WHITE ROSE OF ARNO 
 
 trunk dropped lifeless to the ground, the self- 
 appointed executioner stood upright, holding aloft 
 the severed head as he cried with awful distinctness. 
 " This is the head of a traitor! God save King 
 James! " 
 
 Weir had brought the near dragoons. They fell 
 upon the man standing there in red triumph. Their 
 great swords swung aloft as they spurred at him. 
 He did not wait : he leaped against them with the 
 bidogan. Man and horse, he stabbed remorselessly 
 at both alike as the riders slashed at him. Silent 
 as a trapped wolf, terrible as a cornered tiger, he 
 thrust and hacked until, hewed to a mere trunk, he 
 lay with glazing eyes staring fixedly up to heaven 
 the seared brain quiet at last ; the life so tragically 
 begun terribly ended. Under the swords was peace 
 death. 
 
 THE END.
 
 A Selected List of Fiction 
 
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 Sxed upon one or both, from the first word to the last, that we live in their thoughts 
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 have been splendidly illuminated by his novels, which are to be reckoned among the 
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 vigor and appropriateness from twelve full-page designs by R. Caton Woodville." 
 
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 whirl can no more escape from it than a ship from the maelstrom." 
 
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 although his new heroes are of different mould. The book is full of adventure and 
 characterized by a deeper study of character than its predecessor." 
 
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 pursues the line on which his happy initial venture was laid. We have in Berault, the 
 hero, a more impressive Marsac ; an accomplished duelist, telling the tale of his own 
 adventures, he first repels and finally attracts us. He is at once the tool of Richelieu, 
 and a man of honor. Here is a noteworthy romance, full of thrilling incident set down 
 by a master-hand." PHILADELPHIA PRESS. 
 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, & CO., 91-93 HITS AYE., NEW YOEK,
 
 FROM THE MEMOIRS 
 OF A MINISTER OF FRANCE. 
 
 Br STANLEY J. WEYMAN, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE," " UNDER THE RED ROBE," ETC., ETC. 
 
 With 36 Illustrations, of which 1 5 are full-page. 
 12mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
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 it. For they are tales pure and simple, combining all the charms of the story-teller 
 who knows when he has exhausted his subject and has the good art to stop. Twelve 
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 King Henry had together when they went out searching for adventure." 
 
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 made the author's romances so popular. In most of them the king is the central 
 figure, and many of the noble traits of character which endeared him to his generation 
 are skillfully depicted. No one can fail to be entertained with these tales." 
 
 THE LIVING CHURCH. 
 
 " These chapters display inventive powers of a high order, and show theirauthor's 
 remarkable insight into his chosen period of history. Each of them is a story com- 
 plete in itself, yet the character of the great minister links them together into one chain. 
 Thev are more than interesting ; they are true to the essential facts of history, with- 
 out for a moment becoming dull or pedantic." THE DIAL, CHICAGO. 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.
 
 A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE. 
 
 Being: the Memoirs of Gaston de Bonne, 
 Sieur de Marsac. 
 
 BY STANLEY J. WEYMAN. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE HOUSE OF THE WOLF," ETC. 
 
 With Frontispiece and Vignette by H. J. Ford. 
 12mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 11 One of the best novels since ' Lorna Doone.' It will be read and then re-read for the 
 mere -Measure its reading gives. The subtle charm of it is not m merely transporting the 
 nineteenth-century reader to the sixteenth, that he may see life as it was then, but in trans- 
 forming him into a sixteenth-century man, thinking its thoughts, and living its life iu perfect 
 touch and sympathy ... it carries the reader out of his present life, giving him a new 
 and totally different existence that rests and refreshes him." N. Y. WORLD. 
 
 " No novelist outside of France has displayed a more definite comprehension of the very 
 essence of mediaeval French life, and no one, certainly, has been able 10 set forth a depiction 
 of it in colors so vivid and so entirely in consonance with the truth. . . . The characters 
 in the tale are admirably drawn, and the narrative is nothing less than fascinating in its fine 
 flavor of adventure." BKACON, BOSTON. 
 
 " We hardly know whether to call this latest work of Stanley J. Weyman a historical 
 lomance or a story of adventure. It has all the interesting, fascinating and thrilling charac- 
 teristics of lth. The scene is in France, and the time is that fateful evrntful one which 
 culminated in Henry of Navarre becoming king. Naturally it is a story of plots and intrigue, 
 of danger and of the grand passion, abounding in intense dramatic scenes and most interest- 
 ing situations. It is a romance which will rank among the masterpieces of historic fiction." 
 
 ADVERTISER, BOSTON. 
 
 " A romance after the style of Dumas the elder, and well worthy of being read by those 
 who can enjoy stirring adventures told in true romantic fashion. . . . The great person- 
 ages of the time Henry III. of Valois, Hemy IV., Rosny, Rambouillet, Turenne are 
 brought in skillfully, and the tragic and varied history of the time forms a splendid frame in 
 which to set the picture of Marsao's love and courage . . . the troublous days are well 
 described and the interest is genuine and lasting, for up to the verv end the author manages 
 effects which impel the reader to go on with renewed curiosity.' 1 THB NATION. 
 
 "A genuine and admirable piece of work. . . . The reader will not turn marry pages 
 before he finds himself in the grasp of a writer who holds his attention to the very last mo- 
 ment of the story. The spirit of adventure pervades the whole from beginning to end. . . . 
 
 It may be said that the narration is a delightful love story. The interest of the reader 
 is constantly excited by the development of unexpected turns in the relation of the principal 
 lovers. The romance lies against a background of history truly painted. . . . The 
 descriptions of the court life of the period and of the factional strifes, divisions, hatreds of th- 
 agc, are fine. . . . This story of those times is worthy of a very high place among histori- 
 cal novels of recent years." PUBLIC OPINION. 
 
 " Bold, strong, dashing, it is one of the best we have read for many years. We sat down 
 for a cursory perusal, and ended by reading it delightedly through. . . . Mr. Weyman 
 has much of the vigor and rush of incident of Dr. Conan Doyle, and this book ranks worthily 
 heside ' The White Company." . . . We very cordially recommend this book to the jaded 
 novel reader who cares for manly actions more than for morbid introspection." 
 
 THE CHURCHMAN. 
 
 "The book is not only good literature, it is a 'rattling good story,' instinct with the 
 spirit of true adventure and stirring emotion. Of love and peril, inirigue and fighting, there 
 is plenty, and many scenes could not have been bettered. In all his adventures, and they 
 are many, Marsac acts as befits his epoch and his own modest yet gallant personality. Well- 
 known historical figures emerge in telling fashion under Mr. Weyman's discriminating and 
 fascinating touch." ATHENAEUM. 
 
 "I cannot fancy any reader, old or young, not sharing with doughty Crillon his admiration 
 for M. de Marsac, who, though no swashbuckler, ha- a sword that leaps from its scabbard at the 
 breath of insult. . . . There are several historical personages in the novel ; there is, ol 
 course, a heroine, of great beauty and enterprise; but that true 'Gentleman of France,*' 
 M. dr Marsac, with his perseverance and valor, dominates them all." 
 
 Mr. JAMES PAVN in the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS. 
 
 LONGMANS, GKEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIFTH AVE., HEW YOKE.
 
 MY LADY ROTHA. 
 
