But the night's adventures were not ended yet; for just as the boat was launched, a faint halloo was heard upon the beach, and a minute after, a horseman plunged down the pebbles, and along the sand, and pulling his horse up on its haunches close to the terrified group, dropped, rather than leaped, from the saddle.
The serving-man, though he dared not tackle a witch, knew well enough how to deal with a swordsman; and drawing, sprang upon the newcomer, and then recoiled--"God forgive me, it's Mr.Eustace! Oh, dear sir, I took you for one of Sir Richard's men! Oh, sir, you're hurt!""A scratch, a scratch!" almost moaned Eustace."Help me into the boat, Jack.Gentlemen, I must with you.""Not with us, surely, my dear son, vagabonds upon the face of the earth?" said kind-hearted Campian.
"With you, forever.All is over here.Whither God and the cause lead"--and he staggered toward the boat.
As he passed Rose, she saw his ghastly bleeding face, half bound up with a handkerchief, which could not conceal the convulsions of rage, shame, and despair, which twisted it from all its usual beauty.His eyes glared wildly round--and once, right into the cavern.They met hers, so full, and keen, and dreadful, that forgetting she was utterly invisible, the terrified girl was on the point of shrieking aloud.
"He has overlooked me!" said she, shuddering to herself, as she recollected his threat of yesterday.
"Who has wounded you?" asked Campian.
"My cousin--Amyas--and taken the letter!""The devil take him, then!" cried Parsons, stamping up and down upon the sand in fury.
"Ay, curse him--you may! I dare not! He saved me--sent me here!"--and with a groan, he made an effort to enter the boat.
"Oh, my dear young gentleman," cried Lucy Passmore, her woman's heart bursting out at the sight of pain, "you must not goo forth with a grane wound like to that.Do ye let me just bind mun up--do ye now!" and she advanced.
Eustace thrust her back.
"No! better bear it, I deserve it--devils! I deserve it! On board, or we shall all be lost--William Cary is close behind me!"And at that news the boat was thrust into the sea, faster than ever it went before, and only in time; for it was but just round the rocks, and out of sight, when the rattle of Cary's horsehoofs was heard above.
"That rascal of Mr.Leigh's will catch it now, the Popish villain!"said Lucy Passmore, aloud."You lie still there, dear life, and settle your sperrits; you'm so safe as ever was rabbit to burrow.
I'll see what happens, if I die for it!" And so saying, she squeezed herself up through a cleft to a higher ledge, from whence she could see what passed in the valley.
"There mun is! in the meadow, trying to catch the horses! There comes Mr.Cary! Goodness, Father, how a rid'th! he's over wall already! Ron, Jack! ron then! A'll get to the river! No, a wain't! Goodness, Father! There's Mr.Cary cotched mun! A's down, a's down!""Is he dead?" asked Rose, shuddering.
"Iss, fegs, dead as nits! and Mr.Cary off his horse, standing overthwart mun! No, a bain't! A's up now.Suspose he was hit wi'
the flat.Whatever is Mr.Cary tu? Telling wi' mun, a bit.Oh dear, dear, dear!""Has he killed him?" cried poor Rose.
"No, fegs, no! kecking mun, kecking mun, so hard as ever was futeball! Goodness, Father, who did ever? If a haven't kecked mun right into river, and got on mun's horse and rod away!"And so saying, down she came again.
"And now then, my dear life, us be better to goo hoom and get you sommat warm.You'm mortal cold, I rackon, by now.I was cruel fear'd for ye: but I kept mun off clever, didn't I, now?""I wish--I wish I had not seen Mr.Leigh's face!""Iss, dreadful, weren't it, poor young soul; a sad night for his poor mother!""Lucy, I can't get his face out of my mind.I'm sure he overlooked me.""Oh then! who ever heard the like o' that? When young gentlemen do overlook young ladies, tain't thikketheor aways, I knoo.Never you think on it.""But I can't help thinking of it," said Rose."Stop.Shall we go home yet? Where's that servant?""Never mind, he wain't see us, here under the hill.I'd much sooner to know where my old man was.I've a sort of a forecasting in my inwards, like, as I always has when aught's gwain to happen, as though I shuldn't zee mun again, like, I have, miss.Well--he was a bedient old soul, after all, he was.Goodness, Father! and all this while us have forgot the very thing us come about! Who did you see?""Only that face!" said Rose, shuddering.
"Not in the glass, maid? Say then, not in the glass?""Would to heaven it had been! Lucy, what if he were the man I was fated to--""He? Why, he's a praste, a Popish praste, that can't marry if he would, poor wratch.""He is none; and I have cause enough to know it!" And, for want of a better confidant, Rose poured into the willing ears of her companion the whole story of yesterday's meeting.
"He's a pretty wooer!" said Lucy at last, contemptuously."Be a brave maid, then, be a brave maid, and never terrify yourself with his unlucky face.It's because there was none here worthy of ye, that ye seed none in glass.Maybe he's to be a foreigner, from over seas, and that's why his sperit was so long a coming.A duke, or a prince to the least, I'll warrant, he'll be, that carries off the Rose of Bideford."But in spite of all the good dame's flattery, Rose could not wipe that fierce face away from her eyeballs.She reached home safely, and crept to bed undiscovered: and when the next morning, as was to be expected, found her laid up with something very like a fever, from excitement, terror, and cold, the phantom grew stronger and stronger before her, and it required all her woman's tact and self-restraint to avoid betraying by her exclamations what had happened on that fantastic night.After a fortnight's weakness, however, she recovered and went back to Bideford: but ere she arrived there, Amyas was far across the seas on his way to Milford Haven, as shall be told in the ensuing chapters.