The Mystery of the Sea
IRew 6s. 1Rox>els
THE ETERNAL CITY
By HALL CAINE
THE ASSASSINS
By N. M. MEAKIN
SCARLET AND HYSSOP
By E. F. BENSON
THE LUCK OF THE VAILS
By E. F. BENSON
THE STORY OF EDEN
By DOLF WYLLARDE
A PROPHET OF THE REAL
By ESTHER MILLER
SONS OF THE SWORD
By MARGARET L. WOODS
BY BREAD ALONE
By J. K. FRIEDMAN
THE RIGHT OF WAY
By GILBERT PARKER
FOUR-LEAVED CLOVER
By MAXWELL GRAY
JACK RAYMOND
By E. L. VOYNICH
LOVE AND HIS MASK
By MENIE MURIEL DOWIE
TANGLED TRINITIES
By DANIEL WOODROFFE
GILLETTE'S MARRIAGE
By MAMIE BOWLES
VOYSEY
By R. O. PROWSB
SAWDUST
By DOROTHEA GERARD
FOREST FOLK
By JAMES PRIOR
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
ai BEDFORD STREET, W.C.
The
Mystery of the Sea
By
Bram Stoker
Author of " Dracula "
London
William Heinemann
1902
Stc StacR
lone/ Annex
.<4# rights reserved.
This Edition enjoys copyright in all
countries signatory to tke Berne
Treaty, and has been copyrighted in
the United States of America by
Brant Stoker, 1902.
Stack
Annex
TO
DAISY GILBEY RIVIERE
OF THE
THIRD GENERATION
O" 7
LOVING AND LOYAL FRIENDS
til Tntijljb'elli YO -jtt UU_t -
e ^"^ otube Tij^Jt oji,
^ll v
" To win the mystery o' the sea,
" An' learn the secrets that there be,
" Gather in ane these weirds three :
" A gowden moon on a flowin* tide ;
" An' Lammas floods for the spell to bide ;
" An' a gowden mon wi death for his bride."
[Gaelic v*rse and English translation.]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. SECOND SIGHT 3
II. GORMALA 9
III. AN ANCIENT RUNE 16
IV. LAMMAS FLOODS 23
V. THE MYSTERY OF THE SEA 32
VI. THE MINISTERS OF THE DOOM .... 44
VII. FROM OTHER AGES AND THE ENDS OF THE EARTH 51
VIII. A RUN ON THE BEACH ...... 66
IX. CONFIDENCES AND SECRET WRITING ... 80
X. A CLEAR HORIZON 94
XL IN THE TWILIGHT 104
XII. THE CIPHER 113
XIII. A RIDE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS . . . 122
XIV. A SECRET SHARED 130
XV. A PECULIAR DINNER PARTY .... 138
XVI. REVELATIONS 145
XVII. SAM ADAMS'S TASK 152
XVIII. FIREWORKS AND JOAN OF ARC . . . .159
XIX. ON CHANGING ONE'S NAME . . . .165
XX. COMRADESHIP 173
XXL THE OLD FAR WEST AND THE NEW . . .180
XXII. CROM CASTLE 187
XXIII. SECRET SERVICE 195
XXIV. A SUBTLE PLAN 200
XXV. INDUCTIVE RATIOCINATION 207
XXVI. A WHOLE WEDDING DAY 215
ix
x Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
XXVII. ENTRANCE TO THE CAVERN 222
XXVIII. VOICES IN THE DARK 229
XXIX. THE MONUMENT 237
XXX. THE SECRET PASSAGE 244
XXXI. MARJORY'S ADVENTURE 251
XXXII. THE LOST SCRIPT 260
XXXIII. DON BERNARDINO . . . , . . .269
XXXIV. THE ACCOLADE . . , . . . .277
XXXV. THE POPE'S TREASURE 285
XXXVI. THE RISING TIDE . . . . . . .293
XXXVII. ROUND THE CLOCK . ,. . . . .302
XXXVIII. THE DUTY OF A WIFE ... . . .510
XXXIX. AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR ... . . 317
XL. THE REDEMPTION OF A TRUST . ". . . 326
XLI. TREASURE TROVE ..'.'. . . .335
XLII. A STRUGGLE . . 346
XLIII. THE HONOUR OF A SPANIARD .... 355
XLIV. THE VOICE IN THE DUST 364
XLV. DANGER 374
XLVI. ARDIFFERY MANSE 382
XLVII. THE DUMB CAN SPEAK 394
XLVIII. DUNBUY HAVEN 403
XLIX. GORMALA'S LAST HELP 413
L. THE EYES OF THE DEAD 423
LI. IN THE SEA FOG 433
LII. THE SHARES ........ 443
LIII. FROM THE DEEP 451
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THE MYSTERY OF THE SEA
CHAPTER I
SECOND SIGHT
I HAD just arrived at Cruden Bay on my annual visit,
and after a late breakfast was sitting on the low
wall which was a continuation of the escarpment
of the bridge over the Water of Cruden. Opposite to
me, across the road and standing under the only little
clump of trees in the place was a tall, gaunt old woman,
who kept looking at me intently. As I sat, a little group,
consisting of a man and two women, went by. I found
my eyes follow them, for it seemed to me after they
had passed me that the two women walked together and
the man alone in front carrying on his shoulder a little
black box a coffin. I shuddered as I thought, but a mo-
ment later I saw all three abreast just as they had been.
The old woman was now looking at me with eyes that
blazed. She came across the road and said to me without
preface :
" What saw ye then, that yer e'en looked so awed ? "
I did not like to tell her so I did not answer. Her great
eyes were fixed keenly upon me, seeming to look me
through and through. I felt that I grew quite red, where-
upon she said, apparently to herself : " I thocht so ! Even
I did not see that which he saw."
4 The Mystery of the Sea
" How do you mean ? " I queried. She answered am-
biguously : " Wait 1 Ye shall perhaps know before this
hour to-morrow ! "
Her answer interested me and I tried to get her to
say more; but she would not. She moved away with a
grand stately movement that seemed to become her great
gaunt form.
After dinner whilst I was sitting in front of the hotel,
there was a great commotion in the village; much run-
ning to and fro of men and women with sad mien. On
questioning them I found that a child had been drowned
in the little harbour below. Just then a woman and a
man, the same that had passed the bridge earlier in the
day, ran by with wild looks. One of the bystanders
looked after them pityingly as he said :
" Puir souls. It's a sad home-comin' for them the
nicht."
" Who are they ? " I asked. The man took off his cap
reverently as he answered:
" The father and mother of the child that was
drowned ! " As he spoke I looked round as though some
one had called me.
There stood the gaunt woman with a look of triumph
on her face.
*****
The curved shore of Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, is
backed by a waste of sandhills in whose hollows seagrass
and moss and wild violets, together with the pretty " grass
of Parnassus " form a green carpet. The surface of the
hills is held together by bent-grass and is eternally
shifting as the wind takes the fine sand and drifts it to
and fro. All behind is green, from the meadows that
mark the southern edge of the bay to the swelling up-
lands that stretch away and away far in the distance,
Second Sight 5
till the blue mist of the mountains at Braemar sets a kind
of barrier. In the centre of the bay the highest point of
the land that runs downward to the sea looks like a
miniature hill known as the Hawklaw; from this point
onward to the extreme south, the land runs high with a
gentle trend downwards.
Cruden sands are wide and firm and the sea runs out
a considerable distance. When there is a storm with the
wind on shore the whole bay is a mass of leaping waves
and broken water that threatens every instant to annihi-
late the stake-nets which stretch out here and there along
the shore. More than a few vessels have been lost on
these wide stretching sands, and it was perhaps the roar-
ing of the shallow seas and the terror which they inspired
which sent the crews to the spirit room and the bodies
of those of them which came to shore later on, to the
churchyard on the hill.
If Cruden Bay is to be taken figuratively as a mouth,
with the sand hills for soft palate, and the green
Hawklaw as the tongue, the rocks which work the ex-
tremities are its teeth. To the north the rocks of red
granite rise jagged and broken. To the south, a mile
and a half away as the crow flies, Nature seems to have
manifested its wildest forces. It is here, where the
little promontory called Whinnyfold juts out, that
the two great geological features of the Aberdeen coast
meet. The red sienite of the north joins the black gneiss
of the south. That union must have been originally a
wild one ; there are evidences of an upheaval which must
have shaken the earth to its centre. Here and there are
great masses of either species of rock hurled upwards
in every conceivable variety of form, sometimes fused
or pressed together so that it is impossible to say ex-
actly where gneiss ends or sienite begins; but broadly
speaking here is an irregular line of separation. This
6 The Mystery of the Sea
line runs seawards to the east and its strength is shown
in its outcrop. For half a mile or more the rocks rise
through the sea singly or in broken masses ending in
a dangerous cluster known as " The Skares " and which
has had for centuries its full toll of wreck and disaster.
Did the sea hold its dead where they fell, its floor around
the Skares would be whitened with their bones, and
new islands could build themselves with the piling wreck-
age. At times one may see here the ocean in her fiercest
mood; for it is when the tempest drives from the south-
east that the sea is fretted amongst the rugged rocks and
sends its spume landwards. The rocks that at calmer
times rise dark from the briny deep are lost to sight for
moments in the grand onrush of the waves. The sea-
gulls which usually whiten them, now flutter around
screaming, and the sound of their shrieks comes in on
the gale almost in a continuous note, for the single cries
are merged in the multitudinous roar of sea and air.
The village, squatted beside the emboucher of the
Water of Cruden at the northern side of the bay is
simple enough; a few rows of fishermen's cottages, two
or .three great red-tiled drying-sheds nestled in the
sand-heap behind the fishers' houses. For the rest of the
place as it was when first I saw it, a little lookout beside
a tall flagstaff on the northern cliff, a few scattered
farms over the inland prospect, one little hotel down on
the western bank of the Water of Cruden with a fringe
of willows protecting its sunk garden which was always
lull of fruits and flowers.
From the most southern part of the beach of Cruden
Bay to Whinnyfold village the distance is but a few
hundred yards; first a steep pull up the face of the
rock ; and then an even way, beside part of which runs a
tiny stream. To the left of this path, going towards
Whinnyfold, the ground rises in a bold slope and then
Second Sight 7
falls again all round, forming a sort of wide miniature
hill of some eighteen or twenty acres. Of this the
southern side is sheer, the black rock dipping into the
waters of the little bay of Whinnyfold, in the centre of
which is a picturesque island of rock shelving steeply
from the water on the northern side, as is the tendency
of all the gneiss and granite in this part. But to east and
north there are irregular bays or openings, so that the
furthest points of the promontory stretch out like fingers.
At the tips of these are reefs of sunken rock falling
down to deep water and whose existence can only be
suspected in bad weather when the rush of the current
beneath sends up swirling eddies or curling masses of
foam. These little bays are mostly curved and are green
where falling earth or drifting sand have hidden the
outmost side of the rocks and given a foothold to the
seagrass and clover. Here have been at some time or
other great caves, now either fallen in or silted up with
sand, or obliterated with the earth brought down in the
rush of surface-water in times of long rain. In one of
these bays, Broad Haven, facing right out to the Skares,
stands an isolated pillar of rock called locally the " Puir
mon " through whose base, time and weather have worn
a hole through which one may walk dryshod.
Through the masses of rocks that run down to the sea
from the sides and shores of all these bays are here
and there natural channels with straight edges as though
cut on purpose for the taking in of the cobbles belong-
ing to the fisher folk of Whinnyfold.
When first I saw the place I fell in love with it. Had
it been possible I should have spent my summer there, in
a house of my own, but the want of any place in which
to live forbade such an opportunity. So I stayed in the
little hotel, the Kilmarnock Arms.
The next year I came again, and the next, and the
8 The Mystery of the Sea
next. And then I arranged to take a feu at Whinnyfold
and to build a house overlooking the Skares for myself.
The details of this kept me constantly going to Whinny-
fold, and my house to be was always in my thoughts.
Hitherto my life had been an uneventful one. At
school I was, though secretly ambitious, dull as to re-
sults. At College I was better off, for my big body
and athletic powers gave me a certain position in which
I had to overcome my natural shyness. When I was about
eight and twenty I found myself nominally a barrister,
with no knowledge whatever of the practice of law and
but little less of the theory, and with a commission in the
Devil's Own the irreverent name given to the Inns of
Court Volunteers. I had few relatives, but a comfortable,
though not great, fortune; and I had been round the
world, dilettante fashion.
CHAPTER II
GORMALA
ALL that night I thought of the dead child and of
the peculiar vision which had come to me.
Sleeping or waking it was all the Same; my
mind could not leave the parents in procession as seen
in imagination, or their distracted mien in reality.
Mingled with them was the great-eyed, aquiline-fea-
tured, gaunt old woman who had taken such an interest
in the affair, and in my part of it. I asked the land-
lord if he knew her, since, from his position as postmaster
he knew almost everyone for miles around. He told me
that she was a stranger to the place. Then he added:
" I can't imagine what brings her here. She has
come over from Peterhead two or three times lately ; but
she doesn't seem to have anything at all to do. She has
nothing to sell and she buys nothing. She's not a tripper,
and she's not a beggar, and she's not a thief, and she's
not a worker of any sort. She's a queer-looking lot any-
how. I fancy from her speech that she's from the west;
probably from some of the far-out islands. I can tell
that she has the Gaelic from the way she speaks."
Later on in the day, when I was walking on the
shore near the Hawklaw, she came up to speak to me.
The shore was quite lonely, for in those days it was rare
to see anyone on the beach except when the salmon
fishers drew their nets at the ebbing tide. I was walking
towards ^Whinny fold ^when she. came upon me silently
9
io The Mystery of the Sea
from behind. She must have been hidden among the
bent-grass of the sandhills for had she been anywhere in
view I must have seen her on that desolate shore. She
was evidently a most imperious person; she at once ad-
dressed me in a tone and manner which made me feel
as though I were in some way an inferior, and in some-
how to blame:
" What for did ye no tell me what ye saw yesterday? "
Instinctively I answered:
" I don't know why. Perhaps because it seemed so
ridiculous." Her stern features hardened into scorn as
she replied:
"Are Death and the Doom then so redeekulous that
they pleasure ye intil silence?" I somehow felt that
this was a little too much and was about to make a
sharp answer, when suddenly it struck me as a remark-
able thing that she knew already. Filled with surprise
I straightway asked her :
" Why, how on earth do you know ? I told no one."
I stopped for I felt all at sea; there was some mystery
here which I could not fathom. She seemed to read
my mind like an open book, for she went on looking
at me as she spoke, searchingly and with an odd
smile.
"Eh! laddie, do ye no ken that ye hae een that can
see? Do ye no understand that ye hae een that can
speak? Is it that one with the Gift o' Second Sight has
no an understandin' o' it. Why, yer face when ye saw the
mark o' the Doom, was like a printed book to een like
mine."
" Do you mean to tell me " I asked " that you could
tell what I saw, simply by looking at my face ? "
" Na ! na ! laddie. Not all that, though a Seer am I ;
but I knew that you had seen the Doom! It's no that
varied that there need be any mistake. After all Death
Gormala 1 1
is only one, in whatever way we may speak ! " After
a pause of thought I asked her :
" If you have the power of Second Sight why did you
not see the vision, or whatever it was, yourself ? "
" Eh ! laddie " she answered, shaking her head " "Pis
little ye ken o' the wark o' the Fates! Learn ye then
that the Voice speaks only as it listeth into chosen ears,
and the Vision comes only to chosen een. None can
will to hear or to see, to pleasure themselves."
" Then " I said, and I felt that there was a measure
of triumph in my tone " if to none but the chosen is
given to know, how comes it that you, who seem not
to have been chosen on this occasion at all events, know
all the same ? " She answered with a touch of
impatience :
" Do ye ken, young sir, that even mortal een have
power to see much, if there be behind them the thocht, an'
the knowledge and the experience to guide them aright.
How, think ye, is it that some can see much, and learn
much as they gang ; while others go blind as the mowdi-
wart, at the end o' the journey as before it ? "
" Then perhaps you will tell me how much you saw,
and how you saw it ? "
"Ah! to them that have seen the Doom there needs
but sma' guidance to their thochts. Too lang, an' too
often hae I mysen seen the death-sark an' the watch-
candle an' the dead-hole, not to know when they are
seen tae ither een. Na, na! laddie, what I kent o' yer
seein' was no by the Gift but only by the use o' my proper
een. I kent not the muckle o' what ye saw. Not whether
it was ane or ither o' the garnishins o' the dead; but
weel I kent that it was o' death/'
" Then," I said interrogatively " Second Sight is alto-
gether a matter of chance ? "
" Chance ! chance ! " she repeated with scorn. " Na !
12 The Mystery of the Sea
young sir; when the Voice has spoken there is no more
chance than that the nicht will follow the day."
" You mistake me," I said, feeling somewhat superior
now that I had caught her in an error, " I did not for
a moment mean that the Doom whatever it is is not
a true forerunner. What I meant was that it seems
to be a matter of chance in whose ear the Voice what-
ever it is speaks; when once it has been ordained that
it is to sound in the ear of some one." Again she an-
swered with scorn:
" Na, na ! there is no chance o' ocht aboot the Doom.
Them that send forth the Voice and the Seein' know
well to whom it is sent and why. Can ye no comprehend
that it is for no bairn-play that such goes forth. When
the Voice speaks, it is mainly followed by tears an' woe
an' lamentation ! Nae ! nor is it only one bit manifestation
that stands by its lanes, remote and isolate from all ither.
Truly 'tis but a pairt o' the great scheme o' things; an'
be sure that whoso is chosen to see or to hear is chosen
weel, an' must hae their pairt in what is to be, on to the
verra end"
"Am I to take it" I asked, "that Second Sight is
but a little bit of some great purpose which has to be
wrought out by means of many kinds; and that whoso
sees the Vision or hears the Voice is but the blind un-
conscious instrument of Fate?"
"Aye! laddie. Weel eneuch the Fates know their
wishes an' their wark, no to need the help or the thocht
of any human blind or seein', sane or silly, conscious
or unconscious."
All through her speaking I had been struck by the
old woman's use of the word ' Fate,' and more especially
when she used it in the plural. It was evident that,
Christian though she might be and in the West they
are generally devout observants of the duties of their
Gormala 13
creed her belief in this respect came from some of the
old pagan mythologies. I should have liked to question
her on this point; but I feared to shut her lips against
me. Instead I asked her:
" Tell me, will you, if you don't mind, of some case
you have known yourself of Second Sight?"
" "Pis no for them to brag or boast to whom has been
given to see the wark o' the hand o' Fate. But sine ye
are yerself a Seer an' would learn, then I may speak. I
hae seen the sea ruffle wi'oot cause in the verra spot
where later a boat was to gang doon, I hae heard on
a lone moor the hammerin' o' the coffin-wright when one
passed me who was soon to dee. I hae seen the death-
sark fold round the speerit o' a drowned one, in baith
ma sleepin' an' ma wakin' dreams. I hae heard the
settin' doom o' the Spaiks, an' I hae seen the Weepers
on a' the crood that walked. Aye, an' in mony anither
way hae I seen an' heard the Coming o' the Doom."
"But did all the seeings and hearings come true?"
I asked. " Did it ever happen that you heard queer
sounds or saw strange sights and that yet nothing
came of them? I gather that you do not always know
to whom something is going to happen; but only that
death is coming to some one ! " She was not displeased
at my questioning but replied at once :
" Na doot ! but there are times when what is seen or
heard has no manifest following. But think ye, young
sir, how mony a corp, still waited for, lies in the depths o'
the sea; how mony lie oot on the hillsides, or are fallen
in deep places where their bones whiten unkent. Nay!
more, to how many has Death come in a way that men
think the wark o' nature when his hastening has come
frae the hand of man, untold." This was a difficult mat-
ter to answer so I changed or rather varied the sub-
ject.
14 The Mystery of the Sea
" How long must elapse before the warning comes
true?"
" Ye know yersel', for but yestreen ye hae seen, how
the Death can follow hard upon the Doom; but there be
times, nay mostly are they so, when days or weeks pass
away ere the Doom is fulfilled."
" Is this so ? " I asked " when you know the person
regarding whom the Doom is spoken." She answered
with an air of certainty which somehow carried con-
viction, secretly, with it.
" Even so! I know one who walks the airth now in all
the pride o' his strength. But the Doom has been spoken
of him. I saw him with these verra een lie prone on
rocks, wi' the water rinnin' down from his hair. An'
again I heard the minute bells as he went by me on a
road where is no bell for a score o' miles. Aye, an' yet
again I saw him in the kirk itsel' wi' corbies flyin' round
him, an' mair gatherin' from afar ! "
Here was indeed a case where Second Sight might be
tested; so I asked her at once, though to do so I had
to overcome a strange sort of repugnance:
"Could this be proved? Would it not be a splendid
case to make known; so that if the death happened it
would prove beyond all doubt the existence of such a
thing as Second Sight." My suggestion was not well
received. She answered with slow scorn :
" Bey on' all doot ! Doot ! Wha is there that doots the
bein' o' the Doom? Learn ye too, young sir, that the
Doom an' all thereby is no for traflfickin' wi' them that
only cares for curiosity and publeecity. The Voice and
the Vision o' the Seer is no for fine madams and idle
gentles to while away their time in play-toy make-be-
lieve ! " I climbed down at once.
" Pardon me ! " I said " I spoke without thinking. I
should not have said so to you at any rate." She ac-
Gormala 1 5
cepted my apology with a sort of regal inclination; but
the moment after she showed by her words she was
after all but a woman!
" I will tell ye ; that so in the full time ye may hae
no doot yersel'. For ye are a Seer and as Them that
has the power hae gien ye the Gift it is no for the like
o' me to cumber the road o' their doin'. Know ye then,
and remember weel, how it was told ye by Gormala
MacNiel that Lauchlane Macleod o' the Outer Isles hae
been Called; tho' as yet the Voice has no sounded in
his ears but only in mine. But ye will see the time "
She stopped suddenly as though some thought had
struck her, and then went on impressively:
" When I saw him lie prone on the rocks there was ane
that bent ower him that I kent not in the nicht wha it
was, though the licht o' the moon was around him. ,We
shall see ! We shall see 1 "
Without a word more she turned and left me. She
would not listen to my calling after her; but with long
strides passed up the beach and was lost among the
sandhills.
