Show 1 A N TH E ilk I 1 L afu E E sq S 0 of a CIZO L rl V I 1 C t v C co 66 y In arving VINCiN QC HELLER H EL L CHAPTER XII continued 23 meanwhile the governor himself sat smoking a long turkish pipe wrought of amber and jasmine wood he emeled and looked at the strangers but said eald nothing g ills feet could never bask in the sunlight of hla his smiles ba 4 ing shadowed by his own periphery ile he wets was as silent as a beer barrel whose structure his midsection mid section resembled Bem sem bled the jolly burgomaster bade the negro who had bad opened the door take the newcomers to theli their room with their luggage robert put on a new i tan coat hose shoes and doublet which ho he had bad bought at fort orange they have to take me as 1 1 am in this suit of new buckskin which I 1 put on at the fort amos remarked its an aa good as new coming below they found the house lighted for the great fete of twelfth tw elath night mr van twitter and the dominie sat at a table drinking together sit down with us and drink to all the wise men said gald the dominie as he ordered beer to be brought fot for them the women are busy baking the great cake it will look 1001 like a snow covered mountain heres hoping that one of you may be the bean king numbers of englishmen from virginia and from the colonies in new england dissatisfied with the outlook or the courts had come to new amsterdam more than a score of these malcontents were now at the fete suddenly in a group of noisy merrymakers merry makers robert disco discoverer rod crick leighton the friend of james rosewell whom he had seen as a guest at the governors house in boston A fear came to robert tor for he fie knew that the friends would probably have met in new amsterdam when rosewell came down from the north leighton was over cupped with three hundred mer merryman merrymakers merry rymal makers ers in the big house there was little danger bainger of a recognition robert and amos made their way to another room and sat down in a shadowed corner with some happy dutchmen who were smoking and drinking beer at a round table near them a little group of englishmen were telling drills and gossiping they said eald that there were not five people in new amsterdam outside the corn com donys office who read or write and that the governor himself signed with rith a cross it would seem that pate fate had its own plans for the boy robert suddenly a tIn singular gular event thrust him into unwelcome prominence the great twelfth night cale was it a kind of treasure tred sure mountain A gilded bean hod had been dropped into its batter before vie the baking he who found it in tits his portion was the bean king the balili balthasar asar of tb the e fete to whom all present had bad to render homage robert heathers drew the bean immediately he bet became ame the center of interest the crowd gathered around him the burgomaster led him to the big room and introduced him in a humorous speech the young roan man accepted this in excellent good humor ile he summoned amos who translated each sentence gen tence after it was spoken greatness was always beyond my hope robert answered like most greatness it comes to ine me by treel accident dent its an ill III fit I 1 acl as I 1 did once years ago when I 1 put on my fathers breeches my throne Is founded on a lean bean but no king could have a fairer kingdom lo lovelier veller ladles and more gallant gentlemen to yield him homage as undeserved as that of th the 6 king icing of my native land I 1 only wish it were toy my prerogative to kiss nil all my female subjects but I 1 am happy nevertheless lessin in looking at them lie he was a popular king all the ladies came and congratulated him and made deep curtsies as they shook his hand and isome offered him film their cheeks checks to he be kissed then they brought him food and ana drink and souvenirs amos hugged the boy when they wet we t to their room PI 1 I am proud b 0 yel ye I 1 he exclaimed when Bo so methin lias has to be saddye said ye know what to say as well as capt yohn john smith ever did well for a long time ive had nothing to do but think im I 1 reckon thinking has been goodford good for me now im a man not of much account dilt but a kind of man we have faced so many perils that a twelfth night fete ought not to worry us but he did worry when he fie had got into bed A suspicion loomed out of the mysterious depths of his inner self hat chat the bean would grow into a tree with death in iii its chadow lie he would not dis dispel pel the happiness of ht his friend with his own fears ue lie bore them blone alone if lie he had been less con considerate il one may be almost sure thai the history of ills life would have bare been very different tolt foi ane shrewd old pioneer with tits hla elear clear vision would have been up and doing instead of lying down for or needed sleep the tha celebration of twelfth night continued twenty four hours with a diminishing and diverted fervor some time being needed for recovery robert and amos were among the crowd that gathered on the plain at ten to witness the livery merry pastime of clubbing the cat A lightly coopered barrel with a cat in it was roped upright between posts the contestants stood about a hundred feet away and threw clubs at the barrel the one who broke it and released the cat got a bottle of good wine the barrel was no sooner broken than all the throwers th rowers set out in a rush tor for tile the seared scared cat who got away from that place with no unnecessary delay if one surce succeeded eded in catching the cat on was rewarded w with ith a bottle of wine the noisier game of putting pulling the goose followed A goose whose neck and head had been thoroughly greased was hung by its ita feet to a cord stretched between posts about ten feet high men rode under the goose at a gallop and add by seizing its head endeavored deavo red to pull it free a most difficult undertaking the slippery goose was himself the reward of the successful contestant at midday robert and amos returned to the house of the director general to find that its atmosphere had changed their host met them with a sober face in the hall he was polite but eager to get rid of them he had learned that the hector an english ship was anchored in a harbor off the connecticut shore near a small settlement called QuInne it would be sailing within a week or so many traders ou on the long island were taking their