第 39 页

I will run round to Dr. Hodges, and I am sure, at my request, he will

go round at once to see them."

Cyril walked fast towards the lodging occupied by the Harveys. It was

at the house of a mercer, but he and his family had, three weeks

before, gone away, having gladly permitted his lodgers to remain, as

their presence acted as a guard to the house. They had brought up an

old servant with them, and were therefore able to dispense with other

attendants. Cyril hurried along, trying, as usual, to pay as little

heed as he could to the doleful cries that arose from many of the

houses. Although it was still broad daylight there was scarce a soul

in the streets, and those he met were, like himself, walking fast,

keeping as far as possible from any one they met, so as to avoid

contact.

As he neared the house he heard a woman scream. A moment later a

casement was thrown open, and Mrs. Harvey's head appeared. She gave

another piercing cry for help, and was then suddenly dragged back,

and the casement was violently closed. Cyril had so frequently heard

similar cries that he would have paid no attention to it had it come

from a stranger, but he felt that Mrs. Harvey was not one to give way

to wild despair, even had her husband been suddenly attacked with the

Plague. Her sudden disappearance, and the closing of the casement,

too, were unaccountable, unless, indeed, her husband were in a state

of violent delirium. He ran to the door and flung himself against it.

"Help me to force it down," he cried to a man who was passing.

"You are mad," the man replied. "Do you not see that they have got

the Plague? You may hear hundreds of such cries every day."

Cyril drew his sword, which he always carried when he went out of an

evening--for, owing to the deaths among the City watch, deeds of

lawlessness and violence were constantly perpetrated--and struck,

with all his strength, with the hilt upon the fastening of the

casement next the door. Several of the small panes of glass fell in,

and the whole window shook. Again and again he struck upon the same

spot, when the fastening gave way, and the window flew open. He

sprang in at once, ran through the shop into the passage, and then

upstairs. The door was open, and he nearly fell over the body of a

man. As he ran into the room he heard the words,--

"For the last time: Will you sign the deed? You think I will not do

this, but I am desperate."

As the words left his mouth, Cyril sprang forward between the man and

Mr. Harvey, who was standing with his arms folded, looking

steadfastly at his opponent, who was menacing him with a drawn sword.

The man, with a terrible oath, turned to defend himself, repeating

the oath when he saw who was his assailant.

"I let you off last time lightly, you scoundrel!" Cyril exclaimed.

"This time it is your life or mine."

The man made a furious lunge at him. Cyril parried it, and would at

the next moment have run him through had not Mr. Harvey suddenly

thrown himself between them, hurling Cyril's antagonist to the

ground.

"Put up your sword," he said to Cyril. "This man is my son; scoundrel

and villain, yet still my son, even though he has raised his hand

against me. Leave him to God."

Cyril had stepped a pace back in his surprise. At first he thought

that Mr. Harvey's trouble had turned his brain; then it flashed

across him that this ruffian's name was indeed John Harvey. The man

was about to rise from the floor when Cyril again sprang forward.

"Drop that sword," he exclaimed, "or I will run you through. Now,

sir," he said to Mr. Harvey, "will you draw out that pistol, whose

butt projects from his pocket, or your son may do one of us mischief

yet?"

That such had been the man's intention was evident from the glance of

baffled rage he threw at Cyril.

"Now, sir, go," his father said sternly. "Remember that, henceforth,

you are no son of mine. Did I do my duty I should hand you over to

the watch--not for your threats to me, but for the sword-thrust you

have given to Joseph Edmonds, who has many times carried you on his

shoulder when a child. You may compass my death, but be assured that

not one farthing will you gain thereby. 'Vengeance is mine, saith the

Lord.' I leave it to Him to pay it. Now go."

John Harvey rose to his feet, and walked to the door. Then he turned

and shook his fist at Cyril.

"Curse you!" he said. "I will be even with you yet."