CHAPTER III
AN ANCIENT RUNE
ON the next day I rode on my bicycle to Peterhead,
and walked on the pier. It was a bright clear
day, and a fresh northern breeze was blowing.
The fishing boats were ready to start at the turn of the
tide; and as I came up the first of them began to pass
out through the harbour mouth. Their movement was
beautiful to see; at first slowly, and then getting faster
as the sails were hoisted, till at last they swept through
the narrow entrance, scuppers under, righting themselves
as they swung before the wind in the open sea. Now
and again a belated smacksman came hurrying along to
catch his boat before she should leave the pier.
The eastern pier of Peterhead is guarded by a massive
wall of granite, built in several steps or tiers, which
breaks the fury of the gale. When a northern storm is
on, it is a wild spot; the waves dash over it in walls of
solid green topped with mountainous masses of foam and
spray. But at present, with the July sun beating down,
it was a vantage post from which to see the whole har-
bour and the sea without. I climbed up and sat on the
top, looking on admiringly, and lazily smoked in quiet
enjoyment. Presently I noticed some one very like Gor-
mala come hurrying along the pier, and now and again
crouching behind one of the mooring posts. I said noth-
ing but kept an eye on her, for I supposed that she was
at her usual game of watching some one.
16
An Ancient Rune 17
Soon a tall man strode leisurely along, and from every
movement of the woman I could see that he was the sub-
ject of her watching. He came near where I sat, and stood
there with that calm unconcerned patience which is a
characteristic of the fisherman.
He was a fine-looking fellow, well over six feet high,
with a tangled mass of thick red-yellow hair and curly,
bushy beard. He had lustrous, far-seeing golden-brown
eyes, and massive, finely-cut features. His pilot-cloth
trousers spangled all over with silver herring scales, were
tucked into great, bucket-boots. He wore a heavy blue
jersey and a cap of weazel skin. I had been thinking of
the decline of the herring from the action of the trawlers
in certain waters, and fancied this would be a good
opportunity to get a local opinion. Before long I strolled
over and joined this son of the Vikings. He gave it,
and it was a decided one, uncompromisingly against
the trawlers and the laws which allowed them to do their
nefarious work. He spoke in a sort of old-fashioned,
biblical language which was moderate and devoid of
epithets, but full of apposite illustration. When he had
pointed out that certain fishing grounds, formerly most
prolific of result to the fishers, were now absolutely worth-
less he ended his argument:
" And, sure, good master, it stands to rayson. Sup-
pose you be a farmer, and when you have prepared your
land and manured it, you sow your seed and plough
the ridges and make it all safe from wind and devastatin'
storm. If, when the green corn be shootin' frae the airth,
you take your harrow and drag it ath'art the springin'
seed, where be then the promise of your golden grain ? "
For a moment or two the beauty of his voice, the deep,
resonant, earnestness of his tone and the magnificent,
simple purity of the man took me away from the scene.
He seemed as though I had looked him through and
1 8 The Mystery of the Sea
through, and had found him to be throughout of golden
worth. Possibly it was the imagery of his own speech
and the colour which his eyes and hair and cap suggested,
but he seemed to me for an instant as a small figure pro-
jected against a background of rolling upland clothed
in ripe grain. Round his feet were massed the folds of
a great white sheet whose edges faded into air. In a
moment the image passed, and he stood before me in his
full stature.
I almost gasped, for just behind him, where she had
silently come, stood Gormala, gazing not at the fisherman
but at me, with eyes that positively blazed with a sort of
baleful eagerness. She was looking straight into my
eyes ; I knew it when I caught the look of hers.
The fisherman went on talking. I did not, however,
hear what he was saying, for again some mysterious
change had come over our surroundings. The blue sea
had over it the mystery of the darkness of the night;
the high noon sun had lost its fiery vigour and shone
with the pale yellow splendour of a full moon. All around
me, before and on either hand, was a waste of waters;
the very air and earth seemed filmed with moving water,
and the sound of falling waters was in my ears. Again,
the golden fisherman was before me for an instant,
not as a moving speck but in full size now he lay prone ;
limp and lifeless, with waxen cold cheeks, in the eloquent
inaction of death. The white sheet I could see now that
it was a shroud was around him up to his heart. I
seemed to feel Gormala's eyes burning into my brain as
I looked. All at once everything seemed to resume its
proper proportion, and I was listening calmly to the
holding forth of the Viking.
I turned instinctively and looked at Gormala. For an
instant her eyes seemed to blaze triumphantly; then she
pulled the little shawl which she wore closer round her
An Ancient Rune 19
shoulders and, with a gesture full of modesty and defer-
ence turned away. She climbed up the ridges of the
harbour wall and sat looking across as at the sea beyond,
now studded with a myriad of brown sails.
A little later the stolid indifference as to time slipped
all at once from the fisherman. He was instinct with life
and action, and with a touch of his cap and a " Farewell
good Master ! " stood poised on the very edge of the
pier ready to spring on a trim, weather-beaten smack
which came rushing along almost grazing the rough stone
work. It made our hearts jump as he sprang on board
and taking the tiller from the hand of the steersman
turned the boat's head to the open sea. As she rushed out
through the harbour mouth we heard behind us the voice
of an old fisherman who had hobbled up to us :
" He'll do that once too often ! Lauchlane Macleod
is like all these men from Uist and the rest of the Out
Islanders. They don't care ' naught about naught.' "
Lauchlane Macleod ! The very man of whom Gormala
had prophesied! The very mention of his name seemed
to turn me cold.
After lunch at the hotel I played golf on the links
till evening drew near. Then I got on my bicycle
to return home. I had laboured slowly up the long
hill to the Stirling quarry when I saw Gormala sit-
ting on the roadside on a great boulder of red granite.
She was evidently looking out for me, for when I came
near she rose up and deliberately stood^i the roadway in
my path. I jumped off my wheel ana asked her point
blank what she wanted with me so much that she stopped
me on the road.
Gormala was naturally an impressive figure, but at
present she looked weird and almost unearthly. Her
tall, gaunt form lit by the afterglow in a soft mysterious
light was projected against the grey of the darkening
2O The Mystery of the Sea
sea, whose sombreness was emphasised by the brilliant
emerald green of the sward which fell from where we
stood to the jagged cliff-line.
The loneliness of the spot was profound. From where
we stood not a house was to be seen, and the darkening
sea was desert of sails. It seemed as if we two were
the only living things in nature's vast expanse. To me
it was a little awesome. Gormala's first mysterious
greeting when I had seen the mourning for the child,
and her persistent following of me ever since, had begun
to get on my nerves. She had become a sort of enforced
condition to me, and whether she was present in the
flesh or not, the expectation or the apprehension of her
coming I hardly knew which it was kept my thoughts
perpetually interested in her. Now, her weird, statuesque
attitude and the scene around us finished my intellectual
subjugation. The weather had changed to an almost in-
conceivable degree. The bright clear sky of the morning
had become darkly mysterious, and the wind had died
/away to an ominous calm. Nature seemed altogether
sentient, and willing to speak directly to a man in my
own receptive mood. The Seer-woman evidently knew
this, for she gave fully a minute of silence for the natural
charm to work before she spoke. Then in a solemn warn-
ing voice she said:
" Time is flying by us ; Lammas-tide is nigh." The
words impressed me, why I know not; for though I
had heard of Lammas-tide I had not the smallest idea of
what was meant by it. Gormala was certainly quick with
her eyes she had that gypsy quality in remarkable
degree and she seemed to read my face like an open
book. There was a suppressed impatience in her manner,
as of one who must stop in the midst of some important
matter to explain to a child whose aid is immediately,
necessary :
An Ancient Rune 21
" Ye no ken why? Is it that ye dinna heed o' Lammas-
tide, or that ye no ken o' the prophecy of the Mystery
of the Sea and the treasures that lie hid therein." I felt
more than ever abashed, and that I should have known
long ago those things of which the gaunt woman spoke,
towering above me as I leaned on my wheel. She went
on:
" An' ye no ken, then listen and learn ! " and she spoke
the following rune in a strange, staccato cadence which
seemed to suit our surroundings and to sink into my
heart and memory so deep that to forget would be
impossible :
' To win the Mystery o' the Sea,
' An" learn the secrets that there be,
' Gather in one these weirds three :
' A gowden moon on a flowin' tide,
' And Lammas floods for the spell to bide;
' And a gowden mon wi' death for his bride."
There was a long pause of silence between us, and I
felt very strangely. The sea before me took odd, in-
definite shape. It seemed as though it was of crystal
clearness, and that from where I gazed I could see all
its mysteries. That is, I could see so as to know there were
mysteries, though what they were individually I could
not even dream. The past and the present and the future
seemed to be mingled in one wild, chaotic, whirling
dream, from the mass of which thoughts and ideas
seemed now and again to fly out unexpectedly on all
sides as do sparks from hot iron under the hammer.
Within my heart grew vague indefinite yearnings, aspira-
tions, possibilities. There came a sense of power so
paramount that instinctively I drew myself up to my full
height and became conscious of the physical vigour within
22 The Mystery of the Sea
me. As I did so I looked around and seemed to wake
from a dream.
Naught around me but the drifting clouds, the silent
darkening land and the brooding sea. Gormala was
nowhere to be seen.
CHAPTER IV
LAMMAS FLOODS
WHEN I got to Cruden it was quite dark. I
had lingered by the way thinking of Gormala
MacNiel and all the queer kind of mystery
in which she seemed to be enmeshing me. The more I
thought, the more I was puzzled ; for the strangest thing
of all to me was that I understood part of what seemed
to be a mystery. For instance I was but imperfectly
acquainted with the Seer-woman's view of what was
to be the result of her watching of Lauchlane Macleod.
I knew of course from her words at our first conver-
sation that in him she recognised a man doomed to
near death according to the manifestation of her own
power of Second Sight; but I knew what she did not
seem to, that this was indeed a golden man. From the
momentary glimpse which I had had in that queer spell
of trance, or whatever it was which had come to me on
the pier head, I had seemed to know him as a man of
gold, sterling throughout. It was not merely that his
hair was red gold and that his eyes might fairly be called
golden, but his whole being could only be expressed in
that way; so that when Gormala spoke, the old rhyme
seemed at once a prime factor in the group of three
powers which had to be united before the fathoming of
the Mystery of the Sea. I accordingly made up my
mind to speak with the Seer-woman and to ask her to
explain. My own intellectual attitude to the matter in-
23
24 The Mystery of the Sea
terested me. I was not sceptical, I did not believe ; but I
think my mind hung in poise. Certainly my sympathies
tended towards the mysterious side, backed up by some
kind of understanding of the inner nature of things
which was emotional or unintentional rather than
fixed.
All that night I seemed to dream, my mind working
eternally round the data of the day; hundreds of differ-
ent relationships between Gormala, Lauchlane Macleod,
Lammas-tide, the moon and the secrets of the sea re-
volved before me. It was grey morning before I fell
asleep to the occasional chirping of the earliest birds.
As sometimes happens after a night of uneasy dream-
ing of some disturbing topic, the reaction of the morn-
ing carried oblivion with it. It was well into the after-
noon when all at once I remembered the existence of the
witch-woman for as such I was beginning to think of
Gormala. The thought came accompanied by a sense of
oppression which was not of fear, but which was cer-
tainly of uneasiness. Was it possible that the woman
had in some way, or to some degree, hypnotised me. I
remembered with a slightly nervous feeling how the
evening before I had stopped on the roadway obedient
to her will, and how I had lost the identity of my sur-
roundings in her presence. A sudden idea struck me;
I went to the window and looked out. For an instant
my heart seemed to be still.
Just opposite the house stood Gormala, motionless. I
went out at once and joined her, and instinctively we
turned our steps toward the sand-hills. As we walked
along I said to her:
" Where did you disappear to last night? "
" About that which is to be done ! " Her lips and her
face were set; I knew it was no use following up that
branch of the subject, so I asked again:
Lammas Floods 25
" What did you mean by those verses which you told
me ? " Her answer was given in a solemn tone :
" Them that made them alone can tell ; until the time
shall come ! "
"Who made them?"
" Nane can now tell. They are as aud as the rocky
foundations o' the isles themselves."
" Then how did you come to know them ? " There
was a distinct note of pride in her answer. Such a
note as might be expected from a prince speaking of
his ancestry:
" They hae come doon to me through centuries. Frae
mither to dochter, and from mither to dochter again,
wi' never a break in the lang line o' the tellin'. Know
ye, young master, that I am o' a race o' Seers. I take
my name from that Gormala o' Uist who through long
years foresaw the passing o' mony a one. That Gormala
who throughout the islands of the west was known and
feared o' all men; that Gormala whose mither's mither,
and mither's mither again, away back into the darkness
o' time when coracles crept towards the sunset ower the
sea and returned not, held the fates o' men and women in
their han's and ruled the Mysteries o' the Sea." As it
was evident that Gormala must have in her own mind
some kind of meaning of the prophecy, or spell, or what-
ever it was, I asked her again :
" But you must understand something of the meaning,
or you would not attach so much importance to it ? "
" I ken naught but what is seen to ma een, and to that
inner e'e which telleth tae the soul that which it seeth ! "
" Then why did you warn me that Lammas-tide was
near at hand ? " The grim woman actually smiled as she
replied :
" Did ye no hearken to the words spoken of the Lammas
floods, which be of the Powers that rule the Spell ? "
26 The Mystery of the Sea
" Well, the fact is that I don't know anything of
' Lammas-tide ! ' We do not keep it in the Church of
England," I added as an afterthought, explanatory of
my ignorance. Gormala was clever enough to take advan-
tage of having caught me in a weak place; so she took
advantage of it to turn the conversation into the way she
wished herself:
" What saw ye, when Lauchlane Macleod grew sma'
in yer een, and girt again ? "
" Simply, that he seemed to be all at once a tiny image
of himself, seen against a waste of ripe corn." Then it
struck me that I had not as yet told her or any one else
of what I had seen. How then did she know it? I
was annoyed and asked her. She answered scorn-
fully:
" How kent I it, an* me a Seer o' a race o' Seers ! Are
ma wakin' een then so dim or so sma' that I canna read
the thochts o' men in the glances o' their een. Did I no
see yer een look near an' far as quick as thocht? But
what saw ye after, when ye looked rapt and yer een
peered side to side, as though at one lyin' prone?" I
was more annoyed than ever and answered her in a sort of
stupor :
" I saw him lying dead on a rock, with a swift tide
running by; and over the waters the broken track of a
golden moon." She made a sound which was almost a
cry, and which recalled me to myself as I looked at her.
She was ablaze. She towered to her full height with an
imperious, exultant mien ; the light in her eyes was more
than human as she said:
" Dead, as I masel' saw him an' 'mid the foam o' the
tide race ! An' gowd, always gowd ahint him in the een
of this greater Seer. Gowden corn, and gowden moon,
and gowden sea! Aye! an' I see it now, blind backie-
bird that I hae been; the gowden mon indeed, wi* his
Lammas Floods 27
gowden een an' his gowden hair and all the truth o' his
gowden life ! " Then turning to me she said fiercely :
"Why did I warn ye that Lammas-tide was near?
Go ask those that value the months and days thereof,
when be Lammas and what it means to them that hae
faith. See what they are; learn o' the comin' o ! the
moon and o' the flowin' o' the tides that follow ! "
Without another word she turned and left me.
I went back to the hotel at once, determined to post
myself as to Lammas-tide; its facts and constitutions,
and the beliefs and traditions that hung around it. Also
to learn the hours of the tides, and the age of the moon
about the time of Lammas-tide. Doubtless I could have
found out all I wanted from some of the ministers of the
various houses of religion which hold in Cruden; but I
was not wishful to make public, even so far, the mystery
which was closing around me. My feeling was partly
a saving sense of humour, or the fear of ridicule, and
partly a genuine repugnance to enter upon the subject
with any one who might not take it as seriously as I could
wish. From which latter I gather that the whole affair
was becoming woven into the structure of my life.
Possibly it was, that some trait, or tendency, or power
which was individual to me was beginning to manifest
itself and to find its means of expression. In my secret
heart I not only believed but knew that some instinct
within me was guiding my thoughts in some strange way.
The sense of occult power which is so vital a part of
divination was growing within me and asserting its
masterdom, and with it came an equally forceful desire of
secrecy. The Seer in me, latent so long, was becoming
conscious of his strength, and jealous of it.
At this time, as the feeling of strength and conscious-
ness grew, it seemed to lose something of its power from
this very cause. Gradually it was forced upon me that
28 The Mystery of the Sea
for the full manifestation of such faculty as I might
possess, some kind of abstraction or surrender of self
was necessary. Even a few hours of experience had
taught me much ; for now that my mind was bent on the
phenomena of Second Sight the whole living and moving
world around me became a veritable diorama of possi-
bilities. Within two days from the episode at the Pier
head I had had behind me a larger experience of effort
of occult force than generally comes to a man in a life-
time. When I look back, it seems to me that all the
forces of life and nature became exposed to my view. A
thousand things which hitherto I had accepted in simple
faith as facts, were pregnant with new meanings. I
began to understand that the whole earth and sea, and air
all that of which human beings generally ordinarily take
cognisance, is but a film or crust which hides the deeper
moving powers or forces. With this insight I began to
understand the grand guesses of the Pantheists, pagan
and Christian alike, who out of their spiritual and ner-
vous and intellectual sensitiveness began to realise that
there was somewhere a purposeful cause of universal
action. An action which in its special or concrete work-
ing appeared like the sentience of nature in general, and
of the myriad items of its cosmogony.
I soon learned that Lammas day is the first of August
and is so often accompanied by heavy weather that Lam-
mas floods are almost annually recurrent. The eve of the
day is more or less connected with various supersti-
tions.
This made me more eager for further information, and
by the aid of a chance friend, I unearthed at Aberdeen
a learned professor who gave me offhand all the infor-
mation which I desired. In fact he was so full of as-
tronomical learning that I had to stop him now and again
in order to elucidate some point easily explainable to those
Lammas Floods 29
who understood his terminology, but which wrapped my
swaddling knowledge in a mystery all its own. I have
a sneaking friendliness even now for anyone to whom
the word ' syzygy ' carries no special meaning.
I got at the bases of facts, however, and understood
that on the night of July 31, which was the eve of Lam-
mas-tide, the moon would be full at midnight. I learned
also that from certain astronomical reasons the tide which
would ostensibly begin its flow a little after midnight
would in reality commence just on the stroke. As these
were the points which concerned me I came away with a
new feeling of awe upon me. It seemed as though the
heavens as well as the earth were bending towards the
realisation or fulfilment of the old prophecy. At this time
my own connection with the mystery, or how it might
affect me personally, did not even enter my head. I was
content to be an obedient item in the general scheme of
things.
It was now the 28th July so, if it were to take place
at the Lammas-tide of the current year, we should know
soon the full measure of the denouement. There was
but one thing wanting to complete the conditions of the
prophecy. The weather had been abnormally dry, and
there might after all be no Lammas floods. To-day,
however, the sky had been heavily overcast. Great black
clouds which seemed to roll along tumbling over and
over, as the sail of a foundered boat does in a current,
loomed up from the west. The air grew closer, and to
breathe was an effort. A sort of shiver came over the
wide stretch of open country. Darker and darker grew
the sky, till it seemed so like night that the birds in the
few low-lying coppices and the scanty hedgerows ceased
to sing. The bleat of sheep and the low of cattle seemed
to boom through the still air with a hollow sound, as if
coming from a distance. The intolerable stillness which
3
precedes the storm became so oppressive that I, who am
abnormally susceptible to the moods of nature, could
almost have screamed out.
Then all at once the storm broke. There was a flash
of lightning so vivid that it lit up the whole country
away to the mountains which encircle Braemar. The
fierce crash and wide roll of the thunder followed with
incredible quickness. And then the hot, heavy-dropped
summer rain fell in torrents.
All that afternoon the rain fell, with only a few brief
intervals of glowing sunshine. All night, too, it seemed to
fall without ceasing, for whenever I woke which I did
frequently with a sense over me of something impending
I could hear the quick, heavy patter on the roof, and
the rush and gurgle of the overcharged gutters.
The next day was one of unmitigated gloom. The
rain poured down ceaselessly. There was little wind, just
sufficient to roll -north-eastwards .the great masses of
rain-laden clouds piled up by the Gulf Stream against the
rugged mountains of the western coast and its rocky
islands. Two whole days there were of such rain, and
then there was no doubt as to the strength of the Lammas
floods this year. All the wide uplands of Buchan were
glistening with runnels of water whenever the occa-
sional glimpses of sunshine struck them. Both the Water
of Cruden and the Back Burn were running bank high.
On all sides it was reported that the Lammas floods were
the greatest that had been known in memory.
All this time my own spiritual and intellectual uneasi-
ness was perpetually growing. The data for the work-
ing of the prophecy were all fixed with remarkable
exactness. In theatrical parlance ' the stage was set ' and
all ready for the action which was to come. As the
hours wore on, my uneasiness changed somewhat and
apprehension became merged in a curious mixture of
Lammas Floods 31
superstition and exaltation. I was growing eager to the
coming time.
The afternoon of July 31 was fine. The sun shone
brightly; the air was dry and, for the time of year, cool.
It seemed as though the spell of wet weather was over
and that fiery August was coming to its own again. The
effects of the rainstorm were, however, manifest. Not
only was every rill and stream and river in the North in
spate but the bogs of the mountains were so saturated
with wet that many days must elapse before they could
cease to send their quota to swell the streams. The
mountain valleys were generally lakes in miniature. As
one went through the country the murmur or rush of
falling water was forever in the ears. I suppose it was
in my own case partly because I was concerned in the
mere existence of Lammas floods that the whole of nature
seemed so insistent on the subject. The sound of moving
water in its myriad gamut was so perpetually in my ears
that I could never get my mind away from it. I had a
long walk that afternoon through roads still too wet and
heavy for bicycling. I came back to dinner thoroughly
tired out, and went to bed early.
CHAPTER V
THE MYSTERY OF THE SEA
I DO not remember what woke me. I have a vague
idea that it was a voice, but whether outside the
house or within myself I know not.