 A ROMANCE OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 
 BY STANLEY J. WEYMAN. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE," "UNDER THE RED ROBE," 
 "THE HOUSE OF THE WOLF." 
 
 With Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo, $1.25. 
 
 " Few writers of fiction who have appeared in England in the last decade have given 
 their readers more satisfaction than Mr. Stanley J. Weyman, and no single writer ot this 
 number can be said to have approached him, much less to have equaled him iti the romantic 
 World of the historical novel ... he has the art of story-telling in the highest degree, 
 the art which instinctively divines the secret, the soul of the story which he tells, and the 
 rarer art. if it be not the artlessness, which makes it as real and as inevitable as life itself. 
 His characters are alive, human, unforgetable, resembling in this r espect those of Thackeray 
 in historical li:ies and in a measure those of Dumas, with whom, and not inaptly, Mr. Wey- 
 man has been compared. His literature is good, so good that we accept it as a matter of 
 course, as we do that of Thackeray and Scott. . . . Mr. Weyman's historical novels 
 will live.'' New YORK MAIL AND EXPRESS. 
 
 "... differs signally from Mr. Weyman's earlier published works. It is treated 
 with the minuteness and lovingness of a first story which has grown up in the mind of the 
 author for years. . . . Marie Wort is one of the bravest souls that ever move- d quietly 
 along the pages of a novel. She is so unlike the other feminine characters whom Weyman 
 has drawn that the difference is striking and adds significance to this one book. . 
 ' My Lady Rotha ' is full of fascinating interest, all the more remarkable in a work adhering 
 so strictly to historical truth." EVENING POST, CHICAGO. 
 
 "This last book of his is brimful of action, rushing forward with a roar, leaving the 
 reader breathless at the close ; for if once begun there is no stopping place. The concep- 
 tion is unique and striking, and the culmination unexpected. The author is so saturated 
 with the spirit of the times of which he writes, that he merges his personality in that of the 
 supposititious narrator, and the virtues and failings of his men and women are set forth in a 
 fashion which is captivating from its very simplicity. It is one of his best novels." 
 
 PUBLIC OPINION. 
 
 "Readers of Mr. Weyman's novels will have no hesitation in pronouncing hisjust pub- 
 lished ' My Lady Rotha ' in every way his greatest and most artistic production. We 
 know of nothing mpie fit, both in conception and execution, to be classed with the immortal 
 Waverleys than this his latest work. ... A story true to life and true to the times 
 which Mr. Weyman has made such a careful study." THE ADVERTISER, BOSTON. 
 
 " No one of Mr. Weyman's books is better than ' My Lady Rotha ' unless it be ' Under 
 the Red Robe,' and those who have learned to like his stories of the old days when might 
 made right will appreciate it thoroughly. It is a good book to read and read again." 
 
 NEW YORK WORLD. 
 
 "... As good a tale of adventure as any one need ask ; the picture of those war- 
 like times is an excellent one, full of life and color, the blare of trumpets and the flash of 
 stee) -and toward the close the description of the besieged city of Nuremberg and of the 
 battle under Wallenstein's entrenchments is masterly." BOSTON TRAVELLER. 
 
 "The loveliest and most admirable character in the story is that of a young Catholic girl, 
 while in painting the cruelties and savage barbarities of war at that period the brush is held 
 by an impartial hand. Books of adventure and romance are apt to be cheap and sensational. 
 Mr. Weyman's stories are worth tons of such stuff. They are thrilling, exciting, absorbing, 
 interesting, and yet clear, strong, and healthy in tone, written by a gentleman and a man ol 
 sense and taste." SACKED HEART REVIEW, BOSTON. 
 
 " Mr. Weyman has outdone himself in this remarkable book. . . . The whole story 
 is told with consummate skill. The plot is artistically devised and enrolled before the read- 
 er's eyes. The language is simple and apt, and the descriptions are graphic and terse. The 
 charm of the story takes hold of the reader on the very first page, and holds him spell-bound 
 to the very end." NEW ORLEANS PICAYUNE. 
 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIPTH AVE., NEW TOEK,
 
 THE MATCHMAKER, 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 
 BY MRS. L. B. WALFORD. 
 
 Crown 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $ 1 .50. 
 
 " A new novel by the author of ' The Baby's Grandmother ' and ' Mr. Smith ' is always 
 eagerly anticipated by those who enjoy a love story told with a charming freshness of style, 
 with a satirical yet good-natured treatment uf human foibles, and with a vivid, witty, and 
 animating use of that sentiment which ' makes the world go round.' . . . 'TheMaich- 
 maker ' gives a piquant hint of the plot. It wi 1 be found one of the most delightful of its 
 author's works, and comes in good time to amuse people worn by summer weather." 
 
 NKW YORK TRIBUNE. 
 
 " We are sure that anything from the pen of L. B. Watford will be interesting and 
 original. There is always enough romance about these novels to keep them from any sign of 
 dullness, and they always include some very uncommon types well worth studying. The 
 Carnoustie family in the present instance is one to keep the reader constantly on the qui 
 vire ... a well-told, entertaining story of interesting people." 
 
 DETROIT FREE PRESS. 
 
 "Sure to find a large circle of refined and intelligent readers. The story is constantly 
 lighted up with touches of humor, and the picture of simple family life and the feminine occu- 
 pations it affords is natural and entertaining." BEACON, BOSTON. 
 
 "... A fresh and interesting picture of life in a Scottish castle, and introduces 
 many characters notable for the faithfulness to nature with which they .ire drawn. The inci- 
 dents are interesting enough to fix the attention of the readtr and to hold it until the closing 
 chapter.'' THE ADVERTISKR, PORTLAND. 
 
 "Tells what befell a gay London girl during her six months' sojourn in the Scotch castle 
 of some old fashioned relatives. . . . The story is a good one, much the best of it being 
 the delineation of the stiff-necked Carnoustie family, and its magisterial dowager and its 
 pathetic and comical old maids.'' BOSTON TRAVELLER. 
 
 NOVELS BY MRS. L. B. WALFORD. 
 
 In Uniform Binding. Crown 8vo, Cloth, each Volume, $1 .OO. 
 
 COUSINS. 
 
 THE BABY'S GRAND- 
 MOTHER. 
 
 PAULINE. 
 
 NAN. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF A WEEK. 
 
 TROUBLESOME DAUGH- 
 TERS. 
 
 MR. SMITH. 
 
 DICK NETHERBY. 
 
 A STIFF-NECKED GEN- 
 ERATION. 
 
 THE MISCHIEF OF MONICA 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, & 00,, 91-93 PUTS AVE., NEW YORK.
 
 A MONK OF FIFE. 
 
 A ROMANCE OF THE DAYS OF JEANNE D'ARC. 
 
 Done into English from the manuscript in the Scots College of Ratisbon 
 BY ANDREW LANG. 
 
 With Frontispiece. 12mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " Granting that Norman Leslie was no myth, and was truly admonished by his 
 superior to set down these facts in writing, and with all reverence for this clever monk, 
 who kept such an excellent account of the exciting scenes he witnessed in his youth, 
 we must believe that the delightful charm which pervades this quaintly pathetic tale 
 is due to no one as much as to Mr. Lang. The Maid of Orleans takes a clearer, 
 sweeter identity for his telling, and the reader must insist upon feeling indebted to 
 this incomparable writer for one of the most beautiful and touching romances given 
 to the world for many a long day." CHICAGO EVENING POST. 
 
