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Prisoners of Hope: A Tale of Colonial Virginia, a novel by Mary Johnston |
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Chapter 23. The Question |
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_ CHAPTER XXIII. THE QUESTION "We know all but two things, but those are the most important of all," said the Governor, tapping his jeweled fingers against the table. "It is much to be regretted," said the Surveyor-General, "that the presence of the young lady was so soon discovered. Otherwise--" "Otherwise we might have had further information on more than one subject," said the Governor dryly. "We must make the best of what we have," continued Carrington calmly. "After all, it is enough." The Governor rose and began to pace the floor, his head thoughtfully bent, his unwounded hand tugging at the curls of his periwig. "It is not enough," he said at length, pausing before the great table around which the company were seated. "Thanks to the gallant daughter of the gallant Verneys,"--a bow and smile to Patricia, sitting enthroned in the great chair in their midst,--"we know much, but it is not enough. These rogues have set a day upon which to rise; they have appointed a place to which they are to resort. That day may be to-morrow, that place any point in any one of a dozen counties." "I apprehend that the cockatrice was to be hatched near by," said Sir Charles. "It is the likeliest thing," answered the Governor, "seeing that their ringleader belongs to this plantation. But we do not know. And there may not be time to reach the planters, to give them warning, to arrest these d--d traitors, scattered as they are from the James to Rappahannock, and from Henricus to the Chesapeake. It might be best to assemble the trainbands at this cursed spot if it can be found, and to await their coming in force. But to know neither time nor place--to start a hue and cry and have the storm burst before it reaches ten plantations--to guard one point and see fire rise at another a dozen leagues away--impossible! Gentlemen, we must come at the heart of this matter!" "It is most advisable," said Colonel Verney gravely. "Examine the prisoners again," suggested Sir Charles. "One of them is no wiser than we. You are certain as to this, Mistress Patricia?" "Yes, your Excellency." "Humph! one does not know; three are dead; there remain, then, that shaven and branded runaway and the two convicts." "You will learn naught from the runaway, your Excellency!" called out the overseer from where he stood at a respectful distance from the company. "He's one of them crazy fanatics that wild horses couldn't draw truth from. No Indian torture stake could make him speak if he didn't want to,--nor keep him from it if he did." "I know that kind," said the Governor, with a short laugh, "and we will not waste time upon him, but will try if the convict--he who seems to have been their leader--be not more amenable. Bring him in, Woodson." When the overseer had gone, a silence fell upon the company gathered in the master's room. The Governor paced to and fro, perplexity in his face; the Colonel knit his grizzled brows and studied the floor; Dr. Anthony Nash brought the writing materials displayed upon the table, closer to him, and held a quill ready poised for dipping into the ink horn, while the Surveyor-General with a carefully composed countenance toyed with a pink which he took from the bowl of flowers before him. Sir Charles leaned back in his seat and looked at Patricia who, seated between him and her father, stared before her with hard, bright eyes. Her lips were like a scarlet flower against the absolute pallor of her face; her hair was a crown of pale gold. In the great chair, her white arms resting upon the dark wood, her feet upon a carved footstool, she looked a queen, and the knot of brilliantly dressed gentlemen her attendant council. The door opened and the two overseers appeared with Landless, who advanced and stood, silent and collected, before the ring of hostile faces. "What is your name, sirrah?" said the Governor, throwing himself into his chair and frowning heavily. "Godfrey Landless." "I am told that you are son to one Warham Landless, a so-called colonel in the rebel army and hand in glove with the usurper himself." "I am the son of Colonel Warham Landless of the forces of the Commonwealth, and friend to his Highness the Lord Protector." "Humph! And did you fight in these same forces yourself?" "At Worcester, yes." "Humph! the son of a traitor and rebel--traitor and rebel yourself--and convict to boot! A pretty record! On what day was this rising to occur?" No answer. The Governor repeated the question. "On what day was this precious mine to be sprung? And to what place were you to resort?" Landless remaining silent, the Governor's face began to flush and the veins in his forehead to swell. "Have you lost your tongue?" he said fiercely. "If so, we will find a way to recover it." "I shall not answer those questions," said Landless firmly. "It is your one chance for life," said the Governor sternly. "Answer me truly, and you may escape the gallows. Refuse, and you hang, so surely as I sit here." "I shall not answer them." "Sink me if I ever knew a Roundhead so careless of his own interests," drawled Sir Charles. The Governor whispered to the master of the plantation, then turned again to the prisoner. "I give you one more chance," he said harshly. "When is this day? Where is this place?" "I shall not tell you." "We will see about that," said his Excellency with compressed lips. "Verney, send your daughter from the room. Woodson, you understand