furs to that ship as there might be a moons wait or more before a dutch vessel would arrive at a point beyond the hellegat hellegas Hel legat 4 ell 7 A L I 1 e W P d Ro RoB ewells sewells handsome face was R red ed with indignation river they could cross in a shallop to an english trading post on the east bay there they could soon find conveyance to the ship ile he would auld give them horses and a guide to take them northward to the shallop ferry the matter was not open to argument they went that afternoon they found a small settlement of english people a mile or so from the landing there they learned that the hector was teed iced in and would not be sailing before the moon of the bright lights late in march or early in april they were made welcome by a man who lived in a comfortable cabin and who spent his winters hunting bunting and trapping and clearing his land A small far farm kept him busy in the summer that evening amos said to robert 1 I like mr van Tw Illers change 0 front can ye yb explain it its an easy riddle said robert leighton fell in with jim roslwell Ro sowell and jim told him that I 1 ws trying to escape the hang mans noose waiting for me in boston of course he hb help seeing me last night he lia told the die director general that im an outlaw and a fugitive the poor roan man was anxious to wash his big hands of me before the news spread 1 11 I see pee through that barn door amos answered 1 I wish ye had told me this afore now its that hang by chillon Il osewell just because he be wants to kill ye out 0 his way as a rival dont let it plague ye well fix the hint flint 0 this they spent seven weeks in tills thIs little settlement on the vong long island helping their host hosi with tits his clearing and hurning burning near the cabin in the first thaw of the spring they went in a loaded with furs to quin they reached the ships shins side only to learn from her puritan captain that he could take no more passengers at the he little settlement on the shore they ran upon jurin samp ramp the boston con stable who immediately seized robert and disarmed him 1 I began to see it as 8 soon oon as yon told me said amos weve weva stepped into a trap rosewell osewell Il got it all set and ready before beford he left the island the constable showed his warrant well im glad to see gee you said robert you need took look for no resistance si im tired of this matter and nm am ready to see the end of it whatever it may be ills hia friend put in a word here and before it ends amos will have something to say hang on to yer courage the ample samp with a took look of wise severity thus admonished tits hta prisoner ne r make a clean breast and throw herself on the mercy 0 the court it will be better for ye if ye dont I 1 give a cats whiskers for fer yer life ado do ye think that ye can scare this boy ye old nincompoop I 1 amos answered hell throw himself nowhere hell just stand still and keep still and let em cm prove it if they can the last entries in the diaries of robert and amos were written while they waited in the rude house of a settler as the constable was storing his pack with food for the Jo journey irney it Is likely that they followed the pc pequot path but the historian has haa no knowledge of th their air adventures on the 1 way war I 1 CHAPTER XIII peggy weld takei take charge of the case of robert heathers peggy had bought a bit of wild country that pleased her she had built house on it she and her brother an amiable youth much devoted to his sister and two years younger young er than she would be moving into it soon with a number of servants when bosewell no sewell having returned from it his Is quest came to see her at the 1 he gave her a dark account of It oberta look and behavior he Is a scapegrace tt a clown rosewell Ho sewell said we have evidence to hang him lie he will try to get across the sea but I 1 think that the righteous arm of the law may prevent it and bring him to the punishment he deserves the keen minded peggy answered if anything pulls him here hera it will not be the righteous arm of the law it will be the jealous arm of james rosewell will you never come to your right mind in this matter he asked 1 I am trying to save you from disgrace have you no thought thong of your soul yes but it Is not like a sore finger it gives me time to think of others you have a kind of inflammation of the soul you mistake it for righteousness but where Is your charity 1 I have no charity tor for proved adulterers yet you are very human and I 1 have a fanes that you could slip and fall as easily as any man I 1 know you ought not to be judging other men so freely I 1 have no faith in your evidence rosewell was irritated he arose and said peggy I 1 think that I 1 shall be able to show you that I 1 do not misjudge the man or the evidence he asked mo me to give you this love token which you sent to him the night of his escape you were then engaged to me ile he true but I 1 had learned that I 1 could not love oe a man worshiping a go god d of iron fron related to the tudors and the stuarts I 1 frankly confess to you yon that I 1 had begun be au n to love lore robert heathers Ro sewells handsome face was red with indignation lie ile behaved with admirable nolin frable restraint ills his british temper could not accept defeat well peggy I 1 love you in spite of all this be said what I 1 have done has been for your sake you will know soon that this man Is not worthy of your love then if you will let me ine I 1 shall try to show you that I 1 am not so stern as you think me with that lie he left her the drama began to quicken its pace while this talk was going on william sitting by the fireside with margaret croop hooper er who h had ad mothered him through his troubles was unconsciously weaving threads s for the curious pattern of the th e last act the woman told him film of events which had come to pass pas s aforetime in england she told how her grandfather john hooper the bishop of worcester had been burned at the r take stake by ekla enry r y tudor how her mother and uncle had hed fled from home and hidden in the greenwood how at wt latt they had been captured by the horsemen of the bloody queen and driven before them in a storm like cattle and shut up in dungeons all because they had bad been identified as members of it a these recitals came in a melancholy monotonous tone as she eat emitting by the fireside TO SE CONTINUED I 1 |