Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Previous Page
–
Next Page
OCR
i
SJ 20°
\
passion for Ellen, convinced his listener that,
whatever might.be his motives, he .was not
trifliog with him, and he thanked him for the
interest he had taken in his favor. :
“If you feel gratitude for the warning I have
given vou,” replied the unknown, ‘‘ show it by
following my advice; gotu your father in India
—a brilliant opening, in any career: you may
choose, will there be ready for you—here danger
besets your, steps, and misery and disappoint-
ment await you.” ‘ ,
Henry Ashton smiled, as he turned from the
recess,, Without replying: he felt. confident in
the energy of his own indomitable courage—the
idea of danger:was ,pleasing rather than other-
wise to his heart. \
‘I shall. meet this enemy,” he, murmured,
, “and then, let tm look to it! , He will fod a
will and an,arm as unbendivg as his own!”
With those words,,he sought, the spot where
he had left Joe Beans. He, found the honest
rustic surrounded by.a crowd of masks, all of,
whom admired the exquisite tact with which, he
, Maintained his assumed character of a rustic
who, for the first time in his: life, had ventured
to a masquerade, . wie singe
a ° CHAPTER XVI.
Impatience dries the blood and wrings the heart .
Of youth, far more than sorrow, There are thoughts
Which goad the brain, excite the pulse, until
Its every throb is agony, lia
bed tpetees - Old Play.”
‘During the ten days which Meeran Hafaz
had granted to the Khan to accomplish the re-
moval of his rival, the young Indian endured all
the restlessness of a caged tiger. Like most
orientals,' he was a, scrupulous observer of. bis
word; and although he pined to be free from,
the self-imposed obligation which: fettered his
energies and chafed his blood, he,.resolved to
take no active steps until. the time he had-ac-
corded should expire. “When released from his
promise, he could direct the affair himself; for
he saw, from the down-cast looks and the care
with which his confidant: avoided all question
upon the subject, that he had failed in the scheme
he had proposed. Sue
‘* Fool!” he repeatedly murmured, ‘‘to trust
to any instrument but one of my own choos-
ing!”
“Then. he would smile scornfully at, the idea
of a mere'rustic presuming to. cross his path,
and rivaling him with Ellen...»
‘« She cannot love him,” he would add; “for |
she is proud..as beautiful! ~The ayal must be
deceived!” u : r
This consoling thought was quickly dismissed.
The information he had received , was too cir-
cumstantial to admit of doubt, unless he could
bring bis mind to suspect the fidelity of; Zara,
who had _ been his nurse as sell as Ellen’s, and
was equally attached to both her foster-chil-
dren: :
“She does love him!” he exclaimed, as, on
_ the morning of the tenth day, he paced the floor
of his divan; ‘‘and I have launched my bark
upon a sea which hath no verdant isle or sunlit
shore—no port for hope to anchor in—nothing
save barren rocks and treacherous sands, on
which my heart must founder! Let them be-
“ ware the wreck!” he added, with a bitter smile;
**it will not sink atone!”
One of. his European servants entered the
room, and announced that Colonel Mowbray
was waiting to see him.
‘ «Bid him wait,” said the young man, care-
lessly.
The domestic started—he was not accustomed
toso cavalier a mode of receiving visitors of the
Colonel's: rank, 0.0" 2 '
*‘And ‘send; the -Khan to. me,” added his
master,
‘In\a' few minutes his: confidant entered the
divan, wd
‘I see that you have failed!” said Meeran, i
a sarcastic tone; ‘‘ that even your cunning bas
»been baffled by a boy--a peasant! Be it so!
Henceforth,” he added, ‘‘1 must trust to my-
self alone.”
“‘T have indeed been disappointed,” replied
the Khan; ‘‘ this boy—this peasant, as you term
him—whom I expected to find a mere rustic,
with thoughts and feelings humble as his sta-
‘tion, belies his breeding; he.is of the metal of
which men are: made, and possesses a will as
indomitable, and a courage as highly tempered,
as yourown.” .« nosy 4
The eyes of his hearer’ sparkled with joy.
There was something consoling to his pride in
HARRY ASHTON.
finding that he had not been rivaled in the affec-
tion of the'girl he loved by a mere thing of flesh
and sinews—that he had found an antagonist
worthy to contend witb. Like the young glad-
jator trained for the Arena, he panted for the
struggle which should decide between them. “
“Be it so!” he said; “ it suits my humor bet-
ter... I would at any time rather hunt the ‘tiger
than the timid iuutelope would sooner set. my.
heel upon: the serpent than’ the defenseless
worm!” . .
