Show ii stress rosemary ailyn by MILLICENT E MANN copyright 1904 by LUCAS LINCOLN CO CHAPTER VII continued oh no on horseback he aed fou have other guests then land I 1 questioned cm that s telling he said and ked at me then glanced busly up at a window traveling masked black eyed d pretty as a picture eh land 9 I 1 said jocosely and gave him earty tap upon the shoulder with handle of my riding with I 1 entered the well lighted tap n i a moment I 1 felt the warmth ailt the resinous wood and heard cheerful crackle of the fire but re were so many hankered about open fire place that I 1 saw not its teiva glow made a wide swath as I 1 pushed my to the alre of the men lack only to crowd up again when L taking advantage of the momen gap had obtained a chimney cor for me ie other chimney corner was 1 I 1 y a big bloated fellow with a ly face jock was humbly gra s to him in spite of the fact that fellows mouth was constantly 1 with indecent expostulations h even a landlord catering for anage might with credit to him take umbrage at ie reason was manifest the law an outwardly pacific effect upon e and jock was one this glut us fellow was the petit constable of jeffreys men as he had said they had begun to collect the finals from the near by places to i them to town where the assizes to be held ie criminals were usually a low i set of rascals upon whom no one tes pity the man the constable in custody that day was a differ object an object of both pity and ow for who can gaze upon a i on when the intellect which made a place as any or bedlam will do pox me a dame with so pretty a face need not work he finished and with a loud guffaw looked to his men for applause and trey gave it in the echoing of his faugl ter fhe woman cringing sat down again my hands itched to chastise the fellow and I 1 thought that that should be my part to play ere the constable and I 1 should go our separate ways gil now entered noisily cracking his whip his manner was plainly aggressive his mustachio had ja more upward twirl and his nose was turned to windward like an old war horse who scents battle from afar the constable looked from him to me and then motioned his men back with your permission I 1 said L pulled his table between us and called to jock to bring a bottle of his best vintage going to the assizes 9 I 1 asked to start the conversation yes he replied none too polite ly and it s damnable weather to be out in where are they helda I 1 asked again at chichester he replied shortly indeed said I 1 what heinous crime has the prisoner committed 7 acts demented 9 nothing of the sort nothing of the sort he answered verbosely enough now he s a play actor he s now acting the principal part for the first time listen how he rants a fine actor he hah hah you may be m staken as to his state I 1 said and I 1 bowed to ghe my words a graciousness gracious nesi and to take the edge off my sarcasm for I 1 added men even with your ability have been known to be mistaken yes damned mistaken put in gil in his deep voice baill justice must be done I 1 has bened to add seeing his choler coming up at gil s words what has he a superior being Is gone and not pity tug at his heart strings he been no mean creature else the faced woman young as regards i from her face old as to events lot clung to him the constable and his men been at the inn long enough to effectually dried and in accod ing this had completely filled the i about the hearth leaving the miserable nis erable beings yet cold and wet led in a come e boors to leave a woman so giggled out of the circle of ith I 1 felt my temper rising like in a hot room bared insolently constable ad his legs stretched out and took i than halt the fire place I 1 let yes travel the length of his per from his coarse grained visage i to his rough shoes with an in not to be denied fidgeted his bulky body his face bie redder but with a hitch to shoulders he fortified himself for imp oslee damme that belched hla greasy alpa aith pleasure I 1 said and not ng tor his sunrise to evaporate tin led are these your fellows 9 seem in favor of a monopoly grunted arned to them who equally ob u occupied the middle seated at ile out of the way fellows I 1 jey scampered to their feet more pt than their master I 1 gave table a twirl which sent it spin backwards I 1 pushed my chair ts place thus the chimney corner nade vacant me nearer the fire I 1 said bously to the woman and bring nan you are wet dry your booked for a moment as the con cocked his gimlet eye as h he might espouse the cause of nan who recovering had aclus clus about him bu the woman lead he man a thing of shreds and es droll enough looking too the old theatrical suit he had on i out here and there with tawdry racks glided into the vacated and so diverted them i demented fellow began toha e us in ccoce bits ol 01 the e of denmark at which I 1 won it gave the constable