Cyril now had time to look round. His eye fell upon the figure of

Mrs. Harvey, who had fallen insensible. He made a step towards her,

but her husband said, "She has but fainted. This is more pressing,"

and he turned to the old servant. Cyril aided him in lifting the old

man up and laying him on the couch.

"He breathes," said he.

"He is wounded to death," Mr. Harvey said sadly; "and my son hath

done it."

Cyril opened the servant's coat.

"Here is the wound, high up on the left side. It may not touch a

vital part. It bleeds freely, and I have heard that that is a good

sign."

"It is so," Mr. Harvey said excitedly. "Perhaps he may yet recover. I

would give all that I am worth that it might be so, and that, bad as

he may be, the sin of this murder should not rest on my son's soul."

"I will run for the doctor, sir, but before I go let me help you to

lift your wife. She will doubtless come round shortly, and will aid

you to stanch the wound till the doctor comes."

Mrs. Harvey was indeed already showing signs of returning animation.

She was placed on a couch, and water sprinkled on her face. As soon

as he saw her eyes open Cyril caught up his hat and ran to Dr.

Hodges. The doctor had just finished his supper, and was on the point

of going out again to see some of his patients. On hearing from Cyril

that a servant of some friends of his had been wounded by a robber,

he put some lint and bandages in his pocket, and started with him.

"These robberies are becoming more and more frequent," he said; "and

so bold and reckless are the criminals that they seem to care not a

jot whether they add murder to their other crimes. Where do you say

the wound is?"

Cyril pointed below his own shoulder.

"It is just about there, doctor."

"Then it may be above the upper edge of the lung. If so, we may save

the man. Half an inch higher or lower will make all the difference

between life and death. As you say that it was bleeding freely, it is

probable that the sword has missed the lung, for had it pierced it,

the bleeding would have been chiefly internal, and the hope of saving

him would have been slight indeed."

When they reached the house Cyril found that Mrs. Harvey had quite

recovered. They had cut open the man's clothes and her husband was

pressing a handkerchief, closely folded, upon the wound.

"It is serious, but, I think, not vital," Dr. Hodges said, after

examining it. "I feel sure that the sword has missed the lung."

After cutting off the rest of the man's upper garments, he poured,

from a phial he had brought with him, a few drops of a powerful

styptic into the wound, placed a thick pad of lint over it, and

bandaged it securely. Then, giving directions that a small quantity

of spirits and water should be given to the patient from time to

time, and, above all things, that he should be kept perfectly quiet,

he hurried away.

"Is there anything more I can do, sir?" Cyril asked Mr. Harvey.

"Nothing more. You will understand, sir, what our feelings are, and

that our hearts are too full of grief and emotion for us to speak. We

shall watch together to-night, and lay our case before the Lord."

"Then I will come early in the morning and see if there is aught I

can do, sir. I am going back now to Mr. Wallace, who was uneasy at

your absence. I suppose you would wish me to say only that I found

that there was a robber in the place who, having wounded your

servant, was on the point of attacking you when I entered, and that

he fled almost immediately."

"That will do. Say to him that for to-night we shall be busy nursing,

and that my wife is greatly shaken; therefore I would not that he

should come round, but I pray him to call here in the morning."

"I will do so, sir."

Cyril went downstairs, closed the shutters of the window into which

he had broken, and put up the bars, and then went out at the door,

taking special pains to close it firmly behind him.

He was glad to be out of the house. He had seen many sad scenes

during the last few weeks, but it seemed to him that this was the

saddest of all. Better, a thousand times, to see a son stricken by

the Plague than this. He walked slowly back to the minister's. He met

Mr. Wallace at the door of his house.

"I was coming round," the latter said. "Of course one or other of

them are stricken?"

"No, sir; it was another cause that prevented their coming. Just as I

reached the house I heard a scream, and Mrs. Harvey appeared at the

casement calling for help. I forced open a window and ran up. I found

that a robber had entered the house. He had seriously wounded the old

servant, and was on the point of attacking Mr. Harvey when I entered.