It was eleven o'clock by my watch when I left the
Kilmarnock Arms and took my way across the sandhills,
heading for the Hawklaw which stood out boldly in the
brilliant moonlight. I followed the devious sheep track
amongst the dunes covered with wet bent-grass, every
now and again stumbling amongst the rabbit burrows
which in those days honeycombed the sandhills of Cruden
Bay. At last I came to the Hawklaw, and, climbing the
steep terraced edge near the sea, sat on the top to breathe
myself after the climb.
The scene was one of exquisite beauty. Its natural
loveliness was enhanced by the softness of the full yellow
moonlight which seemed to flood the heavens and the
earth alike. To the south-east the bleak promontory of
Whinnyfold stood out stark and black as velvet and the
rocks of the Skares were like black dots in the quivering
sea of gold. I arose and went on my way. The tide was
far out and as I stumbled along the rude path above the
waste of boulders I had a feeling that I should be late. I
hurried on, crossed the little rill which usually only
trickled down beside the fishers' zigzag path at the back
of Whinnyfold but which was now a rushing stream
again the noise of falling water, the voice of the Lammas
The Mystery of the Sea 33
floods and took the cart track which ran hard by the
cliff down to the point which looked direct upon the
Skares.
When I reached the very edge of the cliff, where the
long sea-grass and the deep clover felt underfoot like a
luxurious carpet, I was not surprised to see Gormala
seated, looking out seawards. The broad track of the
moon lay right across the outmost rock of the Skares and
falling across some of the jagged rocks, which seemed
like fangs rising from the deep water as the heave of the
waveless sea fell back and the white water streamed
down, came up to where we stood and seemed to bathe
both the Seer-woman and myself in light. There was
no current anywhere, but only the silent rise and fall of
the water in the everlasting movement of the sea. When
she heard me behind her Gormala turned round, and
the patient calmness of her face disappeared. She rose
quickly, and as she did so pointed to a small boat which
sailing up from the south was now drawing opposite to
us and appeared to be making a course as close to shore
as possible, just clearing the outer bulwark of the Skares.
" Look ! " she said, " Lauchlane Macleod comes by his
lanes. The rocks are around him, and his doom is at
hand!"
There did not appear any danger in such a course;
the wind was gentle, the tide was at the still moment
between ebb and flow, and the smoothness of the water
beyond the rock seemed to mark its great depth.
All at once the boat seemed to stand still, we were too
far off to hear a sound even on such a still night. The
mast bent forward and broke short off, the sails hung
limp in the water with the peak of the lug sail sticking
up in a great triangle, like the fin of a mammoth shark.
A few seconds after, a dark speck moved on the water
which became agitated around it; it was evident that a
3
34 The Mystery of the Sea
swimmer was making for the land. I would have gone
to help him had it been of use ; but it was not, the outer
rock was half a mile away. Indeed, though I knew it was
no use, I was yet about to swim to meet him when Gor-
mala's voice behind me arrested me :
" Do ye no see that gin ye meet him amid yon rocks,
ye can, when the tide begins to race, be no help to any.
If he can win through, ye may help him if ye bide here."
The advice was good and I stayed my feet. The swim-
mer evidently knew the danger, for he hurried frantically
to win some point of safety before the tide should turn.
But the rocks of the Skares are deadly steep; they rise
from the water sheer everywhere, and to climb them
from the sea is a hopeless task. Once and again the swim-
mer tried to find a chink or cranny where he could climb ;
but each time he tried to raise himself he fell back into
the water. Moreover I could see that he was wounded,
for his left hand hung idle. He seemed to realise the
hopelessness of the task, and turning, made desperately
for the part where we stood. He was now within the
most dangerous spot in the whole region of the Skares.
The water is of great depth everywhere and the needle-
points of rocks rise almost to the very surface. It is only
when the waves are rough at low water that they can be
seen at all, when the dip of the waves leaves them bare ;
but from the surface in calm weather they cannot be
seen as the swirl of the tide around them is invisible-.
Here, too, the tide, rounding the point and having the
current broken by the masses of the great rock, rolls with
inconceivable rapidity. I had too often watched from the
headland where my home was to be the set of the tide
not to know the danger. I shouted as loudly as I could,
but for some reason he did not hear me. The moments
ere the tide should turn seemed like ages ; and yet it was
with a sudden shock that I heard the gurgle of moving
The Mystery of the Sea 35
water followed by the lap, lap, lap, getting quicker each
second. Somewhere inland a clock struck twelve.
The tide had turned and was beginning to flow.
In a few seconds the swimmer felt its effects, though he
did not seem to notice them. Then he was swept towards
the north. All at once there was a muffled cry which
seemed to reach slowly to where we stood, and the swim-
mer rolled over for an instant. It was only too apparent
what had happened; he had struck his arm against one
of the sunken rocks and injured it. Then he commenced
a mad struggle for life, swimming without either arm in
that deadly current which grew faster and faster every
moment. He was breathless, and now and again his head
dipped ; but he kept on valiantly. At last in one of these
dips, borne by the momentum of his own strength and the
force of the current, he struck his head against another
of the sunken rocks. For an instant he raised it, and I
could see it run red in the glare of the moonlight.
Then he sank; from the height where I stood I could
see the body roll over and over in the fierce current which
made for the outmost point to the north-east of the prom-
ontory. I ran over as fast as I could, Gormala following.
When I came to the rock, which here shelved, I plunged
in and after a few strokes met by chance the body as it
rolled upward. With a desperate effort I brought it to
land.
The struggle to lift the body from the water and to
bear it up the rock exhausted me, so that when I reached
the top of the cliff I had to pause for a few seconds to
breathe hard. Since the poor fellow's struggle for life had
begun I had never for an instant given the prophecy a
thought. But now, all at once, as I looked past the figure,
lying limp before me with the poor arms twisted unnatu-
rally and the head turned away past the moonlit sea and
the great, golden orb whose track was wrinkled over the
36 The Mystery of the Sea
racing tide, the full force of it burst upon me, and I felt
a sort of spiritual transformation. The air seemed full
of fluttering wings; sea and land alike teemed with life
that I had not hitherto dreamed of. I felt in a sort of spir-
itual trance. But the open eyes were upon me; I feared
the man was dead, but Briton-like I would not accept
the conviction without effort. So I raised the body to
my shoulders, determined to make with what speed I
could for Whinnyfold where fire and willing hands could
aid in restoration. As I laid the limp body across my
shoulders, holding the two hands in my right hand to
steady the burden whilst with the left I drew some of the
clothing tight, I caught Gormala's eye. She had not
helped me in any possible way, though more than once
in distress I had called to her. So now I said angrily :
" Get away woman ! You should be ashamed of your-
self never to help at such a time," and I took my way
unaided. I did not heed at the time her answer, spoken
with a certain measure of deprecation, though it after-
wards came back to me :
" Am I to wark against the Fates when They have
spoken ! The Dead are dead indeed when the Voice has
whispered in their ears !"
Now, as I passed along with the hands of the dead man
in mine the true shell of a man whose spirit could be
but little space away whilst the still blood in the veins
was yet warm a strange thing began to happen. The
spirits of earth and sea and air seemed to take shape to
me, and all the myriad sounds of the night to have a
sentient cause of utterance. As I panted and struggled
on, my physical effort warring equally with the new spir-
itual experience so that nothing remained except sen-
tience and memory, I could see Gormala walking abreast
me with even steps. Her eyes glared balefully with a
fierce disappointment ; never once did she remit the vigi-
The Mystery of the Sea 37
lant, keen look which seemed to pierce into my very
soul.
For a short space of time there was something of an-
tagonism to her ; but this died away imperceptibly, and I
neither cared nor thought about her, except when my
attention would be called to her. I was becoming wrapped
in the realisation of the mightier forces around me.
Just where the lane way from the cliff joins Whin^
nyfold there is a steep zigzag path running down to the
stony beach far below where the fishers keep their boats
and which is protected from almost the wildest seas by
the great black rock the Caudman, which fills the mid-
dle of the little bay, leaving deep channels on either hand.
When I was come to this spot, suddenly all the sounds of
the night seemed to cease. The very air grew still so that
the grasses did not move or rustle, and the waters of the
swirling tide ceased to run in grim silence on their
course. Even to that inner sense, which was so new to
me that the change in everything to which it was sus-
ceptible became at once noticeable, all things stood still.
It was as though the spirits of earth and air and water
were holding their breath for some rare portent. Indeed
I noticed as my eye ranged the surface of the sea, that
the moon track was for the time no longer rippled, but lay
in a broad glistening band.
The only living thing in all the wide world was, it
seemed to me, the figure of Gormala as, with lowering
eyes and suspended breath, she stood watching me with
uncompromising, persistent sternness.
Then my own heart seemed to stand still, to be a part
of the grim silence of the waiting forces of the world. I
was not frightened ; I was not even amazed. All seemed
so thoroughly in keeping with the prevailing influence
of the time that I did not feel even a moment of surprise.
Up the steep path came a silent procession of ghostly
38 The Mystery of the Sea
figures, so misty of outline that through the grey green
of their phantom being the rocks and moonlit sea were
apparent, and even the velvet blackness of the shadows of
the rocks did not lose their gloom. And yet each figure
was defined so accurately that every feature, every particle
of dress or accoutrement could be discerned. Even the
sparkle of their eyes in that grim waste of ghostly grey
was like the lambent flashes of phosphoric light in the
foam of moving water cleft by a swift prow. There was
no need for me to judge by the historical sequence of
their attire, or by any inference of hearing ; I knew in my
heart that these were the ghosts of the dead who had
been drowned in the waters of the Cruden Skares.
Indeed the moments of their passing and they were
many for the line was of sickening length became to
me a lesson of the long flight of time. At the first were
skin-clad savages with long, wild hair matted; then
others with rude, primitive clothing. And so on in
historic order men, aye, and here and there a woman,
too, of many lands, whose garments were of varied cut
and substance. Red-haired Vikings and black-haired
Celts and Phoenicians, fair-haired Saxons and swarthy
Moors in flowing robes. At first the figures, chiefly of
the barbarians, were not many ; but as the sad procession
passed along I could see how each later year had brought
its ever-growing tale of loss and disaster, and added more
and faster to the grim harvest of the sea. A vast number
of the phantoms had passed when there came along a
great group which at once attracted my attention. They
were all swarthy, and bore themselves proudly under their
cuirasses and coats of mail, or their garb as fighting men
of the sea. Spaniards they were, I knew from their dress,
and of three centuries back. For an instant my heart
leapt ; these were men of the great Armada, come up from
the wreck of some lost galleon or patache to visit once
The Mystery of the Sea 39
again the glimpses of the Moon. They were of lordly
mien, with large aquiline features and haughty eyes. As
they passed, one of them turned and looked at me. As
his eyes lit on me, I saw spring into them, as though he
were quick, dread, and hate, and fear.
Hitherto I had been impressed, awed, by the indiffer-
ence of the passing ghosts. They had looked nowhere,
but with steady, silent, even tread had passed on their
way. But when this one looked at me it was a glance
from the spirit world which chilled me to the very soul.
But he too passed on. I stood at the head of the wind-
ing path, having the dead man still on my shoulders and
looking with sinking heart at the sad array of the victims
of the Cruden Skares. I noticed that most who came
now were seamen, with here and there a group of shores-
men and a few women amongst them. The fishermen
were many, and without exception wore great sea boots.
And so with what patience I could I waited for the end.
At length it came in the shape of a dim figure of great
stature, and both of whose arms hung limp. The blood
from a gash on his forehead had streamed on to his
golden beard, and the golden eyes looked far away. With
a shudder I saw that this was the ghost of the man whose
body, now less warm, lay upon my shoulders; and so I
knew that Lauchlane Macleod was dead. I was relieved
when I saw that he did not even look at me ; though as I
moved on, following the procession, he walked beside me
with equal steps, stopping and moving as I stopped and
moved.
The silence of death was upon the little hamlet of
Whinnyfold. There was not a sign of life; not a dog
barked as the grim procession had moved up the steep
path or now filed across the running stream and moved
along the footpath toward Cruden. Gormala with eager
eyes kept watching me; and as the minutes wore on I
40 The Mystery of the Sea
began to resume my double action of thought, for I could
see in her face that she was trying to reason out from
my own expression something of what I was looking at.
As we moved along she now began to make suggestions to
me in a fierce whisper, evidently hoping that she might
learn something from my acquiescence in, or negation of,
her thought. Through that ghostly silence her living
voice cut with the harshness of a corncrake.
" Shearing the silence of the night with ragged edge."
Perhaps it was for the best; looking back now on that
awful experience, I know that no man can say what his
mind may suffer in the aftertime who walks alone with
the Dead. That I was strung to some iamazing pitch
was manifested by the fact that I did not seem to feel the
great weight which lay upon my shoulders. I have natu-
rally vast strength and the athletic training of my youth
had developed it highly. But the weight of an ordinary
man is much to hold or carry for even a short time, and
the body which I bore was almost that of a giant.
The path across the neck of land which makes the
Skares a promontory is flat, with here and there a deep
cleft like a miniature ravine where the water from the
upland rushes in flood time down to the sea. All these
rills were now running strong, but I could hear no sound
of murmuring water, no splash as the streams leapt over
the edge of the cliff on the rocks below in whitening
spray. The ghostly procession did not pause at any of
these streams, but moved on impassively to the farther
side where the path trends down to the sands of Cruden
Bay. Gormala stood a moment watching my eyes as they
swept the long line passing the angle so that I could see
them all at once. That she guessed something was evi-
dent from her speech :
" They are many ; his eyes range wide ! '' I started,
The Mystery of the Sea 41
and she knew that she had guessed aright. This one
guess seemed to supply her with illimitable data; she
evidently knew something of the spirit world, though she
could not see into its mysteries. Her next words brought
enlightenment to me:
" They are human spirits ; they follow the path that the
feet o' men hae made ! "
It was so. The procession did not float over the sur-
face of field or sand, but took its painful way down the
zigzag of the cliff and over the rocky path through the
great boulders of the foreshore. When the head of it
reached the sand, it passed along the summit of the ridge,
just as every Sunday night the fishermen of Whinny fold
and Collieston did in returning to their herring boats at
Peterhead.
The tramp across the sands was long and dreary.
Often as I had taken that walk in rain or storm, with
the wind almost sweeping me off my feet whilst the sand
drift from the bent-covered hills almost cut my cheeks and
ears, I had never felt the way to be so long or so hard to
travel. Though I did not realise it at the time, the dead
man's weight was beginning to tell sorely upon me.
Across the Bay I could see the few lights in the village of
Port Erroll that were to be seen at such a time of night ;
and far over the water came the cold grey light which
is the sign of the waning of the night rather than of the
coming of the morning.
When we came to the Hawklaw, the head of the pro-
cession turned inward through the sandhills. Gormala,
watching my eyes, saw it and an extraordinary change
came over her. For an instant she was as if stricken, and
stood stock still. Then she raised her hands in wonder,
and said in an awed whisper :
" The Holy Well ! They gang to St. Olaf 's well ! The
Lammas floods will aye serve them weel."
42 The Mystery of the Sea
With an instinct of curiosity strong upon me I hurried
on so as to head the procession. As I moved along the
rough path amongst the sandhills I felt the weight of the
burden on my shoulders grow heavier and heavier, so that
my feet dragged as do the feet of one in a night-mare.
As I moved on, I looked round instinctively and saw that
the shade of Lauchlane Macleod no longer kept pace with
me, but retained its place in the procession. Gormala's
evil eye was once more upon me, but with her diabolical
cunning she guessed the secret of my looking round. She
moved along, not with me but at the rate she had been
going as though she liked or expected to remain in jux-
taposition to the shade of the dead man ; some purpose of
her own was to be fulfilled.
As I pressed on, the shades around me seemed to grow
dimmer and dimmer still ; till at the last I could see little
more than a film or haze. When I came to St. Olaf's
well then merely a rough pool at the base of the high
land that stretches back from the Hawklaw the ghostly
mist was beginning to fade into the water. I stood hard
by, and the weight upon my shoulders became dreadful.
I could hardly stand; I determined, however, to hold
on as long as I could and see what would happen.
The dead man, too, was becoming colder! I did not
know whether the dimming of the shadows was from
this cause, or because the spirit of the man was farther
away. It was possibly both, for as the silent, sad
procession came on I could see more distinctly. When
the wraith of the Spaniard turned and looked at me,
he seemed once more to look with living eyes from a living
soul. Then there was a dreary wait whilst the rest came
along and passed in awesome stillness down into the well
and disappeared. The weight upon my shoulders now
became momentarily more intolerable. At last I could
bear it no longer, and half bending I allowed the body
The Mystery of the Sea 43
to slip to the ground, I only holding the hands to steady
the descent. Gormala was now opposite to me, and seeing
what I had done leaped towards me with a loud cry. For
one dim moment the wraith of the dead man stood
above its earthly shell ; and then I saw the ghostly vision
no more.
At that instant, just as Gormala was about to touch the
dead body, there was a loud hiss and murmur of waters.
The whole pool burst up in a great fountain, scattering
sand and water around for a wide space. I rushed back ;
Gormala did the same.
Then the waters receded again, and when I looked, the
corpse of Lauchlane Macleod was gone. It was swal-
lowed up in the Holy Well.
Overcome with physical weariness and strange horror
of the scene I sank down on the wet sand. The scene
whirled round me. I remember no more.
CHAPTER VI
THE MINISTERS OF THE DOOM
WHEN at last I looked around me I was not
surprised at anything I saw; not even at the
intense face of Gormala whose eyes, bright in
the full moonlight, were searching my face more eagerly
than ever. I was lying on the sand, and she was bending
over me so closely that her face almost touched mine. It
was evident, even to my half-awake sensibilities, that she
was listening intently, lest even a whispered word from me
should be missed.
The witch-woman was still seemingly all afire, but withal
there was manifested in her face and bearing a sense of
disappointment which comforted me. I waited a few
minutes until I felt my brain clear, and my body rested
from the intolerable strain which it had undergone in
carrying that terrific burden from Whinnyfold.
When I looked up again Gormala recognised the change
in me, and her own expression became different. The
baleful glitter of her eyes faded, and the blind, unreason-
ing hate and anger turned to keen inquiry. She was not
now merely baffled in her hopes, and face to face with an
unconscious man; there was at least a possibility of her
gaining some knowledge, and all the energy of her nature
woke again as she spoke:
" So ye are back wi' the moon and me. Whither went
ye when ye lay down upon the sand. Was it back ye
went, or forrart; wi' the ghaists into the Holy Well and
44
The Ministers of the Doom 45
beyond in their manifold course; or back to their comin*
f rae the sea and all that could there be told ? Oh ! mon,
what it is to me that any ither can gang like that into
spirit land, and me have to wait here by my lanes; to
wring my hands an' torture my hairt in broken hopes ! "
I answered her question with another :
" How do you mean that ghosts go into the well and
beyond ? " Her answer was at the first given in a stern
tone which became, however, softer, as she went on.
" Knew ye not, that the Lammas Floods are the car-
riers o' the Dead ; that on Lammas nicht the Dead can win
their way to where they will, under the airth by wherever
there is rinnin' watter. Happy be they that can gain
a Holy Well, an' so pass into the bowels o' the airth to
where they list."
" And how and when do they return? "
" Dinna jest wi' Fate an' the Dead. They in their scope
can gang and return again ; no een, save your ain, o' man
or Seer has seen the method o' their gangin'. No een,
even yours, can see them steal out again in the nicht,
when the chosen graves that they hae sought hae taken
from them the dross o' the airth." I felt it was not
wise to talk further, so without a word I turned and
walked home by the sheep tracks amongst the sand hills.
Now and again I stumbled in a rabbit hole, and as I
would sink forward the wet bent would brush against my
face.
The walk back in the dark dawn seemed interminable.
All this time my mind was in a turmoil. I did not even
seem to remember anything definitely, or think consecu-
tively; but facts and fancies swept through my mind
in a chaotic whirl. When I got to the house, I undressed
quickly and got into bed; I must have instantly fallen
into a deep sleep.
Next afternoon I walked by the shore to Whinnyfold.
46 The Mystery of the Sea
It was almost impossible to believe that I was looking at
the same place as on last night. I sat on the cliff where
I had sat last night, the hot August sun and the cool
breeze from the sea being inconceivably soothing. So I
thought and thought. . . . The lack of sufficient
sleep the night before and the tired feeling of the physical
strain I had undergone my shoulders still ached told
upon me, and I fell asleep.
When I waked Gormala stood in front of me.
After a long pause she spoke:
" I see that ye remember, else would ye ha' spoken to
me. Will ye no tell me all that ye saw? Then, wi' your
Seer's een an' my knowledge o' the fact we may thegither
win oot the great Secret o' the Sea." I felt stronger than
ever the instinctive conviction that I must remain keenly
on guard with her. So I said nothing; waiting thus I
should learn something, whether from her words or her
silence. She could not stand this. I saw her colour rise
till her face was all aglow with a red flush that shamed
the sunset; and at last the anger blazed in her eyes. It
was in a threatening tone which she spoke, though the
words were themselves sufficiently conciliatory :
" The Secrets o' the Sea are to be won ; and tae thee
and me it is given to win them. What hae been is but an
earnest of what will be. For ages ithers have tried to win
but hae failed ; and if we fail too for lack o' purpose or
because ye like me not, then to ithers will come in time
the great reward. For the secrets are there, and the
treasures lie awaiting. The way is open for those to
whom are the Gifts. Throw not away the favour of the
Fates. For if they be kind to give where they will, they
are hard to thwart, and their revenge is sure ! " I must
confess that her words began to weaken my purpose.
In one way inexorable logic was on her side. Powers
such as were mine were surely given for some purpose.