the op alty he wished and he threatened a vole of thunder into hence s woman started up and besought let them go hyill take care of him she plead indeed I 1 will please let us go lu need not stay with the old he answered her laughing in gly in her face it he is found tb states of tyburn Is as good 41 donea come landlord I 1 called to jock another bottle of the same Us heart warming I 1 trow partake it with me it will help the flow of words while it flows from cup to lip I 1 added to the constable it was far from my wish to anger the tyke at present god s help rot much of a tale when all is told he began afier he had tor the slaked his thirst by a most copious potation only another covenanter and the way of the transgressor Is hard he raised his eyes to the i overhead with a pious look more like puritan than established the former no doubt he had bean but like many another who had nerved the lord high protector upon the advent of charles II 11 had deemed it best to change both religion and man ners we have been upon the lookout for him some time he somehow managed to escape us when the others were arrested years ago but we have him fast enough now fast enough he finished and rolled the words un der his tongue as it the taste of them was good being a covenanter would not make him apprehend die I 1 returned there is no act out against him you think soa he demurred what it he had been one of the plot who conspired against the royal of the kinga he added slyly of course that Is a different thing I 1 said I 1 looked at the woman she had risen and was trying to ejaculate something she hart a most pathetic face and her arms were neld out in appeal toward me she was and weary and the moisture was ris ing from her clothes in a cloud blessed sir at last she gasped how could he have been at the meet ing of the Covenant ers in lyme when he was playing at the dukes theater in londona 0 so ve say baggage said the man well give ye an op to prove bour words those lips will not rebuff then the prisoner had been silent for time but at the mention of the duke s theater he began to rave to mutter and to sigh I 1 hardened myself to it all for the time even the piteous look on the woman s face gil moved from where he was standing near my chair over to where the woman and prisoner eat ire posed for a cynic et would drop be tore the fire from a pretty woman s eye sooner than adv man that I 1 knew and became weak as water and smooth as table oil he leaned over the back of the bench on which they crouched with outspread hands over the blaze and began to talk to the woman she turned her body around so that abt she was saying in a whisper should cot be understood from the motion of her lips by the other occupants of the room such exclamations as pox me zounds etcetera tell from gils lips he was deeply moved I 1 trembled for my plans the constable for one was not en this with his men it was dif ferent from the laughter and ing looks which they bestowed upon the trio it reached its climax when the woman in her eagerness laid her hand on gil s arm she 11 take up with him quick enough of them said in a loud aside at which they all burst into what would have been a longer and perhaps louder laugh it gil had not quickly jerked his sword from its scabbard throwing off the woman s hand he twirled it rapidly in the air e en over the heads of the twain h was championing and dared the teu low to repeat his remark there waa silence among the men many a fellow has bit the dust toi less gil said menacingly as he slid his sword back with a rattling sound I 1 called for yet more wine and again the constable did justice to it he took from his pocket his dice and rattled them persuasively ye play he asked why nota I 1 replied stifling a yawn the sky yet remains dark it will be hours before the rain stops if at all today ow throughout the room was heard the rattle rattie of the dice as they fell upon the deal boards of the table for gil had also seated himself apparently on amicable terms with the other fellows and they had begun to game likewise frequent curses al terna ted with the fall of the dice they did not come from gil and told who was the loser the air was dense from the smoke rom gil s pipe fo he was an inveterate smoker and had suffered considerably from the habit when it first fastened its hold upon him gone hungry been imprisoned and came near to having had his ears cut off yet nothing could make him ave it up dice throwing had been gil s part in my education as I 1 sait before and although I 1 was no rake to waste my patrimony in play with such scum still I 1 humored the man and let him win my money while I 1 kept his blasg filled after he became maud lin and raved and cursed whenever I 1 won which was so seldom that his face had a leering cunning look as one who plays a deep game and finds him successful in it to be continued |