Taken by surprise, the man fled almost immediately. Mrs. Harvey had

fainted. At first, we thought the servant was killed, but, finding

that he lived, I ran off and fetched Dr. Hodges, who has dressed the

wound, and thinks that the man has a good chance of recovery. As Mrs.

Harvey had now come round, and was capable of assisting her husband,

they did not accept my offer to stay and do anything I could. I said

I was coming to you, and Mr. Harvey asked me to say that, although

they were too much shaken to see you this evening, they should be

glad if you would go round to them the first thing in the morning."

"Then the robber got away unharmed?" Mr. Wallace asked.

"He was unharmed, sir. I would rather that you did not question me on

the subject. Mr. Harvey will doubtless enter fully into the matter

with you in the morning. We did not exchange many words, for he was

greatly disturbed in spirit at the wounding of his old servant, and

the scene he had gone through; and, seeing that he and his wife would

rather be alone with their patient, I left almost directly after Dr.

Hodges went away. However, I may say that I believe that there are

private matters in the affair, which he will probably himself

communicate to you."

"Then I will ask no more questions, Cyril. I am well content to know

that it is not as I feared, and that the Plague had not attacked

them."

"I said that I would call round in the morning, sir; but I have been

thinking of it as I came along, and consider that, as you will be

there, it is as well that I should not do so. I will come round here

at ten o'clock, and should you not have returned, will wait until you

do. I do not know that I can be of any use whatever, and do not wish

to intrude there. Will you kindly say this to them, but add that

should they really wish me to go, I will of course do so?"

Mr. Wallace looked a little puzzled.

"I will do as you ask me, but it seems to me that they will naturally

wish to see you, seeing that, had it not been for your arrival, they

might have been robbed and perhaps murdered."

"You will understand better when you have seen Mr. Harvey, sir. Now I

will be making for home; it is about my usual hour, and John Wilkes

will be beginning to wonder and worry about me."

To John, Cyril told the same story as to Mr. Wallace.

"But, how was it that you let the villain escape, Master Cyril? Why

did you not run him through the body?"

"I had other things to think of, John. There was Mrs. Harvey lying

insensible, and the servant desperately wounded, and I thought more

of these than of the robber, and was glad enough, when he ran out, to

be able to turn my attention to them."

"Ay, ay, that was natural enough, lad; but 'tis a pity the villain

got off scot-free. Truly it is not safe for two old people to be in

an empty house by themselves in these times, specially as, maybe, the

houses on either side are also untenanted, and robbers can get into

them and make their way along the roof, and so enter any house they

like by the windows there. It was a mercy you chanced to come along.

Men are so accustomed now to hear screams and calls for aid, that

none trouble themselves as to such sounds. And you still feel quite

well?"

"Never better, John, except for occasional twitches in my shoulder."

"It does not knit so fast as it should do," John said. "In the first

place, you are always on the move; then no one can go about into

infected houses without his spirits being disturbed, and of all

things a calm and easy disposition is essential for the proper

healing of wounds. Lastly, it is certain that when there is poison in

the air wounds do not heal so quickly as at other times."

"It is going on well enough, John; indeed, I could not desire it to

do better. As soon as it is fairly healed I ought to join Prince

Rupert again; but in truth I do not wish to go, for I would fain see

this terrible Plague come to an end before I leave; for never since

the days of the Black Death, hundreds of years ago, was there so

strange and terrible a malady in this country."

Mr. Wallace had returned to his house when Cyril called the next

morning.

"Thinking over what you said last night, Cyril, I arrived at a pretty

correct conclusion as to what had happened, though I thought not that

it could be as bad as it was. I knew the object with which Mr. Harvey

and his wife had come up to London, at a time when most men were

fleeing from it. Their son has, ever since he came up three years