The Ministers of the Doom 47
Might I not be wrong in refusing to use them. If the
Final Cause of my powers were purposeful, then
might not a penalty be exacted from me because I had
thwarted the project. Gormala, with that diabolical cun-
ning of hers, evidently followed the workings of my mind,
for her face lit up. How she knew, I know not, but I do
know that her eyes never left mine. I suppose it may be
that the eyes which have power to see at times the inward-
ness of things have some abnormal power also of ex-
pressing the thoughts behind them. I felt, however, that
I was in danger. All my instincts told me that once in
Gormala's power I should rue it, so I spoke out on the
instant strongly :
" I shall have nothing to do with you whatever. Last
night when you refused to help me with the wounded
man whom you had followed, remember, for weeks,
hoping for his death I saw you in your true colours ;
and I mean to have nothing to do with you." Fierce
anger blazed again in her eyes; but again she controlled
herself and spoke with an appearance of calm, though it
was won with great effort, as I could see by the tension
of her muscles :
" An' so ye would judge me that I would not help ye to
bring the Dead to life again ! I knew that Lauchlane was
dead ! Aye ! and ye kent it too as weel as I did masel'.
It needed no Seer to tell that, when ye brocht him up the
rocks oot o' the tide. Then, when he was dead, for why
wad ye no use him ? Do the Dead themselves object that
they help the livin' to their ends while the blood is yet
warm in them? Is it ye that object to the power of the
Dead ? You whose veins have the power o' divination of
the quick; you to whom the heavens themselves opened,
and the airth and the watters under the airth, when the
spirit of the Dead that ye carried walked beside ye as ye
ganged to St. Olaf's Well. An' as for me, what hae I
48 The Mystery of the Sea
done that you should object. I saw, as you did, that
Lauchlane's sands were run. You and I are alike in
that. To us baith was given to see, by signs that ages
have made sacred, that Fate had spoken in his ears
though he had himself not heard the Voice. Nay more,
to me was only given to see that the Voice had spoken.
But to you was shown how, and when, and where the
Doom should come, though you yersel' that can read
the future as no ither that is known, canna read the past ;
and so could na tell what a lesser one would ha' guessed
at lang syne. I followed the Doom; you followed the
Doom. I by my cunnin'; you when ye waked frae yer
sleep, followin' yer conviction, till we met thegither for
Lauchlane's death, amid Lammas floods and under the
gowden moon on the gowden sea. Through his aid aye,
young sir for wi'oot a fresh corp to aid, no Seer o' airth
could hae seen as ye did, that lang line o' ghaists ye saw
last nicht. Through his aid the wonders o' the heavens
and the deep, o' airth and air, was opened till ye. Wha
then be ye that condemn me that only saw a sign an'
followed ? Gin I be guilty, what be you ? "
It would be impossible to describe the rude, wild, natu-
ral eloquence with which this was spoken. In the sun-
set, the gaunt woman seemed to tower above me ; and as
she moved her arms, the long shadows of them stretched
over the green down before us and away over the wrinkled
sea as though her gestures were, giant like, appealing to
all nature.
I was distinctly impressed, for all that she said was
quite true. She had in reality done nothing that the law
would call wrong. Lauchlane's death was in no possible
way due to any act of hers. She had only watched him ;
and as he did not even know that she watched he could not
have been influenced in any way by it or by her. As to
my own part! Her words gave me a new light. Why
The Ministers of the Doom 49
had I risen in the night and come out to Whinnyfold?
Was it intuition, or a call from the witch-woman, who
in such case must have had some hypnotic influence over
me? Or was it ?
I stood appalled at the unspoken thought. Could it
be that the powers of Nature which had been revealed
to me in the dread hour had not only sentience but
purpose !
I felt that my tone was more conciliatory as I an-
swered her:
" I did not mean to blame you for anything you had
done. I see now that your wrong was only passive."
I felt that my words were weak, and my feeling was
emphasised by the scorn of her reply :
"' My wrang was only passive ! My wrang ! What
wrang hae I done that you should sit in jugment on me.
Could I hae helpit it when Lauchlane met his death amang
the rocks in the tide. Why you yoursel' sat here beside
me, an' ye no helpit him or tried to, strong man though
ye be, that could carry his corp frae here to St. Olaf's
Well; for ye kenned that no livin' arm could aid him
in that hour o' doom. Aye! laddie, the Fates know
their wark o'er weel to hae ony such betterment o' their
plans ! An' div ye think that by any act o' yer ain, or by
any refusal o' act or speech, ye can baffle the purpose
o' the Doom. Ye are yet young and ye must learn ; then
learn it now whiles ye can, that when the Word is spoken
all follows as ordained. Aye! though the Ministers o'
the Doom be many an' various, an' though they hae to
gather in ane from many ages an' frae the furthermost
ends o' the airth ! "
Gormala's logic and the exactness of her statement
were too much for me. I felt that I owed her some rep-
aration and told her so. She received it in her gaunt
way with the dignity of an empress.
50 The Mystery of the Sea
But there her dignity stopped; for seeing that she
had got a lever in her hands she began at once, woman-
like, to use it. Without any hesitation or delay she asked
me straightly to tell Her what I had seen the night before.
The directness of her questioning was my best help;
my heart hardened and my lips closed. She saw my
answer before I had spoken it, and turned away with an
eloquent, rugged gesture of despair. She felt that her
last hope was gone; that her. last bolt had been sped in
vain.
With her going, the link with last night seemed to
break, and as she passed up the road the whole of that
strange experience became dimmer and dimmer.
1 walked home by Cruden sands in a sort of dream.
The chill and strain of the night before seemed to affect
me more and more with each hour. Feeling fatigued and
drowsy I lay down on my bed and sank into a heavy,
lethargic sleep.
The last thing I remember is the sounding of the din-
ner-gong, and a dim resolution not to answer its
call. . . .
*****
It was weeks after, when the fever had passed away,
that I left my bed in the Kilmarnock Arms.
CHAPTER VII
FROM OTHER AGES AND THE ENDS OF THE
EARTH
THE last week in June of next year, 1898, found me
back in Cruden. My own house was in process
of building. I had purposely arranged with the
builders that the fitting up and what the conveyancers
call " beautifyings " should not be done until I should
be on the spot myself next year, to be consulted about
everything. Every day I went over to see the place and
become familiar with it before the plans for decoration
should be taken in hand. Still there was no enjoyment
in getting wet every time I went and came, or in remain-
ing in wet clothes, so that my day was mainly spent at
home.
One of my first visits was to Peterhead which seemed
to be in a state of absolute activity, for the herring fishing
had been good and trade of all kinds was brisk. At
the market place which was half full of booths, could
be had almost everything required for the needs or com-
fort of life such as it can be on a fishing boat. Fruit
and all sorts of summer luxuries were abundant. Being
Saturday the boats had returned early and had got their
nets away to the drying-grounds, and the men had been
able to shave and dress tidily. The women, too, had
got their dressing done early the fish first and them-
selves afterwards.
For awhile I wandered about aimlessly amongst the
.booths, with that sort of unsatisfaction upon me which
Si
52 The Mystery of the Sea
had of late been the prelude to many of the manifesta-
tions of the power of Second Sight. This used to be
just as if something within me was groping or search-
ing unsuccessfully for something unknown, the sat-
isfaction coming with the realization of the objective of
the search.
Presently I came to an itinerant auctioneer who was
dealing with a small cart-load of odds and ends, evi-
dently picked up in various places. His auction or
" roup " was on the " Dutch " plan ; an extravagant price,
according to his own idea, being placed on each article,
and the offer decreasing in default of bidders. The auc-
tioneer was ready with his tongue; his patter showed
how well he understood the needs and ideas of the class
whom he addressed.
" Here's the works of the Reverend Robert William
McAlister of Trottermaverish in twal volumes, wantin'
the first an' the last twa; three damaged by use, but still
full of power in dealing with the speeritual necessities o'
men who go down to the great deep in ships. A sermon
for every day in the year, in the Gaelic for them as
has na got the English, an' in good English for them as
has. How much for the twal volumes, wantin' but three ?
Not a bawbee less than nine shellin', goin' goin'. Wha
says eight shellin' for the lot. Seven shellin' an' no less.
Goin' for six. Five shellin' for you sir. Any bidder
at four shellin'. Not a bawbee less than three shellin';
Half a croon. Any bidder at twa shellin'. Gone for
you sir ! " the nine volumes were handed over to a grave-
looking old man, and the two shillings which he produced
from a heavy canvas bag duly pocketed by the auctioneer.
Everything he had, found some buyer; even a blue-
book seemed to have its attraction. The oddness of some
of the odd lots was occasionally amusing. When I had
been round the basins of the harbour and had seen the
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 53
dressings and barrelling of the fish, I again came across
the auctioneer in the market place. He had evidently
been using his time well, for the cart was almost empty.
He was just putting up the last article, an old oak chest
which up to now he had used as a sort of table on which
to display the object for sale. An old oak chest has
always charms for me, and I was about furnishing a
house. I stepped over, opened the lid and looked in;
there were some papers tossed on the bottom of it. I
asked the auctioneer if the contents went with the chest,
my real object being to get a look at the lock which
seemed a very old one of steel, though it was much dam-
aged and lacked a key. I was answered with a torrent of
speech in true auctioneer fashion :
" Aye, good master. Take the lot just as it stands.
An oaken kist, hundreds of years aud and still worthy a
rest in the house-place of any man who has goods to
guard. It wants a key, truth to tell; but the lock is
a fine aud one and you can easy fit a key. Moreover the
contents, be they what they may, are yours also. Seel
aud letters in some foreign tongue French I think. Yel-
low in age an' the ink faded. Somebody's love letters, I'm
thinkin'. Come now, young men here's a chance. Maybe
if ye're no that fameeliar in writin' yer hairts oot to the
lassies, ye can get some hints frae these. They can learn
ye, I warrant ! "
I was not altogether unaccustomed to auctions, so I
affected a nonchalance which I did not feel. Indeed, I
was unaccountably excited. It might have been that my
feelings and memories had been worked up by the seeing
again the pier where first I had met Lauchlane Macleod,
and the moving life which then had environed him. I felt
coming over me that strange impalpable influence or tend-
ency which had been a part of my nature in the days im-
mediately before the drowning of the Out-islander. Even
54 The Mystery of the Sea
as I looked, I seemed to feel rather than see fixed upon
me the baleful eyes of the man in the ghostly procession
on that Lammas eve. I was recalled to myself by the
voice of the auctioneer:
" The kist and its contents will be sold for a guinea
and not a bawbee less."
" I take it ! " I cried impulsively. The auctioneer who
in his wildest dreams had no hope of such a price seemed
startled into momentary comparative silence. He quickly
recovered himself and said : " The kist is yours, good
master ; and that concludes the roup ! "
I looked around to see if there was present any one
who could even suggest in any way the appearance of
the man in the ghostly 'procession. But there was no
such person. I met only mirabile dictu, the greedy eyes
of Gormala MacNeil.
That evening in my room at the Kilmarnock Arms, I
examined the papers as well as I could by lamplight. They
were in an old-fashioned style of writing with long tails
and many flourishes which made an added difficulty to
me. The language was Spanish, which tongue I did not
know ; but by aid of French and what little Latin I could
remember I made out a few words here and there. The
dates ranged between 1598 and 1610. The letters, of
which there were eight, were of manifest unimportance,
short notes directed. " Don de Escoban " and merely ar-
ranging meetings. Then there were a number of loose
pages of some printed folio, used perhaps as some kind
of tally or possibly a cipher, for they were marked all
over with dots. The lot was completed by a thin, narrow
strip of paper covered with figures possibly some
account. Papers of three centuries ago were valu-
able, were it only for their style of writing. So I locked
them all up carefully before I went to bed, with full
intention to examine them thoroughly some day. The
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 55
appearance of Gormala just at the time when I had be-
come possessed of them seemed to connect them in some
mysterious way with the former weird experiences in
which she had so prominent a part.
That night I dreamed as usual, though my dreaming
was of a scattered and incoherent character. Gormala's
haunting presence and all that had happened during the
day, especially the buying of the chest with the mysteri-
ous papers, as well as what had taken place since my
arrival at Cruden was mixed up in perpetually recurring
images with the beginning of my Second Sight and the
death of Lauchlane Macleod. Again, and again, and
again, I saw with the eyes of memory, in fragmentary
fashion, the grand form of the fisherman standing in a
blaze of gold, and later fighting his way through a still
sea of gold, of which the only reliefs were the scattered
piles of black rock and the pale face patched with blood.
Again, and again, and again, the ghostly procession came
up the steep path from the depths of the sea, and passed
in slow silent measure into St. Olaf's Well.
Gormala's words were becoming a truth to me; that
above and around me was some force which was impelling
to an end all things of which I could take cognizance,
myself amongst the rest. Here I stopped, suddenly ar-
rested by the thought that it was Gormala herself who
had set my mind working in this direction ; and the words
with which she had at once warned and threatened me
when after the night of Lauchlane's death we stood at
Witsennan point :
" When the Word is spoken all follows as ordained.
Aye! though the Ministers of the Doom may be many
and various, and though they may have to gather in
one from many ages and from the furthermost ends of
the earth!"
The next few days were delightfully fine, and life
56 The Mystery of the Sea
was one long enjoyment. On Monday evening there
was a sunset which I shall never forget. The whole
western sky seemed ablaze with red and gold; great
masses of cloud which had rolled up seemed like
huge crimson canopies looped with gold over the sun
throned on the western mountains. I was standing on
the Hawklaw, whence I could get a good view ; beside me
was a shepherd whose flock patched the steep green hill-
side as with snow. I turned to him and said:
" Is not that a glorious sight ? "
" Aye ! 'Tis grand. But like all beauty o' the warld
it fadeth into naught ; an' is only a mask for dool."
" You do not seem to hold a very optimistic opinion
of things generally." He deliberately stoked himself
from his snuff mull before replying:
" Optimist nor pessimist am I, eechie nor ochie. I'm
thinkin' the optimist and the pessimist are lears alike;
takin' a pairt for the whole, an' so guilty o' the logical
sin o' a particulari ad universale. Sophism they misca'
it; as if there were anything but a lee in a misstatement
o' fac'. Fac's is good eneuch for me; an' that, let me
tell ye, is why I said that the splendour o' the sunset is
but a mask for dool. Look yon! The clouds are all
gold and glory, like a regiment goin' oot to the battle.
But bide ye till the sun drops, not only below the horizon
but beyond the angle o' refraction. Then what see ye?
All grim and grey, and waste, and dourness and dool;
like the army as it returns frae the fecht. There be some
that think that because the sun sets fine i' the nicht, it
will of necessity rise fine i' the morn. They seem to no
ken that it has to traverse one half o' the warld ere it
returns; and that the averages of fine and foul, o' light
and dark hae to be aye maintained. It may be that the
days o' fine follow ane anither fast ; or that the foul times
linger likewise. But in the end, the figures of fine and
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 57
foul tottle up, in accord wi' their ordered sum. What
use is it. then, to no tak' heed o' fac's? Weel I ken, that
the fac' o' the morrow will differ sair frae the fac's o' this
nicht. Not in vain hae I seen the wisdom and glory o'
the Lord in sunsets an' dawns wi'oot learnin' the lessons
that they teach. Mon, I tell ye that it's all those glories
o' pomp and pageantry all the lasceevious luxuries o'
colour an' splendour, that are the forerinners o' disaster.
Do ye no see the streaks o' wind rinnin' i' the sky, frae
the east to the west ? Do ye ken what they portend ? I'm
tellin' ye, that before the sun sets the morrow nicht there
will be ruin and disaster on all this side o' Scotland.
The storm will no begin here. It is perhaps ragin' the
noo away to the east. But it will come quick, most likely
wi' the risin' o' the tide; and woe be then to them as
has no made safe wi' all they can. Hark ye the stillness ! "
Shepherd-like he took no account of his own sheep whose
ceaseless bleating, sounding in every note of the scale,
broke the otherwise universal silence of nature. " I'm
thinkin' it's but the calm before the storm. Weel sir,
I maun gang. The yowes say it is time for the hame
comin'. An' mark ye, the collie! He looks at me re-
proachful, as though I had forgot the yowes! My sair-
vice to ye, sir ! "
" Good night " I answered, " I hope I shall meet you
again."
" I'm thinkin' the same masel'. I hae much enjoyed yer
pleasin' converse. I hope it's mony a crack we yet may
hae thegither ! " And so my philosophical egoist moved
homewards, blissfully unconscious of the fact that my
sole contribution to the " pleasing converse " was the re-
mark that he did not seem optimistic.
The whole mass of his charge moved homewards at
an even footpace, the collie making frantic dashes here
and there to keep his flock headed in the right direction.
58 The Mystery of the Sea
Presently I saw the herd pouring like a foam-white noisy
river across the narrow bridge over the Water of Cruden.
The next morning was fine, very hot, and of an unusual
stillness. Ordinarily I should have rejoiced at such a
day; but the warning of the erudite and philosophical
shepherd made me mistrust. To me the worst of the
prophecy business was that it became a disturbing influ-
ence. To-day, perforce, because it was fine, I had to
expect that it would end badly. About noon I walked
over to Whinnyfold; it being Saturday I knew that the
workmen would have gone away early, and I wanted
to have the house to myself so that I could go over it
quietly and finally arrange the scheme of colouring. I
remained there some hours, and then, when I had made
up my mind as to things, I set off for the hotel.
In those few hours the weather had changed marvel-
lously. Busy within doors and thinking of something
else, I had not noticed the change, which must have
been gradual however speedy. The heat had increased
till it was most oppressive; uid yet through it all there
was now and then a cold shiver in the air which almost
made me wince. All was still, so preternaturally still that
occasional sounds seemed to strike the ear as disturb-
ances. The screaming of the seagulls had mainly ceased,
and the sound of breaking waves on rocks and shore was
at variance with the silence over the sea; the sheep and
cattle were so quiet that now and again the " moo " of a
cow or the bleat of a sheep seemed strangely single. As
I stood looking out seaward there seemed to be rising a
cold wind ; I could not exactly feel it, but I knew it was
there. As I came down the path over the beach I thought
I heard some one calling a faint far-away sound. At
first I did not heed it, as I knew it could not be any one
calling to me; but when I found it continued, I looked
round. There is at least a sufficient amount of curiosity
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 59
in each of us to make us look round when there is a call-
ing. At first I could not locate it; but then sight came
to aid of sound, and I saw out on a rock two women
waving handkerchiefs. The calling manifestly came from
them. It was not good for any one to be isolated on a
rock at a time when a storm was coming up ; and I knew
well the rocks which these women were amongst. I
hurried on as quickly as I could, for there was a good
way to go to reach them.
Near the south end of Cruden Bay there is a cluster
of rocks which juts out from shore, something like a
cock's spur. Beyond this cluster are isolated rocks, many
of them invisible at high tide. These form part of the
rocky system of the Skares, which spread out fan-like
from the point of Whinnyfold. Amongst these rocks the
sea runs at change of tide with great force; more than
once when swimming there I had been almost carried
away. What it was to be carried away amongst the
rocks of the Skares I knew too well from the fate of
Lauchlane Macleod. I ran as fast as I could down the
steep pathway and along the boulder-strewn beach till
I came to the Sand Craigs. As I ran I could see from
the quick inrush of waves, which though not much
at present were gathering force every instant, that the
storm which the shepherd had predicted was coming
fast upon us. In such case every moment was precious.
Indeed it might mean life; and so in breathless haste I
scrambled over the rocks. Behind the main body of
the Sand Craigs are two isolated rocks whose tops are
just uncovered at high tide, but which are washed with
every wave. The near one of these is at low water
not separated from the main mass, but only joined by a
narrow isthmus a few feet long, over which the first waves
of the turning tide rush vigourously, for it is in the direct
sweep of the flowing tide. Beyond this, some ninety
60 The Mystery of the Sea
or a hundred feet oi- and separated by a deep channel,
is the outer rock, always in island form. From this spot
at low water is the best view of the multitudinous rocks
of the Skares. On all sides they rise round you as you
stand, the granite seeming yellow with the washing of the
sea between the lines of high and low water; above the
latter the black seaweed ceases growing. This island
is so hidden by the higher rocks around it that it cannot
be seen from any part of Cruden Bay or from Port Erroll
across it; it can only be seen from the path leading to
Whinnyfold. It was fortunate that some one had been
passing just then, or the efforts of the poor women to
attract attention might have been made in vain.
When I reached the Sand Craigs I scrambled at once
to the farthest point of the rocks, and came within
sight of the isolated rock. Fortunately it was low water.
The tide had only lately turned and was beginning to
flow rapidly through the rocks. When I had scrambled
on the second last rock I was only some thirty yards
from the outermost one and could see clearly the two
women. One was stout and elderly, the other young and
tall and of exceeding beauty. The elderly one was in
an almost frantic condition of fright; but the younger
one, though her face was deadly pale and I could see
from the anxious glances which she kept casting round
her that she was far from at ease was outwardly calm.
For an instant there was a curious effect as her pale
face framed in darl: hair stood out against the foam
of the tide churning round the far off rocks. It seemed
as though her head were dressed with white flowers. As
there was no time to lose, I threw off my coat and shoes
and braced myself for a swim. I called as I did so:
"What has become of your boat?" The answer came
back in a clear, young voice of manifestly American into-
nation :
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 6 1
" It drifted away. It has gone off amongst those
rocks at the headland."
I had for a moment an idea that my best plan might
be to fetch it first, but a glance at the distance and at
the condition of the sea made me see the futility of any
such hope. Already the waves were rising so fast that
they were beginning to sweep over the crest of the
rocks. Even that in front of me where the women
stood was now topped by almost every wave. Without
further delay I jumped into the sea and swam across.
The girl gave me a hand up the rock, and I stood beside
them, the old lady holding tight to me whilst I held the
younger one and the rising waves washing round our
feet. For a moment or two I considered the situation,
and then asked them if either of them could swim. The
answer was in the negative. " Then," I said decisively,
" you must leave yourselves to me, and I shall swim
across with each of you in turn." The old lady groaned.
I pointed out that there was no other way, and that if
we came at once it would not be difficult, as the distance
was short and the waves were not as yet troublesome.