 " Mr. Lang's portrait of the Maid is a beautiful one. He does not etherealize 
 her unduly indeed he rather insists on her most human characteristics ; and his 
 portrait gains in lifelikeness from the skill with which he has woven into the story of 
 her career as an inspired prophet and leader, little incidents showing her as the simple- 
 hearted girl. The hero is supposed to be one of her body-guard, and his sweetheart 
 one of her near friends. Although the Maid is really the central figure, the story of 
 the lovers and the dangers of the hero and the heroine is so skillfully woven in that 
 the book is nothing like a history of France at the time, but is a real romance: and 
 because it is a real romance lets us into the spirit of the time better than any history 
 that ever was or could be written. It is dangerous to prophesy just after the reading 
 of any novel, but it seems to us that this is one of the novels that ought to live, at 
 least for a generation or two." COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE. 
 
 " A very charming tale of the days of Joan of Arc, his leading characters being 
 chosen from the band of Scotchmen who went to France and participated in the 
 stirring campaign under the leadership of the Maid of Orleans which rescued France 
 from the English. The many readers and students who are just now attracted by the 
 revival of interest in the character and achievements of Jeanne D'Arc should by all 
 means read Mr. Lang's romance." REVIEW OF REVIEWS, N. Y. 
 
 " The story is admirably told in a style which reminds one of Stevenson's best 
 work in historical fiction." BOSTON TRAVELER. 
 
 " A brilliant, vivid, dramatic, and historically consistent depiction of the career of 
 that wonderful maiden Joan of Arc is presented by Andrew Lang in his skillfully 
 wrought, close-textured, and adventurous romance called 'A Monk of Fife.' ... It 
 has from beginning to end a lifelike coloring that the sympathetic reader will find 
 nothing less than enthralling." BOSTON BEACON. 
 
 "Mr. Lang has made a most pleasing and readable romance, full of love and 
 fighting adventures and exciting episodes. There is a quaintness about the recital in 
 keeping with the period and which is an added charm. The story of Joan of Arc has 
 been many times told, but never any more interestingly than in this book." 
 
 BOSTON TIMES. 
 
 " A delightful romance. . . . Mr. Lang has made admirable use of his material 
 and has given us a quaint and stirring tale that is well worth reading." 
 
 BROOKLYN EAGLE. 
 
 " A picture, rich in detail, of the days of the Maid of Orleans ; and it is abundantly 
 clear that the picture is drawn by one who knows the period, not only in its dry, 
 prosaic sequence of battles and marches, but in the spirit and the speech of the time 
 ... a love storv hardlv less graceful and delicate than'that of Aucassin and Xico- 
 lete; . . . the book will be well worth reading as pure romance, by turns idyllic 
 and epic, and that it has as well a distinct value from its careful presentation of a 
 period so confusing to the novice in history." CRITIC, N'. Y. 
 
 LONGMANS, GBEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIPTH AVENUE, NEW YOKE.
 
 "CAN THIS BE LOVE? 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 BY MRS. PARR, 
 
 With Frontispiece and Vignette by Charles Kerr. 
 I2mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 "A wholesome tale. . . . It is a pleasant story, delightfully told, and with a whole- 
 some English atmosphere." BOOK BUYER, N. Y. 
 
 " This is a story that will repay the time spent over it. Mrs. Parr is a strong and inter- 
 esting writer. Her characters are live characters, and the incidents through which they 
 move are natural and realistic. Her present story is throughout an exceptionally interesting 
 one, and the reader will find his interest in it kept up to tne end. It is handsomely printed 
 on good paper." CHRISTIAN AT WORK, N. Y. 
 
 "The touches of humor . . . are pleasant; the descriptions of scenery are charm- 
 ing : the plot is well and artistically planned and executed ; but, best of all, the whole tone of 
 the book is pure and free from morbidness, and one can read it from cover to cover without 
 finding the taint of vulgarity and super-emotionalism (to call it by the most polite name) 
 which degrades so much of modern fiction." LITERARY WORLD, Boston. 
 
 " It is a love story of more than usual interest and is well worth reading. . . . The 
 three principal persons in the book are fine character studies, and the story is strong and 
 interesting." ADVERTISER, Portland, Me. 
 
 " Mrs. Parr has given us an altogether charming book." TRAVELLER, Boston. 
 
 " One of the daintiest, most homelike and natural stories of the week . . . the girl 
 is a downright, genuine, substantial girl, like the girls we know in the world and love." 
 
 COMMERCIAL GAZRTTE, Cincinnati. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF THE WOLF, 
 
 A ROMANCE. 
 BY STANLEY J. WEYMAN, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " A GENTLEMAN OF FRANCE," ETC. 
 
 With Frontispiece and Vignette by Charles Kerr. 
 12mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 DOOK live. V^KITIL, IN. . 
 
 " Recounted as by an eye witness in a forceful way with a rapid and graphic style that 
 commands interest and admiration. 
 
 Of the half dozen stories of St. Bartholomew's Eve which we have read this ranks first 
 in vividness, delicacy of perception, reserve power, and high principle." 
 
 CHRISTIAN UNION, N. Y. 
 
 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, N. Y, 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVE., NEW YOBK.
 
 OLD MR. TREDGOLD. 
 
 A STORY OF TWO SISTERS. 
 BY MRS. M. O. W. OLIPHANT, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "CHRONICLES OF CARLINGFORD," "MADAM," ETC. 
 
 Crown 8vo, Buckram Cloth, $1.5O. 
 
 " Not many novelists have written so much and so well as Mrs. Oliphant. Her 
 present novel shows her at her best. The character-drawing is first rate, and the 
 story as a story is full of interest." PUBLISHERS' CIRCULAR. 
 
 " When we open one of Mrs. M. O. W. Oliphant's books we know that we shall 
 find a clean, wholesome, vivid story, generally ofa domestic character. Such a charac- 
 ter is ' Old Mr. Tredgold.' 
 
 The book is one that can be best enjoyed in a cozy room, on a winter's evening, 
 with no one to hustle you to bed prematurely or to break in upon your pleasure with, 
 irrelevant talk." COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, N. Y. 
 
 " An extremely clever and consistent picture of a spoiled and willful girl, devoted 
 to herself and to nobody else, and who, to the reader's possible dissatisfaction, has not 
 meted out to her poetic justice. The story is readable in every respect." 
 
 S. F. CHRONICLE. 
 
 " Again does Mrs. Oliphant show her remarkable skill in character painting." 
 
 BEACON, BOSTON. 
 
 "A wholesome tale of true lives and true loves, and the persons who-act their 
 parts are close kindred to ourselves." SUN, BALTIMORE. 
 
 " Mrs. Oliphant has as many American readers and admirers as she has English, 
 and they will welcome ' Old Mr. Tredgold ' from her pen. . . . This new work 
 has all the characteristics of her earlier novels, and will be read with pleasure." 
 
 COMMERCIAL GAZETTE, CINCINNATI. 
 
 THE STORY OF ULLA, 
 
 And Other Tales. 
 
 BY EDWIN LESTER ARNOLD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " PHRA THE PHCENICIAN," ETC. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " Remarkable for vigor and picturesqueness. . . . The book is entertaining 
 throughout, and will be eagerly read by all who take it up." SCOTSMAN. 
 
