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Page 3
The whole of one of the great carved pillars that supported the
high mantle shelf swung noiselessly forward, and stood out at right
angles to the wall. From where he lay Bertram could not see, but he
could well understand that when this was done a narrow doorway had
been revealed, and the next moment a shadowy figure glided with
noiseless steps into the room.
The figure was poorly clad in a doublet of serge much the worse for
wear, and the moonlight showed a strangely haggard face and soiled
and torn raiment. Yet there was an air of dignity about the
mysterious visitor which showed to the astonished boy that he must
at some time have been in better circumstances, and lying quite
still Bertram watched his movements with breathless attention.
With a quick, scared glance round him, as though afraid that even
the silence might be the silence of treachery, the gaunt figure
advanced with covert eagerness across the floor, leaving the door
wide open behind him, as if to be ready for him should he desire to
fly; and precipitating himself upon a ewer of cold water standing
upon the floor, he drank and drank and drank as though he would
never cease.
Plainly he was consumed by the most raging thirst. Bertram had
never seen anything but an exhausted horse after a burning summer's
chase in the forest drink in such a fashion. And as he watched, all
fear left him in a moment, for certainly no phantom could drink dry
this great ewer of spring water; and if he had only a creature of
flesh and blood to deal with, why, then there was certainly no
cause for fear.
In place of dread and terror, a great pity welled up in the
generous heart of the boy. He had all the hatred for oppression and
the chivalrous desire to help the oppressed that seem born in the
hearts of the sons of British birth. Who and what manner of man
this was he did not know; but he was evidently some poor hunted
creature, going in very fear of his life, and as such the boy
pitied him from the very ground of his heart, and would gladly have
helped him had he known how.
He lay for a few moments wondering and pondering. Certainly his
father was no foe to any man. He could not be hiding from his
displeasure. The fugitive had rather taken refuge in his house; and
if so, who better could be found to help him than the son of the
owner?
"Our father and our mother alike have always taught us to befriend
the stranger and the oppressed," said the boy to himself. "I will
ask this stranger of himself, and see if I may befriend him. I
would gladly learn the trick of yon door. It would be a goodly
secret to have for our very own."
It was plain that the fugitive, though aware that the room was
tenanted, had satisfied himself that the occupants were all asleep.
He had ceased his frightened, furtive looks around him, and was
quaffing the last of the water with an air of relish and relief
that was good to see, pausing from time to time to stretch his
limbs and to draw in great gulps of fresh air through the open
window by which he stood, as a prisoner might do who had just been
released from harsh captivity.
The moonlight shining upon his face showed it haggard, unkempt, and
unshorn. Plainly he had been several days in hiding; and by the
gauntness of his figure, and the wolfish gleam in his eye as it
roved quickly round the apartment, as if in search of food, it was
plain that he was suffering keenly from hunger, too.
Bertram's decision was quickly taken. Whilst the man's face was
turned the other way, he quickly rose from his bed, and crossing
the room with noiseless steps, laid a hand upon his arm.
"Hist, friend!" he whispered whilst the start given by the other,
and the hoarse exclamation that broke from his lips, might have
wakened sleepers who were not healthy, tired boys. "Fear not; I am
no foe to betray thee. Tell me who and what thou art, and I will
help thee all I may."
The frightened eyes bent upon him bespoke a great terror. The man's
voice died away as he tried to speak. The only word Bertram could
catch seemed to be a prayer that he would not betray him.
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