I tried to treat the matter as though it were a nice holiday
episode so that I might^keep up their spirits; but all the
same I felt gravely anxious. The distance to swim was
only some thirty yards, but the channel was deep, and
the tide running strong. Moreover the waves were rising,
and we should have to get a foothold on the slippery sea-
weed-covered rock. However there was nothing to be
done but to hasten; and as I was considering how best
I should take the old lady across I said :
" What a pity it is that we haven't even a strong cord,
and then we could pull each other across." The girl
jumped at the idea and said:
" There was plenty in the boat, but of course it is
gone. Still there should be a short piece here. I took
62 The Mystery of the Sea
care to fasten the painter to a piece of rock; but like
a woman forgot to see that the other end was fixed
to the boat, so that when the tide turned she drifted
away with the stream. The fast end should be here still."
When the coming wave had rolled on she pointed to a
short piece of rope tied round a jutting piece of rock;
its loose end swayed to and fro with every wave. I
jumped for it at once, for I saw a possible way out of
our difficulty; even if the rope were short, so was the
distance, and its strands ravelled might cover the width
of the channel. I untied the rope as quickly as I could.
It was not an easy task, for the waves made it impossible
to work except for a few seconds at a time; however, I
got it free at last and pulled it up. It was only a frag-
ment some thirty feet in length ; but my heart leaped for I
saw my way clear now. The girl saw it too and said at
once:
" Let me help you." I gave her one end of the rope
and we commenced simultaneously to ravel the piles. It
was a little difficult to do, standing as we did upon the
uneven surface of the rock with the waves rushing over
our feet and the old lady beside us groaning and moan-
ing and imploring us to hasten. Mostly she addressed
herself to me, as in some way the deus ex machina and
thus superior to the occasion where helpless women were
concerned; but occasionally the wail was directed to her
companion, who would then, even in that time of stress
and hurry, spare a moment to lay a comforting hand on
her as she said:
"Hush! oh hush! Do not say anything, dear. You
will only frighten yourself. Be brave ! " and such phrases
of kindness and endearment. Once the girl stopped as
a wave bigger than the rest broke over her feet. The old
lady tried to still her shriek into a moan as she held on
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 63
to her, saying " Oh Miss Anita ! Oh Miss Anita ! " plain-
tively over and over again.
At last we had ravelled the four strands of the rope
and I began to knot them together. The result was a
rope long enough to reach from rock to rock, though it
was in places of very doubtful strength. I made a big
loop at one end of it and put it over the stout lady's
head and under her armpits. I cautioned both women
not to tax the cord too severely by a great or sudden
strain. The elder lady protested against going first, but
was promptly negatived by the young lady, whose wishes
on the subject were to me a foregone conclusion. I
took the loose end of the rope and diving into the water
swam across to the other rock upon the top of which I
scrambled with some little trouble, for the waves, though
not as yet in themselves dangerous, made difficult any
movement which exposed me to their force. I signed to
the old lady to slide into the sea which, assisted by the
girl, she did very pluckily. She gasped and gurgled a
good deal and clutched the loop with a death grip; but
I kept a steady even strain on the rope whose strength
I mistrusted. In a lew seconds she was safely across,
and I was pulling her up by the hands up the rock. When
she was firmly fixed I gave her the loose end of the cord
to hold and swam back with the loop. The girl did not
delay or give any trouble. As she helped me up the
rock I could not but notice what strength she had; her
grip of my wet hand was firm and strong, and there
was in it no quiver of anxiety. I felt that she had no
care for herself, now that her companion was safe. I
signalled to the old lady to be ready ; the girl slipped into
the water, I going in at the same time and swimming
beside her. The old lady pulled zealously. So absorbed
was she in her work that she did not heed my warning
64 The Mystery of the Sea
cry not to pull too hard. She pulled as though on her
strength rested the issue of life and death ; with the result
that before we were a third of the way across the rope
broke and she fell sitting on the rock behind her. For an
instant the girl was submerged and came up gasping.
In the spasmodic impulse common at such moments she
gripped me so hard round the neck that I felt we were
both in danger. Before we sank I wrenched, though
with some difficulty her hands away from me, so that
when we rose I had her at arm's length. For a few
seconds I held her so that she could get her breath; and
as I did so I could hear the old lady screaming out in an
agonised way:
" Marjory ! Marjory ! Marjory ! " With her breath
came back the girl's reason, and she left herself to me
passively. As I held her by the shoulder, a wave sweep-
ing over the rock took us, and in my sudden effort to
hold her I tore away the gown at her throat. It was
quite evident her wits were all about her now for she
cried out suddenly:
" Oh, my brooch ! my brooch ! " There was no time to
waste and no time for questions. When a man has to
swim for two in a choppy sea, and when the other one
is a fully clothed woman, there is little to waste of
strength or effort. So I swam as I had never done, and
brought her up to the rock where the old lady helped her
to scramble to her feet. When I had got my breath I
asked her about her brooch. She replied :
" I would not have lost it for all the world. It is an
heirloom."
" Was it gold ? " I asked, for I wanted to know its
appearance as I intended to dive for it.
" Yes! " she said, and without another word I jumped
into the channel again to swim to the outer rock, for
From Other Ages and the Ends of the Earth 65
it was close there it must have been lost and I could
dive from there. The channel between the rocks has a
sandy bottom, and it would be easy to see the gold.
As I went she called out to me to come back, not to mind,
that she would rather lose it a thousand times than have
me run any risk, and so forth; things mightily pleasant
to hear when spoken by such lips. For myself I had only
exultation. I had got off both the women without acci-
dent, and the sea was as yet, not such as to give any
concern to a good swimmer. I dived from the rock
and got bottom easily, the depth being only ten or twelve
feet; and after a few seconds looking round me I saw
the gleam of gold. When I had risen and swam to the
inner rock the two women pulled me up to my feet.
When I gave her the brooch the young lady pressed it
to her lips, and turning to me with tears in her eyes said :
" Oh you brave man ! You kind, brave man ! I would
not have lost this for anything I call mine. Thank you
that you have saved our lives; and that you have saved
this for me." Then with girlish impulsiveness and un-
premeditation she put up her face and kissed me.
That moment, with her wet face to mine, was the
happiest of my life.
CHAPTER VIII
A RUN ON THE BEACH
THE girl's kiss was so spontaneous and so natural
that it could not convey any false impression to
me. It was a manifest expression of gratitude,
and that only. Nevertheless it set my heart beating and
my veins tingling with delight. From that instant I did
not feel quite a stranger to the giver; nor could I ever
feel as quite a stranger again. Something of the same
idea may have passed through the girl's mind, for she
blushed and looked around her shyly; but, with a proud
lifting of her head and a slight stamp of her foot on
the rock, she put the matter behind her, for the present.
The old lady, in the midst of her concern for her com-
panion and herself, was able to throw a glance of dis-
approval on me, as though I had done something wrong;
from which I gathered that the younger lady was not
only very dear to her, but held in some sort of unusual
respect as well. It was peculiar that she should in the
midst of her present condition be able to give a thought
to so trivial a thing. For though death did not now stare
her in the face, she was cold and wet; the rock she
stood on was hard and slippery, and the foam of the
breaking waves was even now curling around her feet.
She looked about her apprehensively ; she did not know
whether or no we were on another isolated rock. I re-
assured her on this subject, and we scrambled as quickly
as we could over the rocks on our way shoreward. The
66
A Run on the Beach 67
elder lady took up most of my time. Here and there in
a difficult place, for the wind by now blew so strongly
that one found it hard to balance oneself as is necessary
when walking on rocks, I offered the younger my hand.
At first she firmly declined ; but then, manifestly thinking
it churlish, she relented and let me help her. That kiss
was evidently rankling in her mind.
Both the women breathed more freely when we had
reached the shore and stood secure from the sea. And
indeed by this time the view, as we looked back, was
enough to frighten one. Great waves topped with white
were rolling in from as far as we could see; dashing
over the rocks, sending up here and there white towers
of spray, or rolling in on the flat shore in front of us with
an ominous roar. Woe betide any one who might be
isolated now on any rock beyond; he would be swept
off, and beaten on the rocks. The old lady groaned as
she saw it, and then said audibly" a prayer of thankful-
ness. Even the girl grew white for a moment; then,
to my secret joy, unconsciously she drew closer to me. I
took control of the party.
" Come," I said, " you mustn't stand here in your wet
clothes. Hurry to the hotel and get dried. You will
get your death of cold. We must all run! Or hasten,
at all events ! " I added, as I took in the dimensions of
the elder lady.
" We have left our trap at the hotel " said the younger
lady as we began to walk quickly in the direction of Port
Erroll.
As we were moving off it suddenly struck me that Gor-
mala might have seen the episode of the rescue. The
very thought of such a thing filled me with such dismay
that I groaned aloud. Not for all the world would I have
had her have a hand in this ; it was too sacred too de-
lightful too much apart from ordinary things! Whilst
68 The Mystery of the Sea
I was lost in a reverie of inexpressible sweetness for
perhaps two or three seconds altogether, I was recalled
to myself by the voice of the girl who came close to
me:
" Are you hurt ? Please tell me if you are. I am a
First Aid."
" Hurt ? " I asked, surprised " not at all. What on
earth makes you think so ? "
" I heard you groan ! "
" Oh that " I began with a smile. Then I stopped,
for again the haunting fear of Gormala's interference
closed over my heart like a wet mist. With the fear,
however, came a resolution ; I would not have any doubt
to torment me. In my glance about the shore, as we
came off the rocks on to the beach, I had not seen a
sign of anyone. At this part of the shore the sandhills
have faded away into a narrow flat covered with bent-
grass, beyond which the land slopes up directly to the
higher plain. There was not room or place for any one
to hide; even one lying amongst the long bents could
be seen at a glance from above. Without a word I turned
to the left and ran as quickly as I could across the beach
and up the steep bank of the sandy plateau. With a
certain degree of apprehension, and my heart beating like
a trip-hammer I had certainly taken this matter with
much concern I looked around. Then I breathed freely ;
there was not a sign of anyone as far as I could see. The
wind, now coming fiercely in from the sea, swept the
tall bent-grass till it lay over, showing the paler green
of its under side ; the blue-green, metallic shimmer which
marks it, and which painters find it so hard to reproduce,
had all vanished under the stress.
I ran back to join the ladies. The elder one had
continued walking stolidly along the shore, leaving a
track of wet on the half dry sand as she went; but the
A Run on the Beach 69
younger one had lingered and came towards me as I
approached.
"I hope there was nothing wrong?" she asked in a
most natural way.
" No," I said it without thinking, for there was some-
thing about the girl which made me feel as if we were
old friends, and I spoke to her unconsciously in this strain.
" It's all right. She's not there ! "
" Who ? " she asked with unconsciousness of any ar-
riere pensee, an unconsciousness similar to my own.
" Gormala ! " I answered.
" And who is Gormala ? " For quite a minute or two
I walked on without speaking, for I wanted to think
before I answered. I felt that it would be hard to ex-
plain the odd way in which the Seer-woman seemed
to have become tangled up in my life ; and yet I wanted
to tell this girl. I feared that she might laugh at me;
that she might think me ridiculous; that she might de-
spise me; or even that she might think me a lunatic!
Then again Gormala might come and tell things to her.
There was no accounting for what the woman might do.
She might come upon us at any moment; she might
be here even now ! The effect of her following or watch-
ing me had begun to tell on my mind; her existence
haunted me. I looked around anxiously, and breathed
freely. There was no sign of her. My eyes finally
fetched up on the face of the girl. . . . Her beauti-
ful, dark eyes were fixed on me with interest and wonder.
" Well ! " she said, after a pause, " I don't suppose I'm
more inquisitive than my neighbours, but I should just
like to know, right here, what's wrong with you. You
looked round that time just as if you were haunted!
Why did you run away that time and search round as
if some one had taken a pot-shot at you and you wanted
to locate him? Why did you groan before you went,
yo The Mystery of the Sea
and come back humming? Who is Gormala, anyhow;
and why were you glad that you didn't see her? Why
didn't you answer me when I asked you who she was?
Why did you walk along with your head up and your
eyes staring, as though you were seeing visions? And
why "
All at once she stopped, and a swift blush swept over
her face and even her neck. " Oh," she said in a low
tone with a note of pathos in her voice, " I beg your par-
don! my unruly tongue ran away with me. I have no
right to ask so many questions and from a stranger
too ! " She stopped as suddenly as she had begun.
" You might have spared me that ! " I said " I know I
have been rude in delaying to answer your question about
Gormala; but the fact is that there are so many odd
things in connection with her that I was really consider-
ing whether you would think me a fool or a lunatic if I
told them to you. And you certainly would not under-
stand why I didn't want to see her, if I didn't. And
perhaps not even if I did," I added as an afterthought.
The girl's awkwardness slipped from her like a robe; the
blush merged into a smile as she turned to me and said :
" This is most interesting. O ! do tell me if you
don't mind."
" I shall be delighted " I said, and 1 only expressed
my thought. "Gormala" I began; but just then the
stout lady in front of us, who was now a considerable
way ahead, turned round and called to us. I could only
hear " Miss Anita ; " but the girl evidently understood,
for she called out:
" All right ! We are coming at once ! " and she hurried
on. It gave me a thrill of pleasure that she said " we "
not " I ; " it was sweet to have a part in such a com-
prehension. As we went she turned to me and said :
" You must tell me all about it ; I shan't be happy till
A Run on the Beach 71
I hear the whole story, whatever it is. This is all too
lovely and exciting. I hadn't an idea when we went
out sleepily this morning that there would be so much
in the day to think of afterwards." I felt that I had
taken my courage in both hands as I said :
" You'll both dine with me at the hotel, won't you.
You have missed lunch and must be hungry, so we can
dine early. It will be such a true pleasure to me ; and I can
tell you all about everything afterwards, if we can man-
age to get a moment alone."
She paused, and I waited anxiously. Then she spoke
with a delightful smile:
" That must be as Mrs. Jack says. But we shall see ! "
With this I had to be content for the present.
When we came up to her, Mrs. Jack said in a woeful
way:
" Oh, Miss Anita, I don't know what to do. The sand
is so heavy, and my clothes are so weighty with the wet,
and my boots squish so with the water in them that I'm
beginning to think I'll never be able to get warm or
dry again ; though I'm both warm enough and dry enough
in other ways." As she spoke she moved her feet some-
what after the manner of a bear dancing, so as to make
her wet boots squeak. I would have liked to have
laughed, though I really pitied the poor thing; but a
glance at the concern on Miss Anita's face checked me.
Very tenderly she began to help and comfort the old
lady, and looked at me pleadingly to help her. " Why
dear " she said " no wonder it is hard walking for you
with your clothes so wringing wet," and she knelt down
on the wet sand and began to wring them out. I looked
around to see what I could do to help. Just opposite,
where we were the outcrop of rock on which the Hawk-
law is based sent up a jagged spur of granite through the
sand, close under the bent-covered hillocks. I pointed
72 The Mystery of the Sea
to this and we led the old lady over to it and made her sit
down on a flat rock. Then we proceeded to wring her out,
she all the while protesting against so much trouble being
taken about her. We pulled off her spring-side boots,
emptied them out and, with considerable difficulty, forced
them on again. Then we all stood up, and the girl and I
took her arms and hurried her along the beach; we all
knew that nothing could be done for real comfort till
we should have reached the hotel. As we went she said
with gratitude in every note of her voice, the words
joggling out of her as she bumped along:
" Oh, my dears, you are very good to me."
Once again the use of the plural gave me pleasure.
This time, however, it was my head, rather than my
heart, which was affected ; to be so bracketted with Miss
Anita was to have hope as well as pleasure.
Things were beginning to move fast with me.
When we got to Cruden there was great local
excitement, and much running to and fro on the
part of the good people of the hotel to get dry
clothes for the strange ladies. None of us gave any
detail as to how the wetting took place; by some kind
of common consent it was simply made known for
the time that they had been overtaken by the tide. When
once the incomplete idea had been started I took care
not to elaborate it. I could see plainly enough that
though the elder lady had every wish to be profuse in
the expression of her gratitude to me, the younger one
not only remained silent but now and again restrained
her companion by a warning look. Needless to say, I
let things go in their own way ; it was too sweet a pleas-
ure to me to share anything in the way of a secret with
my new friend, to imperil such a bliss by any breach
of reticence. The ladies were taken away to bedrooms
to change, and I asked that dinner for the three of us
A Run on the Beach 73
might be served in my room. When I had changed my
own clothes, over which operation I did not lose any
time, I waited in the room for the arrival of my guests.
Whilst the table was being laid I learned that the two
ladies had come to the hotel early in the day in a dog-
cart driven by the younger one. They had given no
orders except that the horse should be put up and well
cared for.
It was not long before the ladies appeared. Mrs.-
Jack began to express her gratitude to me. I tried to
turn it aside, for though it moved me a little by its
genuineness, I felt somewhat awkward, as though I were
accepting praise under false pretences. Such service as
I had been able to render, though of the utmost import-
ance to them, had been so easy of execution to me that
more than a passing expression of thanks seemed out
of place. After all I had only accepted a wetting on
behalf of two ladies placed in an awkward position. I
was a good swimmer; and my part of the whole pro-
ceeding was unaccompanied by any danger whatever, I
thought, of course, had it been later in the coming of
the storm, things might have been very different. Here
I shuddered as my imagination gave me an instantaneous
picture of the two helpless women in the toils of the
raging sea amongst those grim rocks and borne by that
racing tide which had done poor Lauchlane Macleod to
death. As if to emphasise my fears there now came a
terrific burst of wind which seemed to sweep over the
house with appalling violence. It howled and roared
above us, so that every window, chimney and door, seemed
to bear the sound right in upon us. Overhead was heard,
between the burst which shook the windows and doors,
that vague, booming sound, which conveys perhaps a
better sense of nature's forces when let loose, than even
the concrete expression of their violence. In this new
74 The Mystery of the Sea
feeling of the possibilities of the storm, I realised the base
and the truth of the gratitude which the ladies felt ; and
I also realised what an awful tragedy might have come
to pass had I or some one else not come down the path
from Whinnyfold just when I did.
I was recalled to myself by an expression of concern
by Mrs. Jack:
" Look how pale he has got. I do hope he has not been
hurt." Mechanically I answered:
"Hurt! I was never better in my life," then I felt
that my pallor must have left me and that I grew red
with pleasure as I heard Miss Anita say:
"Ah! I understand. He did not have any fear for
himself; but he is beginning to feel how terrible it
was for us." The fulness of understanding on the
part of the beautiful girl, her perfect and ready sym-
pathy, the exactness of her interpretation of my mind,
made for me an inexpressible pleasure.
When I told Mrs. Jack that I had ventured to claim
them both as my guests, and hoped that they would
honour me by dining with me, she looked at her com-
panion in the same inquiring way which I had already
noticed. I could not see the face of the younger lady
at the moment as it was turned away from me, but
her approval was manifest ; the answer was made gladly
in the affirmative. Then I put forth a hope that they
would allow me to have a carriage ready to take them
home, whenever they might desire, so that they might
feel at ease in remaining till they had been thoroughly
restored after their fatigue. I added that perhaps it
would be good for Miss Anita. Mrs. Jack raised her
eyebrows slightly, and I thought there was a note of
distance in her voice, as though she resented in a quiet
way my mentioning the name:
" Miss Anita ! " she said ; and there was that uncon-
A Run on the Beach 75
scious stiffening of the back which evidences that one
is on guard. I felt somewhat awkward, as though I
had taken a liberty. The younger lady saw my difficulty,
and with a quick smile jumped to the rescue.
" Oh Mrs. Jack " she said " I quite forgot that we
were never introduced ; but of course he heard you men-
tion my name. It was rather hurried our meeting;
wasn't it? We must set it right now." Then she added
very demurely :
" Dear Mrs. Jack, will you present to Miss Anita, Mr.
" she looked at me interrogatively.
"Archibald Hunter " I said, and the presentation was
formally made. Then Miss Anita answered my question
about the carriage:
" Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Archibald Hun-
ter " I thought she dwelt on the name, " but we shall
drive back as we came. The storm will not be quite so
bad inland, and as it does not rain the cart will be
all right; we have plenty of wraps. The lamps are
good, and I know the road; I noted it well as we came.
Is not that right ? " she added, turning to her com-
panion.
" Quite right, my dear! Do just as you like," and so
the manner of their going was arranged.
Then we had dinner ; a delightful, cosy meal. The fire
leaped whenever the wind roared; and as the darkness-
of the storm made a sort of premature nightfall, it gave
a pleasant, homely look to everything. After dinner we
sat round the fire, and I think for a time we were all
content. To me it was so like a dream. To sit there
close to the beautiful stranger, and to think of the ro-
mantic beginning of our acquaintance, was enjoyment
beyond words. As yet I did not dare to cast a glance
forwards ; but I was content to wait for that. I had a
conviction that my own mind was made up.
7 6 The Mystery of the Sea
After a little while we all became silent. Mrs. Jack
was beginning to doze in her chair, and we two young
folk instinctively banded ourselves together with our
youthful superiority over sleep and fatigue. I sat quite
still; there was something so sweet in this organised
companionship of silence that it enraptured me. I did
not need Miss Anita's look of caution to remain quiet;
there was something in her face, some power or quality
which was as eloquent as speech. I began to think of it ;
and the habit of introspection, which had now become a
part of my nature, asserted itself. How much of this
quality I thought, was in her face, how much in my
own eyes and the brain that lay behind them. I was
recalled to myself by a whisper:
" I thought for a moment you were going to sleep
too. Hsh ! " she placed a finger on her lip a moment
and then tiptoed over to the sofa; taking a soft cushion
she placed it under Mrs. Jack's head, which had now
fallen over sideways upon the arm of the chair. Then
she sat beside me again, and bending over said softly:
" While she is asleep would you mind walking down
to the beach, I want to see the waves. They must be
big by now; I can hear their roaring from here."
" I will go with delight; " I said " but you must wrap
up properly. It will not do to run any chance of a
chill."
" All right, oh wise man ! I obey, King Solomon ! I
shall wait to put on my own clothes till I get back;
and you can lend me a mackie-coat if you will." I got one
of mine for her, the newest; and we walked over the
sandhills to the beach.
The wind was blowing furiously. It never left off for a
moment ; but occasionally there were bursts of such added
violence that we found it difficult to keep our feet. We
clung to each other at such moments, and the very
A Run on the Beach 77
sense of the strength which enabled me to shield her
somewhat from the violence of the storm, made a new
feeling of love I could not now disguise it from myself.