 " He has succeeded in giving some choice bits of fiction, and there is not a dull 
 page in the book from beginning to end." PROGRESS, MINNEAPOLIS. 
 
 " Is a masterpiece of graphic and dramatic writing." WORLD, CLEVELAND. 
 
 " This is a volume of ten short stories, pitched in various keys, and set in various 
 eras of the world's history, from the old Viking time down to Dashville, far ' out West.' 
 They are all strange, out of the common, and alive with interest . . . a volume full 
 of variety, written in good style, and with nothing commonplace." LIVING CHURCH. 
 
 LONGMANS, GKEEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YOBK
 
 FLOTSAM;. 
 
 THE STUDY OF A LIFE. 
 
 BY HENRY SETON MERRIMAN, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "WITH EDGED TOOLS," "THE SOWERS," ETC. 
 
 With Frontispiece and Vignette by H. G. MASSEY. 
 1 2mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " The scene of this thoroughly interesting book is laid at the time of the great 
 Indian mutiny of 1857, and the chapters devoted to that terrible episode in the history 
 of English rule in India are among the most interesting in the volume, the capture of 
 Delhi in particular being graphically described." HERALD, ONEONTA, N. Y. 
 
 " It is a powerful study." CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL GAZETTE. 
 
 "One of the strongest novels of the season." BOSTON ADVERTISER. 
 
 "It is decidedly a novel worth reading. 1 ' NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE. 
 
 "... From first to last our interest in the dramatic development of the plot is 
 never allowed to flag. ' Flotsam ' will amply sustain the reputation which Mr. 
 Merriman has won." CHARLESTON NEWS AND COURIER. 
 
 " It is a rather stirring story, dealing with breezy adventures in the far East, and 
 sketching in strong outlines some very engaging phases of romance in India not down 
 in Mr. Kipling's note-books." INDEPENDENT, NEW YORK. 
 
 " It is a novel of strong, direct, earnest purpose, which begins well in a literary 
 sense and ends better." SUN, BALTIMORE. 
 
 " A brilliant gift for characterization and dramatic effect put his novels among 
 the best of the season for entertainment, and, to no small extent, for instruction." 
 
 DIAL, CHICAGO. 
 
 " Mr. Merriman can write a good story ; he proved that in ' The Sowers,' and he 
 shows it anew in this. . . . The story is a strong one and told with freshness and 
 simple realism." CURRENT LITERATURE, NEW YORK. 
 
 " His story is remarkably well told." HERALD, COLUMBIA, Mo. 
 
 " It is a novel written with a purpose, yet it is entirely free from preaching or 
 moralizing. The young man, Harry Wylam, whose career from childhood to the 
 prime of manhood is described, is a bright, daring, and lovable character, who starts 
 with every promise of a successful life, but whose weakness of will, and love of 
 pleasure, wreck his bright hopes midway. The author shows unusual skill in dealing 
 with a subject which in less discreet hands might have been an excuse for morbidity." 
 
 BOSTON BEACON. 
 
 " A story of lively and romantic incident. . . . His story is remarkably well 
 told." NEW YORK SUN. 
 
 " The story is full of vigorous action . . . and interesting." 
 
 PUBLIC OPINION. 
 
 LONGMANS, GBEEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YOEK.
 
 THE VIOLET. 
 
 A Novel. 
 BY JULIA MAGRUDER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " PRINCESS SONIA," ETC. 
 
 With 1 1 Illustrations by Charles Dana Gibson. Crown Svo, 
 Cloth, Ornamental, Gilt Top, $ 1 .25. 
 
 "Julia Magruder has made a very pretty story of ' The Violet 'a story with just 
 those touches of graceful sentiment that are sure to gratify the girl reader. ... It 
 is a pleasure to come upon a romance so pure in motive, so refined in sentiment, and 
 so delicate in manner . . . and the book has an added charm in the illustrations 
 by Charles Dana Gibson, who seems to have caught the spirit of the text to a nicety, 
 and to have interpreted it with an admirably sympathetic technique." 
 
 BEACON, BOSTON. 
 
 "Julia Magruder has given her readers a charming story in ' The Violet ' one as 
 sweet and simple and lovely as the modest flower itself. . . . It is a beautiful 
 character study, breathing forth the fragrance of womanly sweetness in every phrase. 
 The illustrations by Gibson are apt, and the binding and make-up of the book appro- 
 priately attractive." TIMES, BOSTON. 
 
 " Is a good, wholesome love story. The plot is natural and the characters real. 
 . . . ' The Violet ' is a study which the reader may wish could have been pro- 
 longed." EAGLE, BROOKLYN. 
 
 " A story altogether as beautiful and inspiring as its name . . . one of the 
 most charming books of the season, as it is an old fashioned story with a delicious bit 
 of mystery interwoven with the romance of a young heroine who, though poor, pos- 
 sesses every grace and accomplishment." COURIER, BOSTON. 
 
 " It is a pure, sweet story, with a fragrance as of violets clinging to it, and it de- 
 lightfully sets forth the attributes of true manhood and true womanhood." 
 
 HOME JOURNAL, N. Y. 
 
 DOREEN. 
 
 The Story of a Singer. 
 BY EDNA LYALL, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "WE TWO," "DONOVAN," "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SLANDER," " IN 
 THE GOLDEN DAYS," ETC., ETC. 
 
 Crown Svo, Buckram Cloth, Ornamental, $1 .50. 
 
 " A plot which has original life and vigor. . . . Altogether a good novel, and 
 if the author had written nothing else she could safely rest her literary reputation on 
 ' Doreen.' " PUBLIC OPINION, N. Y. 
 
 " Edna Lyall's . . . new story . . . is one of her best. It has, naturally, 
 enough of tragedy to make it intensely interesting without being sensational in any 
 offensive sense. The heroine, Doreen, is a delightful character, sturdy, strong, lovable, 
 womanly, and genuinely Irish. Miss Bayly is a conscientious writer, imbued with 
 deep feeling, a high purpose, and her style is attractive and pure." 
 
 BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER. 
 
 " It is a very clever story indeed, and skillfully written." 
 
 NEW ORLEANS PICAYUNE. 
 
 " This is perhaps one of the best of Edna Lyall's clever stories. Doreen is a young 
 Irish girl, who loves her native land, and who is a credit to her race. . . . Inter- 
 woven with the story of her experience and of her love for a young Englishman is an 
 interesting account of the rise and progress of the Home Rule movement. Miss Lyall's 
 book is a charming tale, and will not fail to delight every one who reads it. The girl 
 Doreen is a beautiful character." CATHOLIC NKWS. 
 
 LONGMANS, OBEEN, & CO., 91-93 TIFTH AVE. NEW YOKK.
 
 THE JEWEL OF YNYS GALON 
 
 BEING A HITHERTO UNPRINTED CHAPTER IN 
 THE HISTORY OF THE SEA ROVERS. 
 
 BY OWEN RHOSCOMYL. 
 
 With 1 2 Illustrations by Lancelot Speed. 
 Crown 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " The tale is exceptionally well told ; the descriptive passages are strong- and viv- 
 id without being over-elaborated ; and the recital of fights and adventures on sea and 
 land is thrilling, without leading to any excess of horrors. The characters in the book 
 are not all villians, but the progress of the narrative is lighted up by the ideals and 
 strivings of brave and honorable men. The book is certainly a most attractive addi- 
 tion to fiction of adventure, for it shows a fine degree of imagination on the part of the 
 author. A glance at the illustrations by Lancelot Speed will alone be enough to incite 
 a reading of the story from beginning to end. 1 ' THE BEACON, BOSTON. 
 