The renegade: shook his head despondingly.
“What!” continued his master, scornfully;
‘«do you seek to’ terrify mé with your village
hero? I thought at least you had known me
better?” ’ . ey
“It is not your’ courage ‘that I doubt,” ob-
served the Khan, ee
“What, then?” haughtily. demanded Meeran.
“Your: fortune,”! ‘replied ‘his confidant,
“Your.energies resemble the fearful toriiadoes
of your native’ land, which’ split the rock and
sweep the valley—whilst they Jast, atl bend be-
fore them; his, the untiring patience which
repairs their ravages, The history of India il-
lustrates the difference between’ the native and
the Saxon race.” °! re
‘His ‘listener continued’ to eye him for some
moments in silence... It was the first time that
_| the speaker had ever ventured to cross‘even his
caprice, much more his will; and be was puz-
zled to comprehend it. Suddenly he'recollected’
the peculiar solicitude h¢ had expressed to con-
ceal his country and knowledge of the English
languagez‘and a strange suspicion crossed: his
mind, se oes
“Ts he of your blood?” he demanded.
«Neither of my name nor blood,” replied the
Khan, without the least sign of hesitation or
confusion, * ‘* Were ‘he, Meeran, despite the
affection which I bear to you and:your dead
father’s memory, I.would find the means to save
him from your hate; as it is, I repeat my cau-
tion—beware of Henry Ashton!” ..,
The usually placid ; features of..Meeran ex-
pressed surprise, not unmixed . with, anger, at
what he considered: the presumption of, the
speaker,
'=‘*A threat!” he exclaimed ete hat;
“Not so,” replied the renegade; ‘but a re-
proach; for, when the heart:is wounded, the
tongue. will speak, I have served: you from a
child—loved you as my son—risked my life a
hundred times, like a useless thing, to do. your
slightest bidding—watched over you in si¢kness
and: in health—and yet, because the prudent
counsels of age accord not with the heart-burn-
ing impatience of/youth, you suspect even me!
Confidence,” he added, ‘' is the seal. upon the
bond of friendship—-suspicion cancels it.” .: ..)
“You are right,” said the young .man, ex-
tending his. hand, which the Khan :grasped_re-
spectfully; ‘‘ but could you read|my heart, you
would pity and forgive me: itis torn with jeal-
ous pangs and disappointed hopes. , Ellen has
been the dream of my young hfe—the star of
my. existence: when it sets, life will set with it,
If 1 do not follow your advice,” he added, “I
can at Jeast appreciate the, fidelity which
prompts it; but you have never loved!” -
The Khan smiled mournfully, ‘
“Or, if you have,” continucd the impatient
youth, ‘‘age has chilled the generous impulse
in your veins: yous heart now listens only to
the cold, cautious dictates of your reason; mine
is like the volcano, brooding over its slumber-
ing fires: when the last barrier yields, the lava
of its passions will spread desolation around,”
“*T perceive,” said the old man, deeply moved
hy the agitation of his charge, ‘that it -is use-
less to preach ‘either’ patience or forbearance:
but you, at least, may listen to the voice of pru-
dence. You are no longer in India, but-in a
land where there is a power beyond the throne
—a power which wealth cannot corrupt, or in-
fluence bend—a power as passionless as princi-
ple—cold and impassable as death—Justice!”
“Justice!” repeated Meeran, with a sneer;
“where shall I tind it? ‘In your Parliament,
where ravaged India, like an outraged queen,
vainly invokes its aid—where the nation’s liber-
ties are bartered annually for honors or for of-
\fice?. Have your serfs found it, who sow, and
reap, and toil, for their thankless task- masters?
Justice! You mock me, Khan!”
“And yet,” urged the renegade—who evi-
dently wished to impress upon the'speaker the
danger of any attempt upon the life of his rival
—''the life of the meanest of ‘the class you
name, is held as sacred by our Jaws as that: of
the noblest in the land.” ~
“Possibly,” said the youth, carelessly; * they
soy
——
are the working bees, and the drones know their”
value!