Something went out from me to her ; some subtle feeling
which must, I suppose, have manifested itself in some way,
how I know not, for I kept guard upon myself. For
one blissful moment, possibly of forgetfulness, she clung
to me as the weak cling to the strong, the clinging of
self-surrender which is equally dear to the weak and the
strong, to the woman and the man. And then she drew
herself sharply away from me.
There was no misunderstanding the movement ; it was
an intentional and conscious one, and the motive which
lay behind both was her woman's mystery. I did not
know much about women, but I could make no mistake as
to this. Inasmuch as Providence has thought fit in its
wisdom to make men and women different, it is just
as well that each sex should at critical times use its
own potentialities for its protection and advancement.
Herein comes, in the midst of an unnatural civilisation,
the true utility of instinct. Since we have lost the need
of early information of the presence of game or of preda-
tory animals or hostile men, even our instincts adapt
themselves to our surroundings. Many an act which
may afterwards seem the result of long and careful pre-
meditation is, on reflection, found to be simply the result
of that form of momentary impulse which is in reality a
blind obedience to some knowledge of our ancestors
gained through painful experience. Some protective or
militant instinct whose present exercise is but a variant
of its primal use. For an instant the man and the.
woman were antagonistic. The woman shrank, there-
fore it was the man's interest to advance; all at once
the man in me spoke through the bashfulness and ret-
icence of years :
7 8 The Mystery of the Sea
" Why do you shrink from me? Have I done any-
thing?"
"Oh no!"
" Then why ? " A hot blush mantled her face and neck.
Had she been an English girl I should not probably have
had a direct answer; she would have switched conversa-
tion on some safer track, cr have, after some skirmishing,
forbidden the topic altogether. This girl's training, how-
ever, had been different. Her equal companionship in
study with boys in school and college had taught her the
futility of trying to burke a question when her antagonist
was masculine; and the natural pluck and dominance
the assertion of individuality which is a part of an Ameri-
can woman's birthright brought up her pride. Still
blushing, but bearing herself with additional dignity, she
spoke. Had she been more self-conscious, and could she
have seen herself at the moment, she would have recog-
nised to the full that with so much pride and so much dig-
nity she could well afford to discuss any topic that she
chose.
" The fault is not yours. It is, or it was, my own."
" You mean when I gave you back your brooch ? " The
blood deepened and deepened to a painful intensity. In a
low voice, in the tone of speech, but with only the power
of a whisper she answered me :
" Yes ! " This was my chance and I said with all the
earnestness I had, and which I felt to the full :
" Let me say something. I shall not ever allude to it
again unless you wish. I took that sweet acknowledg-
ment of your gratitude exactly as it was meant. Do
believe that I am a gentleman. I have not got a sister,
I am sorry to say, but if I had, I should not mind her
giving a kiss to a stranger under such circumstances. It
was a sweet and womanly act and I respect and like
you more for it. I wouldn't, of course, for all the world
A Run on the Beach 79
you hadn't done it; and I shall never forget it. But
believe me I shall never forget myself on account of it.
If I did I should be a howling cad ; and that's all."
As I spoke her face brightened and she sighed with an
expression of relief. The blush almost faded away, and
a bright smile broke over her face. With a serious deep
look in the eyes which glistened through her smile she
held out her hand and said :
" You are a good fellow, and I thank you with all my
heart."
I felt as if I walked on air as we forced our way through
the storm which roared around us, over the sandhills
towards the sea. It was with an exultation that made my
head swim that I noticed that she kept step with me.
CHAPTER IX
CONFIDENCES AND SECRET WRITING
THE shore was a miracle of wild water and white
foam. When the wind blows into Cruden Bay
there is no end or limit to the violence of waves,
which seem to gather strength as they rush over the
flat expanse of shore. The tide was now only half in,
and ordinarily there would have been a great stretch of
bare sand between the dunes and the sea. To-night,
however, the piling up of the waters sent in an unnatural
tide which swept across the flat shore with exceeding
violence. The roaring was interminable, and as we stood
down on the beach we were enveloped in sheets of flying
foam. The fierce blasts came at moments with such
strength that it was physically impossible for us to face
them. After a little we took shelter behind one of the
wooden bathing-boxes fastened down under the sandhills.
Here, protected from the direct violence of the storm, the
shelter seemed like a calm from which we heard the
roaring of wind and wave as from far off. There was a
sense of cosiness in the shelter which made us instinctively
draw close together. I could have remained happy in
such proximity forever, but I feared that it would end
at any moment. It was therefore, with delight that I
heard the voice of Miss Anita, raised to suit the re-
quirements of the occasion :
" Now that we are alone, won't you tell me about
Gormala and the strange occurrences ? " I tried to speak,
80
Confidences and Secret Writing 81
but the storm was too great for the purposes of narrative.
So I suggested that we should come behind the sandhill.
We went accordingly, and made a nest in a deep hollow
behind the outer range of hillocks. Here crouched among
the tall bent, which flew like whip lashes when the wilder
bursts of the storm came, and amid a never-ending
scourge of fine sand swept from the top of the sandhills,
I told her of all my experiences of Gormala and Second
Sight.
She listened with a rapt attention. At times I could
not see her face, for the evening was closing in and the
driving clouds overhead, which kept piling up in great
masses along the western horizon, shut out the remnants
of the day. When, however, in the pauses of drifting
sand and flying foam I could see her properly, I found her
face positively alight with eager intelligence. Through-
out, she was moved at times, and now and again crept a
little closer to me ; as for instance when I told her of the
dead child and of Lauchlane Macleod's terrible struggle
for life in the race of the tide amongst the Skares. Her
questions were quite illuminating to me at moments, for
her quick woman's intuition grasped possibilities at which
my mere logical faculties had shied. Beyond all else, she
was interested in the procession of ghosts on Lammas
Eve. Only once during my narrative of this episode she
interrupted me; not an intentional interruption but a
passing comment of her own, candidly expressed. This
was where the body of armed men came along; at which
she said with a deep hissing intake of her breath through
her teeth :
" Spaniards ! I knew it ! They were from some lost
ship of the Armada ! " When I spoke of the one who
turned and looked at me with eyes that seemed of the
quick, she straightened her back and squared her shoul-
ders, and looking all round her alertly as though for
82 The Mystery of the Sea
some hidden enemy, clenched her hands and shut her lips
tightly. Her great dark eyes seemed to blaze; then she
grew calm again in a moment.
When I had finished she sat silent for a while, her eyes
fixed in front of her as with one whose mind is occupied
with introspection. Suddenly she said:
" That man had some secret, and he feared you would
discover it. I can see it all ! He, coming from his grave,
could see with his dead eyes what you could see with
your living ones. Nay, more ; he could, perhaps, see not
only that you saw, and what you saw, but where the
knowledge would lead you. That certainly is a grand
idea of Gormala's, that of winning the Secret of the Sea ! "
After a pause of a few moments she went on, standing
up as she did so and walking restlessly to and fro with
clenched hands and flashing eyes :
" And if there be any Secrets of the Sea why not win
them ? If they be of Spain and the Spaniard, why not, a.
thousand times more, win them. If the Spaniard had a
secret, be sure it was of no good to our Race. Why "
she moved excitedly as she went on : " Why this is grow-
ing interesting beyond belief. If his dead eyes could for
an instant become quick, why should not the change last
longer? He might materialise altogether." She stopped
suddenly and said : " There ! I am getting flighty as
usual. I must think it all over. It is all too wonderful
and too exciting for anything. You will let me ask you
more about it, won't you, when we meet again ? "
When we meet again ! Then we would meet again.
The thought was a delight to me; and it was only after
several rapturous seconds that I answered her :
" I shall tell you all I know ; everything. You will be
able to help me in discovering the Mystery ; perhaps work-
ing together we can win the Secret of the Sea."
" That would be too enchanting ! " she said impulsively,
Confidences and Secret Writing 83
and then stopped suddenly as if remembering herself.
After a pause she said sedately :
" I'm afraid we must be going back now. We have a
long way to drive; and it will be quite late enough any-
how."
As we moved off I asked her if I might not see her and
Mrs. Jack safely home. I could get a horse at the hotel
and drive with them. She laughed lightly as she an-
swered :
" You are very kind indeed. But surely we shall not
need any one ! I am a good driver ; the horse is perfect
and the lamps are bright. You haven't any ' hold-ups '
here as we have Out :West ; and as I am not within Gor-
mala's sphere of influence, I don't think there is anything
to dread ! " Then after a pause she added :
" By the way have you ever seen Gormala since ? " It
was with a queer feeling which I could not then analyse,
but which I found afterwards contained a certain propor-
tion of exultation I answered:
" Oh yes ! I saw her only two days ago " Here I
stopped for I was struck with a new sense of the connec-
tion of things. Miss Anita saw the wonder in my face
and drawing close to me said:
" Tell me all about it ! " So I told her of the auction
at Peterhead and of the chest and the papers with the
mysterious marks, and of how I thought it might be
some sort of account or," I added as a new idea struck
me " secret writing." When I had got thus far she said
with decision:
" I am quite sure it is. You must try to find it out.
Oh, you must, you must ! "
" I shall," said I, " if you desire it." She said nothing,
but a blush spread over her face. Then she resumed her
movement towards the hotel.
We walked in silence; or rather we ran and stumbled,
84 The Mystery of the Sea
for the fierce wind behind us drove us along. The ups
and downs of the surface were veiled with the mist of
flying sand swept from amongst the bent-grass on the tops
of the sandhills. I would have liked to help her, but a
judicious dread of seeming officious and so losing a step
in her good graces held me back. I felt that I was paying
a price of abstinence for that kiss. As we went, the silence
between us seemed to be ridiculous; so to get over it I
said, after searching in my mind for a topic which would
not close up her sympathies with me:
" You don't seem to like Spaniards ? "
" No," she answered quickly, " I hate them ! Nasty,
cruel, treacherous wretches! Look at the way they are
treating Cuba! Look at the Maine!" Then she added
suddenly :
" But how on earth did you know I dislike them." I
answered :
*' Your voice told me when you spoke to yourself
whilst I was telling you about the ghosts and the man
with the eyes."
" True," she said reflectively. " So I did. I must
keep more guard on myself and not let my feelings run
away with me. I give myself away so awfully." I could
have made a reply to this, but I was afraid. That kiss
seemed like an embodied spirit of warning, holding a
sword over my head by a hair.
It was not long before I found the value of my silence.
The lady's confidence in my discretion was restored, and
she began, of her own initiative, to talk. She spoke of the
procession of ghosts; suddenly stopping, however, as if
she had remembered something, she said to me :
" But why were you so anxious that Gormala should
not have seen you saving us from the rock ? "
" Because," I answered, " I did not want her to have
anything to do with this." ^
Confidences and Secret Writing 85
" What do you mean by ' this ' ? " There was some-
thing in the tone of her query which set me on guard. It
was not sincere; it had not that natural intonation, even,
all through, which marks a question put in simple faith.
Rather was it in the tone of one who asks, knowing well
the answer which will or may be given. As I have said,
I did not know much about women, but the tone of co-
quetry, no matter how sweet, no matter how ingenuous,
no matter how lovable, cannot be mistaken by any man
with red blood in his veins ! Secretly I exulted, for I felt
instinctively that there rested some advantage with me in
the struggle of sex. The knowledge gave me coolness,
and brought my brain to the aid of my heart. Nothing
would have delighted me more at the moment than to fling
myself, actually as well as metaphorically, at the girl's feet.
My mind was made up to try to win her ; my only thought
now was the best means to that end. I felt that I was a
little sententious as I replied to her question :
" By ' this ' I mean the whole episode of my meeting
with you."
" And Mrs. Jack," she added, interrupting me.
" And Mrs. Jack, of course," I went on, feeling re-
joiced that she had given me an opportunity of saying
something which I would not otherwise have dared to
say. " Or rather I should perhaps say, my meeting with
Mrs. Jack and her friend. It was to me a most delightful
thing to meet with Mrs. Jack ; and I can honestly say this
day has been the happiest of my life."
" Don't you think we had better be getting on ? Mrs.
Jack will be waiting for us ! " she said, but without any
kind of reproach in her manner.
" All right," I answered, as I ran up a steep sandhill
and held out my hand to help her. I did not let her hand
go till we had run down the other side, and up and down
another hillock and came out upon the flat waste of sand
86 The Mystery of the Sea
which lay between us and the road, and over which a sort
of ghostly cloud of sand drifted.
Before we left the sand, I said earnestly :
" Gormala's presence seems always to mean gloom and
sorrow, weeping and mourning, fear and death. I
would not have any of them come near you or yours.
This as why I thanked God then, and thank Him now,
that in our meeting Gormala had no part ! "
She gave me her hand impulsively. As for an instant
her soft palm lay in my palm and her strong fingers
clasped mine, I felt that there was a bond between us
which might some day enable me to shield her from
harm.
When Mrs. Jack, and ' her friend ', were leaving the
hotel, I came to the door to see them off. She said to me,
in a low voice, as I bade farewell:
" We shall, I daresay, see you before long. I know
that Mrs. Jack intends to drive over here again. Thank
you for all your kindness. Good night ! " There was a
shake of the reins, a clatter of feet on the hard road, a
sweeping round of the rays of light from the lamp as the
cart swayed at the start under the leap forward of the
high-bred horse and swung up the steep inland roadway.
The last thing I saw was a dark, muffled figure, topped
by a tam-o'-shanter cap, projected against the mist of
moving light from the lamp.
Next morning I was somewhat distrait. Half the
night I had lain awake thinking; the other half I had
dreamt. Both sleeping and waking dreams were mixed,
ranging from all the brightness of hope to the harrowing
possibilities of vague, undefined fear.
Sleeping dreams have this difference over day dreams,
that the possibilities become for the time actualities, and
thus for good and ill, pleasure or pain, multiply the joys
or sufferings. Through all, however, there remained one
Confidences and Secret Writing 87
fixed hope always verging toward belief, I should see
Miss Anita Marjory again.
Late in the afternoon I got a letter directed in a
strange hand, fine and firm, with marked characteristics
and well formed letters, and just enough of unevenness
to set me at ease. I am never quite happy with the
writer whose hand is exact, letter by letter, and word by
word, and line by line. So much can be told by hand-
writing, I thought, as I looked at the letter lying beside
my plate. A hand that has no characteristics is that of a
person insipid ; a hand that is too marked and too various
is disconcerting and undependable. Here my philoso-
phising came to an end, for I had opened the envelope,
and not knowing the writing, had looked at the signature,
" Marjory Anita."
I hoped that no one at the table d'hote breakfast
noticed me, for I felt that I was red and pale by turns. I
laid the letter down, taking care that the blank back page
was uppermost ; with what nonchalance I could I went on
with my smoked haddie. Then I put the letter in my
pocket and waited till I was in my own. room, secure from
interruption, before I read it.
That one should kiss a letter before reading it, is con-
ceivable, especially when it is the first which one has
received from the girl he loves.
It was not dated nor addressed. A swift intuition told
me that she had not given the date because she did not
wish to give the address; the absence of both was less
marked than the presence of the one alone. It addressed
me as " Dear Mr. Hunter." She knew my name, of
course, for I had told it to her; it was on the envelope.
The body of the letter said that she was asked by Mrs.
Jack to convey her warm thanks for the great service ren-
dered ; to which she ventured to add the expression of her
own gratitude. That in the hurry and confusion of mind,
88 The Mystery of the Sea
consequent on their unexpected position, they had both
quite forgotten about the boat which they had hired and
which had been lost. That the owner of it would no doubt
be uneasy about it, and that they would both be grateful if I
would see him he lived in one of the cottages close to the
harbour of Port Erroll and find out from him the value
of the boat so that Mrs. Jack might pay it to him, as well
as a reasonable sum for the loss of its use until he should
have been able to procure another. That Mrs. Jack ven-
tured to give him so much trouble, as Mr. Hunter had
been already so kind that she felt emboldened to trespass
upon his goodness. And was " yours faithfully, ' Marjory
Anita.' " Of course there was a postscript it was a
woman's letter ! It ran as follows :
" Have you deciphered those papers ? I have been
thinking over them as well as other things, and I am con-
vinced they contain some secret. You must tell me all
about them when I see you on Tuesday. M."
I fear that logic, as understood in books, had little to
do with my kiss on reading this ; the reasoning belonged
to that higher plane of thought on which rests the happi-
ness of men and women in this world and the next. There
was not a thought in the postscript which did not give
me joy utter and unspeakable joy; and the more I
thought of it and the oftener I read it the more it seemed
to satisfy some aching void in my heart, " Have you
deciphered the papers " the papers whose existence was
only known to her and me! It was delightful that we
should know so much of a secret in common. She had
been ' thinking over them ' and other things ! ' Other
things ! ' I had been thinking of other things ; thinking of
them so often that every detail of their being or happen-
ing was photographed not only on my memory but seem-
Confidences and Secret Writing 89
ingly on my very soul. And of all these ' other things '
there was one ! ! . . .
To see her again ; to hear her voice ; to look in her eyes ;
to see her lips move and watch each varying expression
which might pass across that lovely face, evoked by
thoughts which we should hold in common; to touch her
hand. . . .
I sat for a while like one in a rapturous dream, where
one sees all the hopes of the heart fulfilled in complete-
ness and endlessly. And this was all to be on Tuesday
next Only six days off! . . .
I started impulsively and went to the oak chest which
stood in the corner of my room and took out the papers.
After looking over them carefully I settled quietly
down to a minute examination of them. I felt instinct-
ively that my mandate or commission was to see if they
contained any secret writing. The letters I placed aside,
for the present at any rate. They were transparently
simple and written in a flowing hand which made any-
thing like the necessary elaboration impossible. I knew
something of secret writing, for such had in my boyhood
been a favourite amusement with me. At one time I had
been an invalid for a considerable period and had taken
from my father's library a book by Bishop Wilkins, the
brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, called " Mercury :
or the Secret and Swift Messenger." Herein were given
accounts of many of the old methods of secret communi-
cation, ciphers, string writing, hidden meanings, and
many of the mechanical devices employed in an age when
the correspondence of ambassadors, spies and secret
agents was mainly conducted by such means. This ex-
perience had set my mind somewhat on secret writing,
and ever after when in the course of miscellaneous read-
ing I came across anything relating to the subject I made
90 The Mystery of the Sea
a note of it. I now looked over the papers to see if I could
find traces of any of the methods with which I was ac-
quainted ; before long I had an idea.
It was only a rudimentary idea, a surmise, a possibility ;
but still it was worth going into. It was not any cause
of undue pride to me, for it came as a corollary to an
established conclusion, rather than as a fine piece of rea-
soning from acute observation. The dates of the let-
ters gave the period as the end of the sixteenth century,
when one of the best ciphers of that time had been con-
ceived, the " Biliteral Cipher " of Francis Bacon. To this
my attention had been directed by the work of John Wil-
kins and I had followed it out with great care. As I was
familiar with the principle and method of this cipher I
was able to detect signs of its existence; and this being
so, I had at once strong hopes of being able to find the
key to it. The Biliteral cipher has as its great advantage,
that it can be used in any ordinary writing, and that its
forms and methods are simply endless. All that it re-
quires in the first instance is that there be some method
arranged on between the writer and the reader of dis-
tinguishing between different forms of the same letter.
In my desk I had a typewritten copy of a monograph on
the subject of the Biliteral cipher, in which I half sug-
gested that possibly Bacon's idea might be worked out
more fully so that a fewer number of symbols than his
five would be sufficient. Leaving my present occupation
for a moment I went and got it ; for by reading it over
I might get some clue to aid me. Some thought which
had already come to me, or some conclusion at which I
had already arrived might guide me in this new labyrinth
of figures, words and symbols.*
When I had carefully read the paper, occasionally
referring to the documents before me, I sat down and
* See Appendix A.
Confidences and Secret Writing 91
wrote a letter to Miss Anita telling her that I had
undertaken the task at once on her suggestion and that I
surmised that the method of secret writing adopted if any,
was probably a variant of the Biliteral cipher. I there-
fore sent her my own monograph on the subject so that if
she chose she might study it and be prepared to go into the
matter when we met. I studiously avoided saying any-
thing which might frighten her or make any barrier be-
tween us ; matters were shaping themselves too clearly for
me to allow myself to fall into the folly of over-precipita-
tion. It was only when I had placed the letter with its en-
closure in the envelope and written Marjory's Miss
Anita's name that I remembered that I had not got her
address. I put it in my pocket to keep for her till we
should meet on Tuesday.
When I resumed my work I began on the two remain-
ing exhibits. The first was a sheaf of some thirty pages
torn out of some black-letter law-book. The only remark-
able thing about it was that every page seemed covered
with dots hundreds, perhaps thousands on each page.
The second was quite different: a narrow slip of paper
somewhat longer than a half sheet of modern note paper,
covered with an endless array of figures in even lines,
written small and with exquisite care. The paper was
just such a size as might be put as marker in an ordinary
quarto; that it had been so used was manifest by the
discolouration of .. portion of it that had evidently stuck
out at the top of the volume. Fortunately, in its long
dusty rest in the bookshelf the side written on had been
downward so that the figures, though obscured by dust
and faded by light and exposure to the air, were still
decipherable. This paper I examined most carefully with
a microscope ; but could see in it no signs of secret writing
beyond what might be contained in the disposition of the
numbers themselves. I got a sheet of foolscap and made
92 The Mystery of the Sea
an enlarged copy, taking care to leave fair space between
the rows of figures and between the figures themselves.
Then I placed the copy of figures and the first of the
dotted pages side by side before me and began to study
them.
I confined my attention at first chiefly to the paper of
figures, for it struck me that it would of necessity be
the simpler of the two systems to read, inasmuch as the
symbols should be self-contained. In the dotted letters
it was possible that more than one element existed, for the
disposition of significants appeared to be of endless
variety, and the very novelty of the method it being one
to which the eyes and the senses were not accustomed
made it a difficult one to follow at first. I had little doubt,
however, that I should ultimately find the dot cipher
the more simple of the two, when I should have learned
its secret and become accustomed to its form. It's mere
bulk made the supposition likely that it was in reality
simple; for it would be indeed an endless task, to work
out in this laborious form two whole sheets of a compli-
cated cipher.