 " It is a work of genius of the romantic-realistic school. The story is one of 
 pirates and buried treasure in an island off the coast of Wales, and so well is it done 
 
 that it fascinates the reader, putting him under an hypnotic spell, lasting long after the 
 book has been laid aside. It is dedicated to 'every one whose blood rouses at a tale 
 of tall fights and reckless adventure,' to men and boys alike, yet there will be keener 
 
 , , 
 
 appreciation by the boys of larger growth, whose dreams 'of buried treasure and of 
 one day discovering some hoard whereby to become rich beyond imagination ' have 
 become dim and blurred in the 'toil and struggle for subsistence.' ' The Jewel of Ynys 
 Galon' is one of the great books of 1895 and will live long." THE WORLD, NEW YORK. 
 
 " It is a splendid story of the sea, of battle and hidden treasure. This picture of 
 the times of the sea rovers is most skillfully drawn in transparent and simple English, 
 and it holds from cover to cover the absorbed interest of the reader." 
 
 PRESS, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 " It is a story after the heart of both man and boy. There are no dull moments in 
 it, and we find ourselves impatient to get on, so anxious are we to see what the next 
 turn in the events is to bring forth ; and when we come to the end we exclaim in 
 sorrow, " Is that all? " and begin to turn back the leaves and re-read some of the most 
 exciting incidents. 
 
 Owen Rhoscomyl has just the talents for writing books of this kind, and thev are 
 worth a dozen of some of the books of to-day where life flows sluggishly on in a draw- 
 ing-room. When the author writes another we want to know of it." TIMES, BOSTON. 
 
 " The style of this thrilling story is intensely vivid and dramatic, but there is 
 nothing in it of the cheap sensational order. It is worthy a place among the classics 
 for boys." ADVERTISER, BOSTON. 
 
 " The present school of romantic adventure has produced no more strikingly im- 
 aginative story than this weird tale of Welsh pirates in the eighteenth century. . . . 
 A most enthralling tale, . . . told with great artistic finish and with intense spirit. 
 It may be recommended without reserve to every lover of this class of fiction." 
 
 TIMES, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 "It is one of the best things of its kind that have appeared in a long time. . . . 
 We do not know how far this tale may be taken to be historical, and, to be frank, 
 
 get ' The Jewel of Ynys Galon ' and rea'd it. You will not be disappointed." 
 
 GAZETTE, COLORADO SPRINGS, COL. 
 
 " Our own interest in the book led us to read it at a sitting that went far into the 
 night. The old Berserker spirit is considerably abroad in these pages, and the blood 
 coursed the faster as stirring incident followed desperate situation and daring enter- 
 prise." LITKRARV WORLD, LONDON. 
 
 LOMUANS, GKEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIPTH AVE., UEW YOKE.
 
 BATTLEMENT AND TOWER. 
 
 A ROMANCE. 
 
 BY OWEN RHOSCOMYL, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE JEWEL OF VNYS GALON.' 
 
 With Frontispiece by R. Caton Woodville. 12mo, Cloth, 
 Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " It is a rare tale of the wars of the Commonwealth. The hero, Howel, is a young 
 Welsh lord whose father gives him his hereditary sword and shield, and sends him to 
 battle for the king. His adventures in love and war are intensely fascinating, and the 
 reader puts down the book with extreme reluctance. The author has carefully studied 
 the history of the times, and, besides being a thrilling tale, his story is a charming 
 picture of the manners and customs of the day. It is a book well worth reading." 
 
 NEW ORLEANS PICAYUNE. 
 
 11 ... a powerful romance by Owen Rhoscomyl of the swashbuckling days in 
 North Wales, when the Roundheads warred against the Cavaliers, and Charles 1. ot 
 England lost his head, both metaphorically and literally. . . . The picturesque 
 ana virile style of the author, and the remarkable power he displays in his character 
 drawing, place his book among the notable pieces of fiction of the year. There is 
 plenty of fighting, hard riding, love-making, and blood-letting in the story, but the 
 literary touch given to his work by the author places his product far above the average 
 of the many tales of like character that are now striving to satisfy the present demand 
 for fiction that has power without prurience." WORLD, NEW YORK. 
 
 ''There is a vein of very pretty romance which runs through the more stirring 
 scenes of battle and of siege. The novel is certainly to be widely read by'those who 
 love the tale of a well-fought battle and of gallant youth in the days when men carved 
 their way to fame and fortune with a sword." ADVERTISER, BOSTON. 
 
 "... a rattling story of adventure, privation, and peril in the wild Welsh 
 marches during the English civil war. ... In this stirring narrative Mr. Rhos- 
 comyl has packed away a great deal of entertainment for people who like exciting 
 fiction." COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, NEW YORK. 
 
 " There is a flavor of old world chivalry in his tempestuous wooing of winsome, 
 imperious Barbara, a charming love idyl. . . . The hot blood of the Welshman 
 leads him into many and diverse dangers, yet so gallant is he, so quick of wit, and 
 with hand ever on sword hilt, that one accompanies him with unflagging attention. . . . 
 The scenes of the story are historic, and the author's fertile and ingenious imagination 
 has constructed a thrilling tale in which the dramatic situations crowd thick and fast 
 upon each other." FREE PRESS, DETROIT. 
 
 " Owen Rhoscomyl, who wrote an excellent tale when he penned ' The Jewel of 
 Ynys Galon,' has followed it with another, different in kind but its equal in 
 degree. . . . Deals with an entirely different phase of Welsh legend from his 
 former story, for it enters the domain of history. . . . It is full of merit, and is 
 entitled to pass muster as one of the successful novels of the season. . . . The plot 
 is involved, and there is a mystery in it which is not wrought out until the concluding 
 chapters. . . ' . The story will appeal strongly to the lover of romance and ad- 
 venture." BROOKLYN EAGLE. 
 
 " He calls his book a 'mosaic,' and if such it be its stones are the quaint customs, 
 strange ways, and weird legends of the Welsh, welded by strong and clear diction and 
 colored with the pigments of a brilliant fancy. Gay pleasures, stern war, and true love 
 are powerfully portrayed, rivalling each other in the interest of tTte reader. And 
 though the heroes and their castles have l^ng been buried beneath the dust of time, 
 this writer sends an electric current through his pages making every actor and his sur- 
 roundings alive again. He brings each successive phase of adventure, love, or battle, 
 before the imagination, clad in language that impresses itself upon the memory and 
 makes the book fascinating." REPUBLICAN, DENVER. 
 
 " His story is a stirring one, full of events, alive with action, and gilded with sen- 
 timent of romance." COURIER, BOSTON. 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK.
 
 MONTEZUMA'S DAUGHTER. 
 
 BY H. RIDER HAGGARD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " SHE," " ALLAN QUATERMAIN," " NADA THK LILY," ETC. 
 
 With 24- full-page Illustrations and Vignette by Maurice 
 Greiffenhagen. Crown 8vo, Cloth, $1.25. 
 
 in each ... a successful story well constructed, full of devious and exciting action, 
 and we believe that it will find a multitude of appreciative readers." SUN, N. V. 
 
 rep 
 skill 
 nilgar sensationalism in the treatment, and the literary quality is sound throughoui 
 
 Among the very best stoiiesof love, war, and romance that have been written.'' 
 