Not wishing to prolong the conversation, |
Meeran claped his hands, and directed the sery.
ant ‘who’ answered ,his sumnions to inform
Coloncl Mowbray that he was ready, to receive
m. :
a Tam about,” he said, ‘‘to proceed upon 9
visit to the seat of General Bouchier, whose
estate lies in the neighborhood of Carrow, “]
shall see Ellen and this formidable rival—Jjudge
with my own eyes, and act upon my judgment,
J will rot detain you'longer,” he added,"
The Khan took the hint, and left the room,
Tt was evident from the manner of ‘the young
Indian, that he no longer trusted him; and ‘the
conviction, instead of increasing lifs zeal, cooled
it in Lis service. Since his return to England,
feelings and recollections which had: Jong lain
dormant jn his breast, revived: he felt stung by
the ingratitude of his charge, and for the first:
time the possibility of thwarting him crossed
his, mind; but. the ‘thought was dismissed ag’.
Cth a ohiepe .
quickly as it came. 7 ere
"Not yet,” he said; ‘(not ‘yet! ‘Little docs
he dream that’ witha word I could place a bar.
rier between him ‘and bis hopes against whiely
even his energies would fail! but the time has
not arrived for that: \wait—wait! ‘Perhaps I
wrong him!” 07 0 Be te
As he passed Colonel Mowbray in the cor-
ridor, the Jatter saluted’ him, looking him, at’
the same ‘time, earnestly in’ the’ face.’ The
renegade—true to his assumed character of a
native of the East—only sulaamed, en 3 oi
“Very strange!” muttered the uncle of Ellen;
De Vere, half, aloud; I am sure I have seen
those features somewhere before!" sis’) ont
The Khan, who overheard him,.smiled: he
could have told him where and when. vis» *
“When ‘Colonel. Mowbray entered the divan,
where Mceran: was expecting him,:the young
man, without rising from the musoud on which
he was seated, carelessly: pointed to a: pile of .
enshions near him.: , The blood rose to. the tem-
ples ‘of his. visitor: like many who are to be.
found in the world, he retained the pride of his
rank long after he had lost the honor which
should have maintained it) )os se
‘* Have you seen General Bouchier?” inquired.
his host.) ° pet Ls Estes het
“T have,” replied the colonel; ‘‘ he ‘has in-
vited myself-and son to shoot with him in Nor-:
Wo ts “4 On
_-* And you accepted 2” ‘
“Not yet Gee yorsn i omy
*** You will do’so, then,’ said Meeran; ‘the
moment has arrived in which-you can serve me
—redeem, ‘if not your honor, at least the sem-
| blance of ‘it: in the world in which you:move,
few look beyond ‘the surface; the tinsel, there-
fore, will pass current for pure gold.”
The colone] compressed his lips to repress the
burst of pussion that-rose‘at the bitter sarcasm,
which was doubly galling to a man of his yeurs,:
proceeding, as it did, from a mere boy. 5
Mecran saw the struggle, and smiled disdain.
fully: he felt like'a strong man, who had’ set
his heel upon ‘the head of 2 venomous snake—
the writhings of the reptile only amused him,
“Itis time, Colonel Mowbray,” he said; " that
we understood each other; these fretful starts
and sullen looks are offensive.: J£ I do violence
to my nature in treating you as.a friend before
the world—touching the hand. of. the thing I
loathe—exchanging the honorable courtesies of
life with one‘so tainted with dishonor as you,”
he added in the same cold, mocking tone, “you
must ‘be content: to. be treated in: private with
the scorn you merit.” eee tag a
During this address—every word of which
had fallen like a drop of molten lead: upon the | |
heart of the detected cheat—the wretched man
paced the richly carpeted floor of the apartment, *
a prey to rage and shame.
like some half-broken steed from: the hand of
his rude taskmaster, who had used the goad too
recklessly.) eter ae eR ees tas
-Pausing directly opposite the divin on which
Meeran was lounging, he muttered, between bis
clinched teeth, the, word ‘*Coward!”.....
“Coward?” repeated the Indian, starting in
an instant to his feet. Dee Lo jedee f .
“How else call you the man,” demanded the
colonel. his lips still quivering with anger, ‘who
insults a defenseless enemy—who, having calcu-
lated “with devilish» precision his weakness,
wants, and passions, lures him to the verge of a
Precipice, -certnin: that one. false step must
prove the wreteh’s ruin? Had I not a son,” he
added, with'a burst of fecling, “‘whose noble
heart would break at the dishonor of his father.”
Ile started, at last,