Over and over and over again I read the script of
numbers. Forward and backward; vertically; up and
down, for the lines both horizontal and vertical were com-
plete and exact, I read it. But nothing struck me of
sufficient importance to commence with as a beginning.
Of course there were here and there repetitions of the
same combination of figures, sometimes two, sometimes
three, sometimes four together; but of the larger combi-
nations the instances were rare and did not afford me any
suggestion of a clue!
So I became practical, and spent the remainder of my
work-time that day in making by aid of my microscope an
exact but enlarged copy, but in Roman letters, of the
first of the printed pages.
Confidences and Secret Writing 93
Then I reproduced the dots as exactly as I could. This
was a laborious task indeed. When the page was finished,
half-blinded, I took my hat and went out along the shore
towards Whinnyfold. I wanted to go to the Sand Craigs ;
but even to myself I said ' Whinnyfold ' which lay farther
on.
" Men are deceivers ever," sang Balthazar in the play :
they deceive even themselves at times. Or they pretend
they do which is a new and advanced form of the same
deceit.
CHAPTER X
A CLEAR HORIZON
IF any ordinary person be afflicted with ennui and
want something to take his thoughts away from a
perpetual consideration of his own weariness let me
recommend him to take up the interpretation of secret
writing. At first, perhaps, he may regard the matter'
lightly and be inclined to smile at its triviality. But after
a little while, if he have in him at all any of the persist-
ence or doggedness which is, and should be, a part of a
man's nature, he will find the subject take possession of
him to the almost entire exclusion of all else. Turn from
it how he will ; make he never so many resolutions to put
the matter behind him ; try he never so hard to find some
more engrossing topic, he will still find the evasive mys-
tery ever close before him. For my own part I can hon-
estly say that I ate, drank, slept and dreamed secret writing
during the entire of the days and nights which intervened
between my taking up the task and the coming of Miss
Anita to Cruden Bay. All day long the hidden mystery
was before me ; wherever I was, in my room, still or con-
torting myself ; walking on the beach ; or out on the head-
lands, with the breezes singing in my ears, and the waves
lapping below my feet. Hitherto in my life my only ex-
perience of haunting had been that of Gormala ; but even
that experience failed before the ever-hopeful, ever-baf-
fling subject of the cryptograms. The wor^t of my feel-
ing, and that which made it more poignant, was that I was
94
A Clear Horizon 95
of the firm belief not only that there was a cryptogram
but that my mind was already on the track of it. Every
now and again, sometimes when the MS. or its copy
was before me and sometimes when I was out in the open,
for the moment not thinking of it at all, a sort of inspira-
tion would come to me ; some sort of root idea whose full
significance I felt it difficult to grasp.
My first relief came on Tuesday when at noon I saw
the high dog-cart dash past the gate and draw up short
opposite the post-office.
I did not lose any time in reaching the cart so as to
be able to help the ladies down. Marjory gave me both
her hands and jumped lightly, but the elder lady required
a good deal of help. It is always thus ; the experience of
every young man is the same. Every woman, old or
young, except the one whom he likes to lift or carry
tenderly, is willing to be lifted or carried in the most
leisurely or self-denying manner.
When Mrs. Jack and ' her friend ' had come into the
hotel sitting-room the latter said to me :
" I hope you forgive us for all the trouble we have put
you to."
" No trouble at all," I answered and oh ! it sounded
so tame " only a pleasure ! " " Thank you," she con-
tinued gravely, " that is very nice of you. Now we want
you to add to your kindness and take us out again on that
rock. I have not yet finished my sketch, and I don't like
to be baffled."
" Finished your sketch, my dear," said Mrs. Jack, in a
tone which manifestly showed that the whole thing was
new to her. " Why, Marjory, it was washed into the sea
before Mr. Hunter came to help us ! " The slight, quick
blush which rose to her face showed that she understood
the false position in which the maladroit remark placed
her ; but she went on pluckily :
96 The Mystery of the Sea
" Oh, yes, dear, I know ! What 1 mean is, that having
set my heart on making that sketch, I want to do it ; even
if my first effort went wrong. That is, dear Mrs. Jack,
if you do not mind our going out there again."
" Oh, my dear," said the elder lady, " of course I will
do just whatever you wish. But I suppose it will do if I
sit on the rock near at hand ? Somehow, since our experi-
ence there, I seem to prefer the mainland than any place
where you may have to swim to get away from it."
Marjory smiled at me as she said to her:
" That will do capitally. And you can keep the lunch
basket; and have your eye on me and the rising of the
tide all the time."
So I sent to Whinnyfold to have a boat ready when we
should drive over. Whilst the ladies were preparing
themselves for the boating trip I went to my room and
took in my pocket the papers from the chest and my
rescripts. I took also the letter which I had not been able
to deliver.
At Whinnyfold Miss Anita and I took the steep zigzag
to the beach, piloted by one of John Hay's boys whilst
the other took Mrs. Jack across the neck of the headland
to the Sand Craigs.
As we went down the steep path, the vision of the pro-
cession of ghosts moving steadily up it on Lammas Eve,
came back to me; instinctively I looked round to see if
Gormala was watching. I breathed more freely when I
saw she was not about.
I should dearly have liked to take Miss Anita alone in
the boat, but I feared that such was not safe. Rowing
amongst the rocks of the Skares is at the best of times no
child's play, and I was guardian of too great a treasure to
be willing to run any risks. Young Hay and I pulled,
the boy being in the bow and doing the steering. This
position of affairs suited me admirably, for it kept me
A Clear Horizon 97
close to my companion and facing her. It was at all
times a pleasure to me as it would have been to any man,
to watch her face ; but to-day her eager joy at the beauty
of all around her made me thrill with delight. The day
was ideal for the place; a bright, clear day with just a
ripple of wind from the water which took the edge from
the July heat. The sea quivered with points of light, as
though it were strewn with diamonds, and the lines of
the racing tide threading a way amongst the rocks below
were alone an endless source of interest. We rowed
slowly which is much the safest way of progression in
these waters, and especially when, as now, the tide was
running towards the end of the ebb. As the boy seemed
to know every one of the myriad rocks which topped the
water, and by a sort of instinct even those that lay below,
we steered a devious course. I had told him to take us
round by the outer rocks from which thousands of sea-
birds rose screaming as we approached; and as we crept
in under the largest of them we felt that mysterious sense
of unworthiness which comes to one in deep water under
the shadow of rocks. I could see that Marjory had the
sense of doubt, or of possible danger, which made her
clutch hard at each gunwale of the boat till her knuckles
grew white. As we rounded the Reivie o' Pircappies,
and found the tide swirling amongst the pointed rocks,
she grew so deadly pale that I felt concerned. I should
have liked to question her, but as I knew from my ex-
perience of her courage that she would probably prefer
that I remained silent, I pretended not to notice. Male
pretence does not count for much with women. She saw
through me at once, and with a faint smile, which lit the
pallor of her face like sunshine on snow, she said in so
low a whisper that it did not reach the fisher boy :
" I was thinking what it would have been for us that
day only for you."
7
98 The Mystery of the Sea
" I was glad," I answered in an equally low voice, " to
be able to render any help to to Mrs. Jack and her
friend."
" Mrs. Jack and her friend are very much obliged to
you," she answered gaily in her natural voice and tone.
I could see that she had fully regained her courage, as
involuntarily she took her hands from the sides of the
boat. We kept now well out from the rocks and in deep
water, and shortly sighted the Sand Craigs. As we could
see Mrs. Jack and her escort trudging leisurely along the
sand, and as we did not wish to hurry her, I asked young
Hay with my companion's consent, to keep round the
outermost of the Sand Craigs, which was now grey-white
with sea-gulls. On our approach the birds all rose
and wheeled round with myriad screaming; the won-
der and admiration of the girl's eyes as they eagerly
followed the sweep of the cloud of birds was good
to see.
We hung around the great pointed rock till we saw
Mrs. Jack making her way cautiously along the rocks.
We rowed at once to the inner rock and placed the lunch-
eon basket in a safe place. We then prepared a little shel-
tered nook for Mrs. Jack, with rugs and cushions so that
she might be quite at ease. Miss Anita chose the place
herself. I am bound to say it was not just as I should
have selected; for when she sat down, her back was
towards the rock from which she had been rescued. It
was doubtless the young girl's thoughtfulness in keeping
her mind away from a place fraught with such unpleasant
memories.
When she was safely installed we dismissed the boys
till the half tide. Mrs. Jack was somewhat tired with her
trudge over the sand, and even when we left her she was
nodding her head with coming sleep. Then Miss Anita
got out her little easel which I fixed for her as she
A Clear Horizon 99
directed ; when her camp stool was rightly placed and her
palette prepared 1 sat down on the rock at her feet and
looked at her whilst she began her work. For a little
while she painted in silence : then turning to me she said
suddenly :
" What about those papers ? Have you found anything
yet ? " It was only then I bethought me of the letter in my
pocket. Without a word I took it out and handed it to
her. There was a slight blush as well as a smile on her
face as she took it. When she saw the date she said
impulsively :
" Why did I not get it before ? "
" Because I had not got your address, and did not know
how to reach you."
" I see ! " she answered abstractedly as she began to
read. When she had gone right through it she handed it
to me and said :
" Now you read it out loud to me whilst I paint ; and let
me ask questions so that I may understand." So I read ;
and now and again she asked me searching questions.
Twice or three times I had to read over the memorandum ;
but each time she began to understand better and better,
and at last said eagerly :
"Have you ever worked out such reductions?"
" Not yet, but I could do so. I have been so busy try-
ing to decipher the secret writing that I have not had
time to try any such writing myself."
" Have you succeeded in any way ? "
"No!" I answered. "I am sorry to say that as yet
I have nothing definite; though I am bound to say I am
satisfied that there is a cipher."
" Have you tried both the numbers and the dots ? "
" Both," I answered; " but as yet I want a jumping-off
place."
" Do you really think from what you have studied
ioo The Mystery of the Sea
that the cipher is a biliteral one, or on the basis of a
biliteral cipher ? "
" I do ! I can't say exactly how I came to think so ;
but I certainly do."
" Are there combinations of five ? "
" Not that I can see."
" Are there combinations of less than five ? "
" There may be. There are certainly."
" Then why on earth don't you begin by reducing the
biliteral cipher to the lowest dimensions you can manage ?
You may light on something that way."
A light began to dawn upon me, and I determined that
my task so soon as my friends had left Cruden would
be to reduce Bacon's biliteral. It was with genuine ad-
miration for her suggestion that I answered Miss Anita:
'* Your- woman's intuition is quicker than my man's
ratiocination. ' I shall in all my best obey you, Madam ! ' '
She painted away steadily for some time. I was looking
at her, covertly but steadily when an odd flash of memory
came to me ; without thinking I spoke :
" When I first saw you, as you and Mrs. Jack stood on
the rock, and away beyond you the rocks were all fringed
with foam, your head looked as if it was decked with
flowers." For a moment or two she paused before asking :
"What kind of flowers?"
Once again in our brief acquaintance I stood on
guard. There was something in her voice which made me
pause. It made my brain whirl, too, but there was a note
of warning. At this time, God knows, I did not want
any spurring. I was head over heels in love with the girl,
and my only fear was lest by precipitancy I should spoil
it all. Not for the wide world would I have cancelled
the hopes that were dawning in me and filling me with a
feverish anxiety. I could not help a sort of satisfied
feeling as I answered :
A Clear Horizon 101
" White flowers ! "
" Oh ! " she said impulsively; and then with a blush
continued, painting hard as she spoke:
" That is what they put on the dead ! I see ! " This
was a counter-stroke with a vengeance. It would not do to
let it pass so I added :
" There is another ' first-column ' function also in
which white flowers are used. Besides, they don't put
flowers on the head of corpses."
" Of whom then? " The note of warning sounded again
in the meekness of the voice. But I did not heed it. 1
did not want to heed it. I answered :
" Of Brides ! " She made no reply in words. She
simply raised her eyes and sent one flashing glance
through me, and then went on with her work. That
glance was to a certain degree encouragement; but it
was to a much greater degree dangerous, for it was full
of warning. Although my brain was whirling, I kept
my head and let her change the conversation with what
meekness I could.
We accordingly went back to the cipher. She asked
me many questions, and I promised to show her the
secret writings when we should go back to the hotel.
Here she struck in :
" We have ordered dinner at the hotel ; and you are
to dine with us." I tried not to tremble as I answered:
" I shall be delighted."
" And now," she said " if we are to have lunch here
to-day we had better go and wake Mrs. Jack. See! the
tide has been rising all the time we have been talking. It
is time to feed the animals."
Mrs. Jack was surprised when we wakened her; but
she too was ready for lunch. We enjoyed the meal
hugely.
At half-tide the Hay boys came back. Miss Anita
102 The Mystery of the Sea
thought that there was enough work for them both in
carrying the basket and helping Mrs. Jack back to the
carriage. " You will be able to row all right, will you
not ? " she said, turning to me. " You know the way now
and can steer. I shall not be afraid ! "
When we were well out beyond the rock and could
see the figures of Mrs. Jack and the boys getting further
away each step, I took my courage in both hands ; I was
getting reckless now, and said to her:
" When a man is very anxious about a thing, and is
afraid that just for omitting to say what he would like
to say, he may lose something that he would give all
the rest of the world to have a chance of getting do
do you think he should remain silent?" I could see
that she, too, could realise a note of warning. There
was a primness and a want of the usual reality in her
voice as she answered me:
" Silence, they say, is golden." I laughed with a dash
of bitterness which I could not help feeling as I replied :
" Then in this world the gold of true happiness is
only for the dumb ! " she said nothing but looked out
with a sort of steadfast introspective eagerness over the
million flashing diamonds of the sea; I rowed on with
all my strength, glad to let go on something. Presently
she turned to me, and with all the lambency of her
spirit in her face, said with a sweetness which tingled
through me:
" Are you not rowing too hard ? You seem anxious
to get to Whinnyfold. I fear we shall be there too soon.
There is no hurry; we shall meet the others there in
good time. Had you not better keep outside the dan-
gerous rocks. There is not a sail in sight; not one, so
far as I know, over the whole horizon, so you need not
fear any collision. Remember, I do not advise you to
cease rowing; for, after all, the current may bear us
A Clear Horizon 103
away if we are merely passive. But row easily; and
we may reach the harbour safely and in good time ! "
Her speech filled me with a flood of feeling which
has no name. It was not love; it was not respect; it
was not worship ; it was not gratitude. But it was com-
pounded of them all. I had been of late studying secret
writing so earnestly that there was now a possible secret
meaning in everything 1 read. But oh ! the poverty of
written words beside the gracious richness of speech !
No man who had a heart to feel or a brain to understand
could have mistaken her meaning. She gave warning,
and hope, and courage, and advice; all that wife could
give husband, or friend give friend. I only looked at
her, and without a word held out my hand. She placed
hers in it frankly; for a brief, blissful moment my soul
was at one with the brightness of sea and sky.
There, in the very spot where I had seen Lauchlane
Macleod go down into the deep, my own life took a new
being.
CHAPTER XI
IN THE TWILIGHT
IT was not without misgiving that I climbed the
steep zigzag at Whinnyfold, for at every turn I
half expected to see the unwelcome face of Gormala
before me. It seemed hardly possible that everything
could go on so well with me, and that yet I should not
be disturbed by her presence. Miss Anita, I think, saw
my uneasiness and guessed the cause of it; I saw her
follow my glances round, and then she too kept an eager
look out. We won the top, however, and got into the
waiting carriage without mishap. At the hotel she asked
me to bring to their sitting-room the papers with the
secret writing. She gave a whispered explanation that
we should be quite alone as Mrs. Jack always took a
nap, when possible, before dinner.
She puzzled long and anxiously over the papers and
over my enlarged part copy of them. Finally she shook
her head and gave it up for the time. Then I told her
the chief of the surmises which 1 had made regarding
the means by which the biliteral cipher, did such exist,
might be expressed. That it must be by marks of some
sort was evident; but which of those used were applied
to this purpose I could not yet make out. When I had
exhausted my stock of surmises she said:
" More than ever I am convinced that you must begin
by reducing the biliteral cipher. Every time I think of
it, it seems plainer to me that Bacon, or any one else
104
In the Twilight 105
using such a system, would naturally perfect it if possi-
ble. And now let us forget this for the present. I am
sure you must want a rest from thinking of the cipher, and
I feel that I do. Dinner is ready; after it, if you will,
I should like another run down to the beach."
"Another" run to the beach! then she remembered
our former one as a sort of fixed point. My heart
swelled within me, and my resolution to take my own
course, even if it were an unwise one, grew.
After dinner, we took our way over the sandhills and
along the shore towards the Hawklaw, keeping on the
line of hard sand just below high- water mark.
The sun was down and the twilight was now begin-
ning. In these northern latitudes twilight is long, and
at the beginning differs little from the full light of day.
There is a mellowed softness over everything, and all
is grey in earth and sea and air. Light, however, there
is in abundance at the first. The mystery of twilight, as
Southerns know it, comes later on, when the night
comes creeping up from over the sea, and the shadows
widen into gloom. Still twilight is twilight in any de-
gree of its changing existence; and the sentiment of
twilight is the same all the world over. It is a time
of itself; between the stress and caution of the day,
and the silent oblivion of the night. It is an hour when
all living things, beasts as well as human, confine them-
selves to their own business. With the easy relaxation
conies something of self-surrender; soul leans to soul
and mind to mind, as does body to body in moments of
larger and more complete intention. Just as in the mo-
ment after sunset, when the earth is lit not by the narrow
disc of the sun but by the glory of the wide heavens
above, twin shadows merge into one, so in the twilight
two natures which are akin come closer to the identity of
one. Between daylight and dark as the myriad sounds
io6 The Mystery of the Sea
of life die away one by one, the chirp of birds, the lowing
of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the barking of dogs,
so do the natural sounds such as the rustle of trees, the
plash of falling water, or the roar of breaking waves
wake into a new force that strikes on the eaf with a
sense of intention or conscious power. It is as though
in all the wide circle of nature's might there is never to
be such a thing as stagnation ; no moment of poise, save
when the spirits of nature proclaim abnormal silence,
such as ruled when earth stood " at gaze, like Joshua's
moon on Ajalon."
The spirits of my companion and myself yielded to this
silent influence of the coming night. Unconsciously we
walked close together and in step ; and were silent, wrapt
in the beauty around us. To me it was a gentle ecstasy.
To be alone with her in such a way, in such a place,
was the good of all heaven and all earth in one. And so
for many minutes we went slowly on our way along
the deserted sand, and in hearing of the music of the
sounding sea and the echoing shore.
But even Heaven had its revolt. It seems that whether
it be on Earth or in Heaven intelligence is not content
to remain in a condition of poise. Ever there are heights
to be won. Out of my own very happiness and the
peace that it gave me, came afresh the wild desire to
scale new heights and to make the present altitude which
I had achieved a stepping-off place for a loftier height.
All arguments seemed to crowd in my mind to prove
that I was justified in asking Marjory to be my wife.
Other men had asked women whom they had known but a
short time to marry them; and with happy result. It
was apparent that at the least she did not dislike me.
I was a gentleman, of fair stock, and well-to-do ; I could
offer her a true and a whole heart. She, who was
seemingly only companion to a wealthy woman, could
In the Twilight 107
not be offended at a man's offering to her all he had to
give. I had already approached the subject, and she
had not warned me off it; she had only given me in a
sweetly artful way advice in which hope held a distinct
place. Above all, the days and hours and moments
were flying by. I did not know her address or when I
should see her again, or if at all. This latest thought
decided me. I would speak plainly to-night.
Oh, but men are dull beside women in the way of
intuition. This girl seemed to be looking over the sea,
and yet with some kind of double glance, such as women
have at command, she seemed to have been all the time
looking straight through and through me and getting
some idea of her own from my changing expression. I
suppose the appearance of determination frightened her
or set her on guard, for she suddenly said:
"Ought we not to be turning home?"
" Not yet ! " I pleaded, all awake in a moment from
my dreams. " A few minutes, and then we can go back."
" Very well," she said with a smile, and then added
demurely ; " we must not be long." I felt that my hour
had come and spoke impulsively:
"Marjory, will you be my wife?" Having got out
the words I stopped. My heart was beating so heavily
that I could not speak more. For a few seconds, which
seemed ages to me, we were both silent. I daresay that
she may have been prepared for something; from what
I know now I am satisfied that her own intention was
to ward off any coming difficulty. But the suddenness
and boldness of the question surprised her and embar-
rassed her to silence. She stopped walking, and as she
stood still I could see her bosom heave like my own.
Then with a great effort, which involved a long breath
and the pulling up of her figure and the setting back of
her shoulders, she spoke:
io8 The Mystery of the Sea
" But you know nothing of me! "
" I know all of you that I want to know ! " This truly
Hibernian speech amused her, even through her manifest
emotion and awkwardness, if one can apply the word to
one compact of so many graces. I saw the smile, and
it seemed to set us both more at ease.
" That sounds very rude," she said " but I under-
stand what you mean, and take it so." This gave me
an opening into which I jumped at once. She listened,
seeming not displeased at my words; but on the whole
glad of a moment's pause to collect her thoughts be-
fore again speaking:
" I know that you are beautiful ; the most beautiful
and graceful girl I ever saw. I know that you are brave
and sweet and tender and thoughtful. I know that
you are clever and resourceful and tactful. I know
that you are a good comrade; that you are an artist
with a poet's soul. 1 know that you are the one woman
in all the wide world for me; that having seen you
there can never be any one else to take your place
in my heart. I know that I would rather die with
you in my arms, than live a king with any other
queen ! "
" But you have only seen me twice. How can you
know so many nice things about me. I wish they were
all true! I am only a girl; and I must say it is sweet
to hear them, whether they be true or not. Anyhow,
supposing them all true, how could you have known
them?"
Hope was stepping beside me now. I went on :
" I did not need a second meeting to know so much.