 THE OUTLOOK. 
 
 " Is the latest and best of that popular writer's works of fiction. It enters a new 
 field not befwre touched by previous tales from the same author. In its splendor of descrip- 
 tion, weirdness of imagery, and wealth of startling incidents it rivals ' King Solomon's Mines' 
 and other earlier stories, but shows superior strength in many respects, and presents novelty 
 of scene that must win new and more enduring fame for its talented creator. . . . The 
 analysis of human motives and emotions is more subtle in this work than in any previous 
 production by Mr. Haggard. The story will generally be accorded highest literary rank 
 among the author's works, and will prove of fascinating interest to a host of readers." 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS SPECTATOR. 
 
 " Is full of the magnificence of the Aztec reign, and is quite as romantic and unbelievable 
 as the most fantastic of his earlier creations." BOOK BUYER. 
 
 "We should be disposed to rank this volume next to 'King Solomon's Mines' in order 
 interest and merit among the author's works." LITERARY WORLD, BOSTON. 
 
 " It is decidedly the most powerful and enjoyable book that Mr. Rider Haggard hai 
 itten, with the single exception of ' Jess.' " ACADEMY. 
 
 " Mr. Haggard has rarely done anything better than this romantic and interesting narra- 
 tive. Throughout the story we a r e hurtied from one thrilling experience to another, and the 
 whole book is written at a level of sustained passion, which gives it a very absorbing hold on 
 our imagination. A special word of praise ought to be given to the excellent illustrations." 
 
 DAILY TELEGRAPH. 
 
 " Perhaps the bestoi all the author's stories. 
 
 The great distinguishing quality of Rider Haggard is this magic power of seizing and 
 holding his readers so that they become absorbed and abstracted from all earthly things while 
 their eyes devour the page. ... A romance must have 'grip.' . . . This romance 
 possesses the quality of 'grip' in an eminent degree." WALTER BKSANT in the AUTHOR. 
 
 "The story is both graphic and exciting, . . . and tells of the invasion of Cortes; 
 but there are antecedent passages in England and Spain, for the hero is an English adven- 
 turer who finds his way throueh Spain to Mexico on a vengeful quest. The vengeance is cer- 
 tainly satisfactory, but it is not reached until the hero has had as surprising a series of perils 
 nd escapes as even the fertile imagination of the author ever devised." DIAL, CHICAGO. 
 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, & CO., 91-93 PITTS AVE., NEW YOKE. 
 
 f 
 wri
 
 JOAN HASTE 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 BY H. RIDER HAGGARD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "SHE," " HEART OF THE WORLD," 4l THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST," ETC., ETC. 
 
 With 2O full-page Illustrations by F. S. Wilson. 
 12mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.. 
 
 " It is less r.dventurous in theme, the tone is more quiet, and the manner more 
 in keeping with the so-called realistic order of fiction than anything Mr. Haggard has 
 heretofore published. 'Joan Haste ' is by far the most earnest, and in many ways the 
 most impressive work of Mr. Haggard's that has yet been printed. The insight into 
 character which it displays is almost invariably keen and true. Every personality in 
 the story is fully alive, and individual traits of thought and action are revealed little 
 by little as the narrative progresses, until they stand forth as definite and consistent 
 creations." THE BOSTON BEACON. 
 
 " All the sfong and striking peculiarities that have made Mr. Haggard's earlier 
 works so deservedly popular are repeated here in a new spirit. Not only that, but 
 his literary execution shows an enlarged skill and betrays the master-hand of self- 
 restraint that indicate maturity of power. His conception of character is improved by 
 the elimination of all crudeness and haste, and his delineations are consequently closer 
 to life. One is reminded strongly of Dickens in his admirable drawing of minor char- 
 acters. Mrs. Bird is such a character. . . . The illustrations of the book are nu- 
 merous and strikingly good. Many of the scenes are intensely dramatic, and move the 
 feelings to the higher'pitch. . . ." Even in the little concerns of the story the wealth 
 of its imagination appears, glowing in the warmth of its unstinted creations.. There is 
 a splendor in his description, a weird spirit in his imagery, a marvelous variety of 
 detail, and at all points a creative force that give a perpetual freshness and newness to 
 the fiction to which he gives his powers. To take up one of his fascinating books is 
 to finish it, and this story of 'Joan Haste' is not to be outdone by the best of them all. 
 The strength, emphasis, and vigor of his style as well as of his treatment is to be 
 credited to none but superior gifts and powers. . . . 'Joan Haste' will become 
 the favorite of everybody." BOSTON COURIER. 
 
 " Mr. Haggard's new story is a sound and pleasing example of modern English 
 fiction a book worth reading. ... Its personages are many and well 
 
 contrasted, and all reasonably human and interesting." NEW YORK TIMES. 
 
 " In this pretty, pathetic story Mr. Haggard has lost none of his true art, 
 
 Haggard's stories of adventure." BOSTON ADVERTISER. 
 
 " This story is full of startling incidents. It is intensely interesting." 
 
 CLEVELAND GAZETTE. 
 
 " The plot thickens with the growth of the story, which is one of uncommon interest 
 and pathos. The book has the advantage of the original illustrations." 
 
 CLEVELAND WORLD. 
 
 "'Joan Haste' is really a good deal more than the ordinary novel of English 
 country life. It is the best thing Haggard has done. There is some character sketch- 
 ing in it that is equal to anything of this kind we have had recently." 
 
 COURIER, LINCOLN, NEB. 
 
 " In this unwonted field he has done well. 'Joan Haste ' is so far ahead of his for- 
 mer works that it will surprise even those who have had most confidence in his ability. 
 
 To those who read Thomas Hardy's ' Tess of the D'Urbervilles ' the atmosphere 
 and incidents of 'Joan Haste ' will seem familiar. It is written along much the same 
 lines, and in this particular it might be accused of a lack of originality ; but Haggard 
 has come dangerously close to beating Hardy in his own field. Hardy's coarseness is 
 missing, but Hardy's power is excelled." MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, & CO., 91-93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.
 
 WHAT NECESSITY KNOWS. 
 
 A Novel of Canadian Life and Character. 
 Bv MISS L. DOUGALL, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " BEGGARS ALL." 
 
 Crown 8vo, Cloth, $1.OO. 
 
 " A very remarkable novel, and not a book that can be lightly classified or ranged witk 
 Other modern works of fiction. . . . It is a distinct creation ... a structure of 
 noble and original design and of grand and dignified conception. . . . The book bristle* 
 with epigrammatic sayings which one would like to remember. ... It will appeal 
 Strongly by force of its originality and depth of insight and for the eloquence and dignity of 
 style in the descriptive passages." MANCHESTER GUARDIAN, LONDON. 
 
 " We think we are well within the mark in saying that this novel is one of the three or 
 four best novels of the year. The social atmosphere as well as the external conditions of 
 Canadian life are reproduced faithfully. The author is eminently thoughtful, yet the story 
 is not distinctively one of moral purpose. The play of character and the clash of purpose are 
 finely wrought out. . . . What gives the book its highest value is really the author's 
 deep knowledge of motive and character. The reader continually comes across keen obser- 
 vations and subtle expressions that not infrequently recall George Eliot. The novel is one 
 that is worth reading a second time." OUTLOOK, NEW YORK. 
 