this gear, having been in the Indies. This man is to tell us all that he knows of this business. Call in a trustworthy slave or two to help you." Patricia uttered a low cry, and the Surveyor-General crushed the flower between his fingers and turned upon the Governor. "Your Excellency! I protest! This that you would do is not lawful! Surely such harsh measures are not needed." The Governor's fury exploded. "Not needful!" he exclaimed in a high voice. "Not needful, when upon these questions hang the fortunes of the Colony! when if we fail, to-morrow may usher in a blacker forty-four! And not lawful! I am the law in this. State, Major Carrington; I am the King's representative, and this is my prerogative! and I say that by fair means or foul this information must be gained. This is no time to prate of humanity. We are to show humanity to ourselves; we are to stamp out this lit fuse. Or does Major Carrington wish it to burn on?" "No," said Carrington coldly. "I spoke hastily. You are right, of course, and I will interfere no further." An hour later Patricia stood before the hall window looking out upon the dazzling water and the green velvet of the marshes with wide, unseeing eyes. Her hands were clenched at her sides and upon each cheek burned a crimson spot. Beside her crouched Betty Carrington who, upon the first rumor of trouble at Verney Manor, had ridden over from Rosemead. Their strained ears caught no sound from the room opposite other than the occasional sound of the Governor's voice, raised in interrogation. There came no answering voice. Patricia stood motionless, with eyes that never wandered from the rich scene without, and with lips pressed together, but Betty hid her face in the other's skirts and shivered. The door of the master's room opened and both started violently. The overseer strode down the hall and had laid his hand upon the latch of the door leading to the offices, when his mistress called him to her. "Do they know? Has the man told?" she asked with an effort. Woodson shook his head. "He's as dumb as an oyster. Might as well try to get anything from an Indian. They're going to try t' other--Trail." He left the hall, but was back in five minutes' time with the forger. They entered the master's room, and Patricia, seized by a sudden impulse, followed them, leaving Betty trembling in the window seat. Unnoted by all but one of the company, she slipt to a seat in the shadow of her father's burly shoulders. He was leaning forward, talking to the Governor, who sat very erect, his features fixed in an expression of dogged determination. The Surveyor-General sat well behind the table, and upon the polished wood before him lay a little heap of torn petals and broken stems. At the far end of the room and leaning heavily against the wall was the prisoner whose examination was just finished. Sir Charles had seen the entrance of the lady of the manor, and he now rose from his seat and came to her. "Not a syllable," he whispered in answer to the question in her eyes. "Roundhead obstinacy! But I think that this fellow will prove more malleable." His prediction was verified. Ten minutes later the Governor rose to his feet triumphant. "So!" he said, drawing a long breath. "We are, I think, gentlemen, at the very core at last. The time, day after to-morrow; the place, Poplar Spring in this county. And now to work! Those of these d--d Oliverians whom we can reach must be arrested at once. Swift messengers must be sent to all plantations far and near. The trainbands must be called out. Time presses, gentlemen!" "And these men?" said the Colonel. "Must go to Jamestown gaol, where the one shall hang as surely as my name is William Berkeley. For the other--" "Your Excellency has promised me my life," said Trail cringingly, but with an inscrutable something that was not fear in his sinister green eyes. "An escort must be gotten together," said the Colonel, "and the day is far advanced. I advise keeping them here until the morning." "See that you keep them straitly then," said the Governor. "Trust me for that, your Excellency," said the overseer grimly. "Then to work, gentlemen," cried the Governor, "for there is much to do and but little time to do it in. Major Carrington, you with Mr. Peyton will ride with me to Jamestown. Colonel Verney, you will know what measures to take for the safety of your shire. Woodson, have the horses brought around at once." The Council broke up in haste and confusion, and its members, talking eagerly, streamed into the hall. Carrington was the last in line, and he paused before Landless. The under overseer and the slave Regulus were at a little distance replacing the cords about Trail's arms. The Surveyor-General cast a quick glance towards the door, saw that the last retreating figure was that of Mr. Peyton, and approached his lips close to Landless's ear. "You are a brave man," he said in a low and troubled voice. "From my soul I honor you! I would have saved you, would save you now if I could. But I am cruelly placed." "I have no hope for this life--and no fear," said Landless calmly. Carrington paused irresolute, and a flush rose to his face. "I would like to hear you say that you do not blame me," he said at last with an effort. "I do not blame you," said Landless. Woodson appeared in the doorway. "The Governor is waiting, Major Carrington." "If I can do ought to help you, I will," said Carrington hastily, and left the room. A moment later came the jingling of reins and the sound of rapid hoofs quickening into the planter's pace as the Governor and the Surveyor-General whirled away. _ |
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