 " Keen analysis, deeu spiritual insight, and a quick sense of beauty in nature and 
 human nature are combined to put before us a drama of human life . . . the book is not 
 only interesting hut stimulating, not only stronz but suggestive, and we may say of the 
 writer, in Sidney Lanier's wcrds, ' She shows man what he may be in terms of what he is.'* 
 
 LITERARY WORLD, BOSTON. 
 
 NADA THE LILY. 
 
 BY H. RIDER HAGGARD, 
 
 AUTHOR OP " SHE," " ALLAN QUATERMAIN," ETC. 
 
 With 23 full-page Illustrations, by C. H. M. Kerr. 
 1 2mo, Cloth, Ornamental (Copyright), $1.OO. 
 
 " A thrilling book full . . . of almost incredible instances of personal daring and of 
 wonderful revenge. . . . The many vigorous illustrations add much to the interest of a 
 book that may safely be denominated as Mr. Haggard's most successful venture in the 
 writing of fiction." BOSTON BEACON. 
 
 " The story of ' Nada the Lily ' is full of action and adventure ; the plot is cleverly 
 wrought and the fighting and adventure are described with spirit. Once begun it is, indeed, 
 a story to be finished." N. Y. TRIBUNE. 
 
 " The story is a magnificent effort of the imagination and quite the best of all that Mr. 
 Haggard has done. There is no example of manufactured miracle in this story, for the story 
 of the Ghost mountain, the Stone Witch, and the Wolves is nothing but the folk-lore of the 
 African tribes, and in no respect similar to the wonders which the author introduced into 
 the stories in which Allan Quatermain figures." SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN'. 
 
 " To my mind the realization of savage existence and the spirit of it have never been so 
 honestly and accurately set forth. The Indians of Chateaubriand, and even of Cooper, are 
 conventional compared with these blood-thirsty, loyal, and fatalistic Zulus. . . . The 
 whole legend seems to me to be a curiously veracious reproduction of Zulu life and character." 
 
 Mr. ANDREW LANG in the New Review. 
 
 " Rider Haggard's latest story . . . has a more permanent value than anything 
 this prolific author has previously given to the public. He has preserved in this latest 
 romance many of the curious tales, traditions, superstitions, the wonderful folk-lore of a 
 nation now extinct, a people rapidly melting away before an advancing tide of civilization. 
 The romance into which Mr. Haggard has woven valuable material is in his own inimitable 
 style, and will delight those who love the weirdly improbable." BOSTON TRAVELLER. 
 
 LONGMANS, GBEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIPTH AYE., NEW TOEK.
 
 HEART OF THE WORLD. 
 
 A STORY OF MEXICAN ADVENTURE. 
 
 BY H. RIDER HAGGARD, 
 
 A'.rrHOR OF "SHB," "MONTEZOMA'S DAUGHTER," "THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST," ETC. 
 
 With 1 3 full-page Illustrations by Amy Sawyer 
 1 2mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " The adventures of Ignatio and his white friend will compare for strangeness with any 
 that the writer has imagined. And the invention of the city and people of the heart, of the 
 secret order, with its ritual and history, and the unforeseen crisis of the tale, shows that the 
 quality that most distinguishes the author's former works is still his in abundance. . . . 
 The tale as a whole is so effective that we willingly overlook its improbability, and so novel 
 that even those who have read all of Rider Haggard's former works will still find something 
 surprising in this." THE CRITIC. 
 
 " Here are strange adventures and wonderful heroisms. The scene is laid in Mexico. 
 The story rehearses the adventures of an athletic Englishman who loves and weds an 
 Indian princess. There are marvelous descriptions of the 'City of the Heart,' a mysteri- 
 ous town hemmed in by swamps and unknown mountains." 
 
 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, NEW YORK. 
 
 " Has a rare fascination, and in using that theme Mr. Haggard has not only hit upon 
 a story of peculiar charm, but he has also wrought out a story original and delightful to 
 even the most jaded reader of the novel of incident." ADVEKTISER, BOSTON. 
 
 " It is a fascinating tale, and the reader will not want to put the book down till he has 
 read the last word." PICAYUNE, NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 "The lovers of Rider Haggard's glowing works have no reason to complain of his latest 
 "book. . . . The story is, all in all, one of the most entertaining of the author's whole 
 list." TRAVELLER, BOSTON. 
 
 " In its splendor of description, weirdness of imagery, its astonishing variety of detail, 
 and the love story which blends with history and fantasy, the book without doubt is a 
 creation distinct from previous tales. Maya, the Lady of the Heart, is an ideal character. 
 . . . Interest is sustained throughout." POST, CHICAGO. 
 
 "The success of Mr. Haggard's stories consists in the spirit of adventure which runs 
 through them, in their rapid succession of incidents, in the bustle which animates their 
 characters, and in the trying situations in which they are placed. . . . this last story 
 . . . introduces his readers ... to a comparatively new field of fiction in the evolu- 
 tion of an ancient Aztec tradition concerning the concealed existence of a wonderful Golden 
 City. . . ." MAIL AND EXPRESS, NEW YORK. 
 
 "A thrilling story of adventure in Mexico. It is doubtful if he has surpassed in vivid 
 coloring his delineation of the character of 'Maya.' This work is really a notable addition 
 to the great body of romance with which his name is associated." PRESS, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 " This romance is really one of the best he has given us." TIMES, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 " When the love of romance shall die in the human heart we may bid farewell to all that 
 is best in fiction. ... In this story we have the same reckless dash of imagination and 
 the same gorgeous profusion of barbaric scenes and startling adventure which have always 
 characterized Mr. Haggard's works." INDEPENDENT, NEW YOKK. 
 
 " His latest, and one of his most powerful stories. It shows the same trenchant, effective 
 way of dealing with his story : and the same power in open, startling situations. It will 
 give the reader some new idea of that ancient people, the Aztecs, as well as of the more mod- 
 ern Mexicans. It is as strong as ' King Solomon's Mines.' " TIMES. HARTFORD. 
 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIPTH AVE,, NEW YOEK.
 
 THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST. 
 
 BY H. RIDER HAGGARD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " SHE," " ALLAN QUATKRMAIN," " MONTBZUMA'S DAUGHTBR," ETC, ETC. 
 
 With 16 full-page Illustrations by Arthur Layard. Crown 
 8vo, cloth, ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " Out of Africa, as all men know, the thing that is new is ever forthcoming. The oil' 
 style is true with regard to Mr. Haggard's romances, and everybody concerned is to be con 
 gratulated upon the romancer's return to the magical country where lies the land of Kor. 
 Africa is Mr. Haggard's heaven of invention. Let him be as prodigal as he may, thence 
 flows an exhaustless stream of romance, rich in wonders new and astonishing. ' The People 
 of the Mist ' belongs to the sphere of ' She ' in its imaginative scope, and, as an example of 
 the story-teller's art, must be reckoned of the excellent company of ' King Solomon's 
 Mines ' and its brethren. We read it at one spell, as it were, hardly resisting that effect of 
 fascination which invites you, at the critical moments of the story, to plunge ahead at t 
 venture to know what is coming, and be resolved as to some harrowing doubt of dilemma. 
 There is no better test of the power of a story than this. . . ." SATURDAY REVIEW. 
 
 " The lawyer, the physician, the business man, the teacher, find in these novels, teem- 
 ing with life and incident, precisely the medicine to rest tired brains and ' to take them out of 
 themselves.' There is, perhaps, no writer of this present time whose works are read more 
 generally and with keener pleasure. The mincing words, the tedious conversations, the 
 prolonged agony of didactic discussion, characteristic of the ordinary novel of the time, find 
 no place in the crisp, bright, vigorous pages of Mr. Haggard's books. . . . ' The People 
 of the Mist ' is what we expect and desire from the pen of this writer ... a deeply 
 interesting novel, a fitting companion to ' Allan Quatertnain.' " PUBLIC OPINION. 
 
 " The story of the combat between the dwarf Otter and the huge ' snake,' a crocodile 
 of antediluvian proportions, and the following account of the escape of the Outram party, 
 is one of the best pieces of dramatic fiction which Mr. Haggard has ever written." BOS- 
 TON ADVERTISER. 
 
 " One of his most ingenious fabrications of marvellous adventure, and so skilfully is it 
 done that the reader loses sight of the improbability in the keen interest of the tale. Two 
 loving and beautiful women figure in the narrative, and in his management of the heroine 
 and her rival the author shows his originality as well as in the sensational element which is 
 his peculiar province." BOSTON BEACON. 
 
 '"The People of the Mist' is the best novel he has written since 'She,' and it runj 
 that famous romance very close indeed. The dwarf Otter is fully up to the mark of Rider 
 Haggard's best character, and his fight with the snake god is as powerful as anything the 
 author has written. The novel abounds in striking scenes and incidents, and the read- 
 er's interest is never allowed to flag. The attack on the slave kraal and the rescue of Juanna 
 are in Mr. Haggard's best vein." CHARLESTON NEWS. 
 
 " It has all the dash and go of Haggard's other tales of adventure, and few readers will 
 be troubled over the impossible things in the story as they follow the exciting exploits of th 
 hero and his redoubtable dwarf Otter. ... . Otter is a character worthy to be classed 
 with Umslopogus, the great Zulu warrior. Haggard has never imagined anything more ter- 
 ror-inspiring than the adventures of Leonard and his party in the awful palace of the Chil- 
 dren of Mist, nor has he ever described a more thrilling combat than that between the dwari 
 and the huge water snake in the sacred pool." SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. 
 
 " It displays all of this popular author's imagery, power to evoke and combine miraculous 
 incidents, and skill in analyzing human motives and emotions in the most striking manner. 
 He is not surpassed by any modern writer of fiction for vividness of description or keenness 
 of perception and boldness of characterization. The reader will find here the same qualities 
 in full measure that stamped ' King Solomon's Mines,' 'Jess,' ' She,' and his other earlier 
 romances with their singular power. The narrative is a series of scenes and pictures ; the 
 events are strange to the verge of ghoulishness : the action of the story is tireless, and the 
 reader is held as with a grip not to be shaken off." BOSTON COURIER. 
 
 " Sometimes we are reminded of King Solomon's Mines ' and sometimes of She,' but the 
 mixture has the same elements of interest, dwells in the same strange land of mystery and 
 adventure, and appeals to the same public that Luys and reads Mr. Haggard's works for the 
 sake of the rapid adventure, the strong handling of improbable incident, and the fascination 
 of the supernatural." BALTIMORE SUN. 
 
 LONGMANS, GBEEN, & CO., 91-93 PIPTH AVE., NEW YOEK.
 
 THE WIZARD. 
 
 BY H. RIDER HAGGARD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "SHE," "[KING SOLOMON'S MINES," ''JOAN HASTE," ETC., ETC. 
 
 With 1 9 full-page Illustrations by Charles Kerr. 
 Crown 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. 
 
 " I owe an exciting, delightful evening once more to a pen say a voice which 
 has held me a willing prisoner in a grasp of iron. It is now ten years ago, I think, 
 since I gave Mr. Rider Haggard my opinion that for the rest of his life he would have 
 ' She ' always with him to be compared with what might follow. That incomparable 
 romance, indeed, has never been surpassed by any living writer. Rider Haggard is 
 the possessor of an imagination stronger, more vivid, more audacious than is found in 
 any other writer of the time. I say this in order to introduce his latest work, ' The 
 Wizard.' It is only a short tale too short but it shows imaginative power that makes 
 it worthy to follow after ' She.' : ' SIR WALTER BESANT, in " THE QUEEN." 
 
 " The scene of this thrilling story is laid in Africa, but in many respects it is a new 
 departure for the writer. . . . has never written anything more pathetic or with 
 greater force than this tale of a missionary venture and a martyr's death. The ' Pass- 
 ing Over ' is told with a simple beauty of language which recalls the last passages in 
 the life of the martyred Bishop Hannington. As for the improbabilities, well, they are 
 cleverly told, and we are not afraid to say that we rather like them ; but Haggard has 
 never achieved a conception so beautiful as that of Owen, or one that he has clothed 
 with so great a semblance of life." PACIFIC CHURCHMAN, SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 " ' The Wizard ' is one of his most vivid and brilliant tales. Miracles are no new 
 things in the frame-work used by the writers of fiction, but no one has attempted just 
 the use of them which Haggard makes in this novel. It is so entirely new, so abso- 
 lutely in line with the expressed beliefs of devout folk everywhere, that it ought to 
 strike a responsive chord in the popular heart as did ' Ben Hur,' and should be equally 
 successful." BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE. 
 
 " Mr. Haggard gives full play in the history of the conversion of the Son of Fire 
 to his strong imagination, and he has succeeded admirably in conveying an earnest 
 religious lesson, while telling one of his most exciting and entertaining stories." 
 
 -^ BEACON, BOSTON. 
 
 " It is to be read at one sitting, without resisting that fascination which draws you 
 on from one to another critical moment of the story, to resolve some harrowing doubt 
 of dilemma. . . . Hokosa, the wizard, whose art proved at first so nearly fatal to 
 the messenger's cause, and whose devilish plots resulted finally in conversion and 
 Christianity, is one of Mr. Haggard's best creations. The portrait has a vigor and 
 picturesqueness comparable to that of ' Allan Quatermain.' " 
 
 PICAYUNE, NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 " It has all the spirit and movement of this popular author's finest work." 
 
 EVENING BULLETIN, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 " A brilliant story truly, and here and there alive with enthusiasm and fire. Mr. 
 Haggard describes savage combats with rare skill, and, somehow, we revel with him 
 when he shows us legion after legion of untamed children of nature fighting to the grim 
 death with uncouth weapons yet with as dauntless a courage as the best trained soldiers 
 of Europe. It may be wrong for him to stir up our savage instincts, but, after all, a 
 healthy animalism is not to be scoffed at in any breed of men." NEW YORK HERALD. 
 
 " Is as fffll of adventure as the most ardent admirer of tales of courage and daring 
 could desire. As its title implies, it portrays a character who is an adept in witch- 
 craft, cunning, and knowledge of human nature. There is a distinct religious element 
 throughout the book ; indeed, but for its religious motive there would be no story." 
 
 ST. Louis REPUBLICAN. 
 
 LONGMANS, GKEEN, & 00., 91-93 FIFTH AVE., NEW.YOKK.
 
 iTHEADAIR BOOK STORE 
 
 BOUGHT.SOLO AND EXCHANGED. 
 N0.43 E.VAN BUREN ST.CHiCAGO.'U. 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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