To-day was but a repetition of my joy; an endorsement
of my judgment; a fresh rivetting of my fetters! " She
smiled in spite of herself as she replied:
"You leave me dumb. How can I answer or argue
In the Twilight 109
with such a conviction." Then she laid her hand tenderly
on my arm as she went on :
" Oh, I know what you mean, my friend. I take it all
in simple truth; and believe me it makes me proud to
hear it, though it also makes me feel somewhat un-
worthy of so much faith. But there is one other thing
which you must consider. In justice to me you must."
She paused and I felt my heart grow cold. " What is
it?" I asked. I tried to speak naturally but I felt that
my voice was hoarse. Her answer came slowly, but it
seemed to turn me to ice:
"But I don't know you!"
There was a pity in her eyes which gave me some
comfort, though not much ; a man whose soul is crying
out for love does not want pity. Love is a glorious self-
surrender; all spontaneity; all gladness, all satisfaction,
in which doubt and forethought have no part. Pity is
a conscious act of the mind; wherein is a knowledge
of one's own security of foothold. The two can no more
mingle than water and oil.
The shock had come, and I braced myself to it. I
felt that now if ever I should do my devoir as a gentle-
man. It was my duty as well as my privilege to shield
this woman from unnecessary pain and humiliation. Well
I knew, that it had been pain to her to say such a thing
to me; and the pain had come from my own selfish im-
pulse. She had warned me earlier in the day, and I
had broken through her warning. Now she was put in
a false position through my act ; it was necessary I should
make her feelings as little painful as I could. I had even
then a sort of dim idea that my best plan would have
been to have taken her in my arms and kissed her. Had
we both been older I might have done so; but my love
was not built in this fashion. Passion was so mingled
with respect that the Other course, recognition of, and
no The Mystery of the Sea
obedience to, her wishes seemed all that was ~ open" to
me. Besides it flashed across me that she L might take
it that I was presuming on her own impulsive act on the
rock. I said with what good heart I could :
"That is an argument unanswerable, at present." I
can only hope that time will stand my friend. "Only"
I added and my voice choked as I said it " Do, do believe
that I am in deadly earnest; that all my life is at stake;
and that 1 only wait, and I will wait loyally with what
patience I can, in obedience to your will. My feelings
and my wish, and and my request will stand unaltered
till I die ! " She said not a word, but the tears rose
up in her beautiful eyes and ran down her blushing
cheeks as she held out her hand to me. She did not
object when I raised it to my lips and kissed it with
all my soul in the kiss!
We turned instinctively and walked homewards. I
felt dejected, but not broken. At first the sand seemed
to be heavy to my feet ; but when after a little I noticed
that my companion walked with a buoyancy unusual even
to her, I too became gay again. We came back to the
hotel much in the spirit in which we had set out.
We found Mrs. Jack dressed, all but her outer cloak,
and ready for the road. She went awr.y with Marjory
to finish her toilet, but came back before her younger
companion. When we were alone she said to me after
a few moments of 'hum'ing and 'ha'ing and awkward
preparation of speech:
"Oh Mr. Hunter, Marjory tells me that she intends
to ride on her bicycle down to Aberdeen from Braemar
where we are going on Friday. I am to drive from
Braemar to Ballater and then go on by train so that I
shall be in before her, though I am to leave later. But
I am fearful about the girl riding such a journey by
herself. We have no gentleman friend here, and it
In the Twilight in
would be so good of you to take charge of her, if you
happened to be anywhere about there. I know I can
trust you to take care of her, you have been so good to
her, and to me, already."
My heart leaped. Here was an unexpected chance
come my way. Time was showing himself to be my friend
already.
" Be quite assured," I said as calmly as I could " I
shall be truly glad to be of the least service. And
indeed it will just suit my plans, as I hoped to go
to Braemar on my bicycle one day very soon and can
arrange to go just as may suit you. But of course
you understand that I must not go unless Miss Anita
wishes it. I could not presume to thrust myself upon
her."
" Oh that is all right ! " she answered quickly, so
quickly that I took it that she had already considered
the matter and was satisfied about it. " Marjory will
not object." Just then the young lady entered the room
and Mrs. Jack turning to her said:
" I have asked Mr. Hunter my dear to ride down
with you from Braemar ; and he says that as it just suits
his plans as he was going there he will be very happy
if you ask him." She smiled as she said:
" Oh since you asked him and he had said yes I need not
ask him too ; but I shall be very glad ! " I bowed. When
Mrs. Jack went out, Marjory turning to me said :
" When did you plan to go to Braemar ? "
" When Mrs. Jack told me you were going " I an-
swered boldly.
" Oh ! I didn't mean that," she said with a slight blush
"but at what time you were to be t^ere." To which
I said-
" That will be just to suit your convenience. Will
you write and let me know ? " She saw through my
112 The Mystery of the Sea
ruse of getting a letter, and smilingly held up a warning
finger.
As we strolled up the road, waiting for the dog-cart to
be got ready, she said to me:
" Now you can be a good comrade I know ; and you
said that, amongst other things, I was a good comrade.
So I am; and between Braemar and Aberdeen we must
both be good comrades. That and nothing more ! What-
ever may come after, for good or ill, that time must
be kept apart."
" Agreed ! " I said and felt a secret exultation as we
joined Mrs. Jack. Before they started Marjory said:
" Mrs. Jack I also have asked Mr. Hunter to come on
the ride from Braemar. I thought it would please him
if we both asked him, since he is so diffident and un-
impulsive ! "
With a smile she said good-bye and waved it with her
whip as they started.
CHAPTER XII
THE CIPHER
1WENT straight to my own room and commenced
to work afresh on the biliteral cipher. More than
ever had I the conviction upon me that the read-
ing of the secret writing would be the first step to the
attainment of my wishes regarding Marjory. It would
have been strange therefore if I had not first attempted
the method which she had herself suggested, the re-
ducing the Baconian cipher to its lowest elements.
For many hours I laboured at this work, and finally
when I had reduced the Baconian five symbols to three I
felt that I had accomplished all that was possible in
that way.*
When I had arrived at this result, and had tested its
accuracy in working, I felt in a position to experiment
with my new knowledge on the old number cipher. First
I wrote out my method of reduction as a sort of ad-
dendum to the paper which I had prepared for Marjory.
Then I made a key to cipher and one to de-cipher.f By
this time the night was well on and the grey of early
morning was beginning to steal in by the edges of the
blinds; I was not sleepy, however; I was too much
excited to think of sleep, for the solving of the prob-
lem seemed almost within my grasp. Excited to a state
which almost frightened me by its intensity, I got ready
my copy of the number cipher and my newly prepared
key. With an effort which took me all my resolution I
* See Appendix B. f See Appendix C.
8
H4 The Mystery of the Sea
went on steadily writing its proper letter under each
combination without once looking back; for I knew that
even should some of the letters be misplaced in the key
the chance of recognising the right ones would be largely
increased by seeing a considerable number of letters
together.
Then I glanced over the. whole and found that many
of the symbols made up letters. With such a basis to
work on, the rest was only labour. A few tentative
efforts and I had corrected the key to agreement with
some of the combinations in the cipher.
I found, however, that only here and there were letters
revealed; try how I would, I could not piece out the
intervening symbols. At last it occurred to me that
there might be in the paper two or more ciphers. On try-
ing to follow out the idea, it became apparent that there
were at least a quantity of impeding numbers scattered
through the cipher. These might be only put in to
baffle pursuit, as I had surmised might be done when I
made the cipher; or they might have a more definite
purpose. At any rate they hampered my work, so I
struck them out as I went along. That 1 continued till
I had exhausted the whole list of numbers in the script.
When I looked back over the letters translated from the
cipher thus depleted, I found to my inexpressible joy
that the sequence and sense were almost complete. The
translation read as follows:
'' To read the history of the Trust use cipher of Fr.
Bacon. The senses and the figures are less worthy than
the Trinity B. de E."
One step more and my work was done. I set the
discarded numbers in sequence on another sheet of paper,
and found to my intense satisfaction they formed an
inner record readable by the same key. The " encloased "
words, to use Bacon's phrase, were :
The Cipher 115
" Treasure Cave cliff one and half degree Northe of
East from outer rock."
Then and then only did I feel tired. The sun was
well up but I tumbled into bed and was asleep in a
moment.
The gong was sounding for breakfast when I awoke.
After breakfast when I resumed my work I set myself
to construct a variant of my number key to suit the
dotted letters, for my best chance, now that I was ort
the track was to construct rather than to decipher. After
some hard work I at last constructed a cipher on this
plan.*
I then began therefore to apply my new key to the
copy of the cipher in the printed pages.
I worked steadily and completed the whole of the
first page, writing down only the answer to those
combinations which fitted into my scheme, and leav-
ing all doubtful matters blank. Then I laid aside
my key, and with a beating heart glanced over the
result.
It more than satisfied me, for in the scattered letters
though there were many blanks, was manifestly a con-
nected narrative. Then I took the blanks and worked at
them altering my key to suit the scheme of the original
writer, till by slow degrees I had mastered the secret
of the cipher construction.
From that hour on, till I had translated the cipher
writing from beginning to end I knew no rest that I
could avoid. I had to take my meals, and to snatch a
few hours of sleep now and again; for the labour of
translation was very arduous and slow, and the strain
on my eyes was too great to be kept up continuously;
with each hour, however, I acquired greater facility in
the work. It was the evening of the fourth day, however,
*See Appendix D.
n6 The Mystery of the Sea
before my work was complete. 1 was then absolute
master of the writer's intent.
All this time I had not heard from Marjory, and
this alone made excessive work a necessary anodyne.
Had I not had the long and overwhelming preoccupa-
tion to keep my mind from dwelling on the never ending
disappointment, I do not know what I should have done.
I fully expected a letter by the last post that night. I
knew Marjory was staying somewhere in the County;
it was by that post that we received local letters. None
came, however, and that night I spent in making a fair
transcript of the whole translation.
The first part of it was in the shape of a letter, and ran
as follows:
" My deare Sonne, These from the towne of Aber-
deyne in Scotland wherin I lie sick, and before I go on
my quest for the fulfilment of my Trust. I have written,
from time to time during my long sickness, a full narra-
tive of what has been; so that you may know all as
though your own ears had heard and your own eyes
had seen. All that I have written is to the one end
that you my eldest sonne and the rest of my children,
may, should I fail and I am weak in bodie to so strive
carry on the Trust to which I have pledged you as
well as myself; so that untill that Trust be yielded up
complete, neither I nor you nor they are free to any
that may clash with the purpose to which our race is
henceforth now devoted. But that mine oath may not
press overhard on my children, and if need be on their
children and their children's children to the end, it will
suffice if one alone at all times shall hold himself or
herself pledged to the fulfillment of the Trust. To this
end I charge herewith all of my blood and race that the
eldest sonne of each generation do hold himself pledged
The Cipher 117
to the purpose of the Trust, unless some other of the
direct lineage do undertake it on his behalf. In default
of which, or if such undertaken Trust shall fail, then
the duty reverteth back and back till one be found whose
duty it is by priority of inheritance, unless by some other
of the direct lineage the Trust be undertaken on his
behalf. And be mindful one and all to whom is this
sacred duty that secrecy is of its very essence. The
great Trust was to me in the first instance in that His
Holiness Pope Sixtus Fifth and my good kinsman known
as the Spanish Cardinal held graciouslly that I was
one in whose heart the ancient honour of our dear Spain
had a place of lodgement so secure that time alone could
not efface it nor its continuance in the hearts of my
children. To the purpose then of this great Trust His
Holiness hath himself given to me and mine full powers
of all kinds so to deal with such circumstances as may
arise that the labour which we have undertaken may in
all cases be brought to a successful issue. To the which
His Holiness hath formulated a Quittance which shall
be co-existent with the Trust and which shall purge
the natural sin of any to whom in the discharge of the
duties of the Trust any necessity may arise. But inas-
much as the Trust is a secret one and the undue publi-
cation of such Quittance might call the attention of the
curious to its existence, such Document is filed in the
secret record of the Vatican, where, should necessity
hereafter arise, it may be found by the Holy Father
who may then occupy the Chair of St. Peter on appli-
cation made to him on behalf of any who may so offend
against law or the rules of well-being which govern the
children of Christ. And I charge you, oh! my sonne
to ever bear in mind that though there be some strange
things in the narrative they are in mine own eyes true
n8 The Mystery of the Sea
in all ways, though it may appear to you that they ac-
cord not with what may be said hereafter of these times
by other men.
" And oh, my sonne, and my children all, take this
my last blessing and with it my counsel that ye walk
always in Faith and Righteousness, in Honour and in
Good Report, with your duty ever to Holy Church and to
the King in loyal service. Farewell ! God and the Blessed
Virgin and the Saintes and Angels watch over you and
help you that your duty be done.
" Your father in all love,
" BERNARDINO DE ESCOBAN."
" These will be brought by a trusty hand, for I fear
lest they shall fall into the hands of the English Queene,
or any of her hereticall surroundings. If it be that you
fail at the first in the speedy fulfillment of the Trust
as may be, now that the purpose of our great Armada
hath been checked it may be well that whoso to whom is
the Trust may come hither and dwell upon these shores
so that he may watch over the purpose of the Trust
and be at hand for its fullfillment when occasion may
serve. But be mindful ever, oh my sonne, that who so
guardeth the Trust will be ever surrounded by enemies,
heathenish and without remorse, whose greed should
it ever be awakened to this purpose would be fatal to
all which we cherish. Dixi.
Following this came :
" Narrative of Bernardino de Escoban, Knight of the
Cross of the Holy See and Grandee of Spain.
In this was set out at full length * the history of the
great Treasure gathered by Pope Sixtus Fifth for the
subjugation of England, and which he entrusted to the
writer of the narrative who had at his own cost built and
* See Appendix E.
The Cipher 119
manned one of the vessels of the Armada the San Cris-
tobal flagship of the Squadron of the Galleons of Castile.
The Pope, wearied by the demands of Philip of Spain
and offended by his claim to appoint bishops under the
new domain and further incensed by the incautious in-
solence of Count de Olivares the Spanish ambassador
to Rome, has chosen to make this a secret trust and has
on the suggestion of the Spanish Cardinal chosen Don
Bernardino de Escoban for the service. In furtherance of
his design he has sent him for his new galleon a figure-
head " wrought in silver and gold for his own galley by
Benvenuto Cellini. Also he has given him as a souvenir a
brooch wrought by the same master-hand, the figurehead
wrought in petto. Don Bernardino gives account of the
defeat of the Armada and tells how his vessel being crip-
pled .and he being fearful of the seizure of the treasure
entrusted to him buries it and the coveted figurehead in
a water cave at the headland of a bay on the coast of
Aberdeyne. He has blown up the opening of the cave
for safety. In the narrative were certain enlightening
phrases such as when the Pope says :
' To which end I am placing with you a vastness of
treasure such as no nation hath ever seen." Which was
to be applied to only the advancement of the True Faith,
and which was in case of failure of the enterprise of the
Armada to be given to the custody of whatever King
should, after the death of Sixtus V, sit upon the throne.
And again :
" ' The Cave was a great one on the south side of
the Bay with many windings and blind offsets. . . .
' The black stone on one hand and the red on the other
giving back the blare of the lantern.' "
The memoranda which follow give the future history
of the Trust:
" The narrative of my father, the great and good Don
I2O The Mystery of the Sea
Bernardino de Escoban, I have put in the present form
for the preservation of the secret. For inasmuch as the
chart to which he has alluded is not to be found, though
other papers and charts there be, it may be necessary
that a branch of our house may live in this country in
obedience to the provision of the Trust and so must
learn to speak the English as though it were the mother
tongue. As I was but a youth when my father wrote,
so many years have elapsed that death has wrought many
changes and the hand that should have carried the
message and given me the papers and the chart is no
more, lying as is thought beside my father amongst the
surges of the Skyres. So that only a brief note pointing
to the contents of an oaken chest wherein I found them,
though incomplete, was all that I had to guide me. The
tongue that might have spoken some added words of im-
port was silent for ever
" FRANCISCO DE ESCOBAN/'
"23, October, 1599."
" The narrative of my grandfather, together with my
father's note have I Englished faithfully and put in this
secret form for the guidance of those who may follow
me, and whose life must be passed in this rigorous clime
untill the sacred Trust committed to us by Pope Sixtus
the Fifth be fullfilled. When on the death of my elder
brother, I being but the second son, I was sent to join
my father in Aberdeyne, I made grave preparation for
bearing worthily the burden laid upon us by the Trust
and so schooled myself in the English that it is now
as my mother tongue. Then when my father, having
completed the building of his castle, set himself to the
finding of the cave whereof the secret was lost, in which
emprise he, like my grandfather lost his life amongst
the waters of the Skyres of Crudene. Ye that may
The Cipher ill
follow me in the trust regard well this secret writing,
made for the confusion of the curious but to the preserva-
tion of our secret. Bear ever in mind that not all that
is shows on the surface of even simple words. The
cipher of my Grandfather devised by Fr. Bacon now High
Chancellor of England has many mouths, all of which
may speak if there be aught to say.
" BERNARDINO DE ESCOBAN."
"4, July, 1620."
In addition to the cipher narrative I found on close
examination that there was a separate cipher running
through the marginal notes on the earlier of the printed
pages. When translated it ran as follows:
" Cave mouthe northe of outer rock one degree and half
North of East. Reef lies from shore point three and
half degrees South of South East."
CHAPTER XIII
A RIDE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
1READ Don Escoban's narrative over and over again,
till I had thoroughly mastered every detail of it;
then I studied the key of the number cipher till
I had it by heart. I had an instinct that memory on
this subject would be a help and a safety to me now
or hereafter. For now new doubts had begun to assail
me. What I had learned was in reality a State secret
and had possible consequences or eventualities which,
despite the lapse of three centuries, might prove far-
reaching and dangerous. The treasure in question was
so vast, its purpose so definite, and its guardianship so
jealously protected against time and accident, that there
was but little chance of forgetfulness regarding it. I was
not assailed by moral scruples in any way. The treasure
had been amassed and dedicated to the undoing of Eng-
land ; and for those who had gathered it and sent it forth
I had no concern. That it had been hidden in Britain
by Britain's enemies during time of war surely de-
prived them of all right to recover by legal means. What
the law might be on the subject I did not know, and till I
knew I cared little. It was a case of " finders keepers,"
and if I could find it first I held myself justified in using
it to my own purposes. All the same I made up my mind
to look up the law of Treasure Trove, which I had a
hazy idea was in a pretty uncertain condition. At first
none of these issues troubled me. They were indeed side
122
A Ride Through the Mountains 123
issues till the treasure should be found ; when they would
Lecome of prime importance. I had felt that my first
step to winning the hand of Marjory Anita was to read
the cipher. This I had done ; and in the doing had made
discovery of a secret of such a nature that it might
place me beyond the dreams of avarice, and in a position
to ask any girl in the world to marry me. I believe that
I regarded the treasure as already my own; as much
as though I had already recovered it from the bowels
of the earth.
Early in the morning I took my way to Whinnyfold,
bringing with me a pocket compass so that 1 could locate
the exact spot where the mouth of the cave had been
closed. I knew of course that even granite rocks can-
not withstand untouched the beating of three centuries of
stormy sea, the waste of three hundred summers and
winters, and the thousands of nights of bitter frost and
days of burning sun which had come to pass since the
entrance of the cave had been so rudely shaken down.
But I was, I confess, not prepared for the utter annihila-
tion which had come to every trace of its whereabouts.
Time after time the sea had bitten into the land; and
falling rocks, and creeping verdure, and drifting sand
had changed the sea-front beyond all recognition.
I did what I could, however, to take the bearings of
the place as laid down by Don de Escoban by walking
along the top of the cliff, beginning at the very edge
of Witsennan Point till I reached a spot where the south
end of the outer rock of the Skares stood out.
Then to my surprise I found that it was as near as
possible in the direction of my own house. In fact when
I looked at the plan which the local surveyor had made
of my house I found that the northern wall made a
bee line for the south end of the main rock of the
Skares. As it was manifest that what had originally
124 The Mystery of the Sea
been the front of the cave had fallen in and been partly
worn and worked away, my remaining hope was that
the cave itself lay under part of my ground if not under
the house itself. This gave a new feature to the whole
affair. If my surmise were correct I netd not hurry at
all; the safest thing I could do would be to quietly
make an opening from my house into the cave, and
explore at leisure. All seemed clear for this proceed-
ing. The workmen who had done the building were gone,
and the coming of the decorators had not yet been fixed.
I could therefore have the house to myself. As I went
back to the hotel, I planned out in my mind how I should
get from Glasgow or Aberdeen proper implements for
digging and cutting through the rock into the house;
these would be sent in cases, so that no one would sus-
pect what I was undertaking. The work would have
to be done by myself if I wished to preserve secrecy. I
had now so much to tell Marjory when we should meet
that I felt I should hardly know where to begin, and the
business side of my mind began to plan and arrange
so that all things might come in due order and to the
best effect.
When I got to the hotel I found awaiting me a letter
from Marjory which had come by the last post. I took
it away to my room and locked the door before open-
ing it. It had neither address nor date, and was decidedly
characteristic :
" My dear Sir : Mrs. Jack asks me to write for her
to say that we shall be leaving Braemar on Tuesday. We
shall be staying at the Fife Arms Hotel, and she will be
very happy if you will breakfast with us at nine o'clock
A. M. Room No. 16. This is all of course in case you
care to ride down to Aberdeen. We are breakfasting
so early as the ride is long, sixty miles, and Mrs. Jack
A Ride Through the Mountains 125
thinks that I should have a rest at least twice on the
way. As I believe you know the road, she will be glad
if you will kindly arrange our stopping places. Mrs.
Jack will leave Braemar at about three o'clock and drive
down to Ballater to catch the half-past five train. She
asks me to say that she hopes you will pardon her for
the trouble she is giving you, and to impress on you
that in case you would rather not come, or should any-
thing occur to prevent you, she will quite understand a
telegram with the single word ' regret.' By the way
she will be obliged if you will kindly not mention her
name either her surname or her Christian name be-
fore any of the people strangers or hotel people, at
Braemar or during the journey or indeed during the
day. Believe me, Yours very truly,
" MARJORY ANITA."
" P. S. How about the cipher ; have you reduced the
biliteral, or got any clue yet?
" P. P. S. I don't suppose that anything, unless it be
really serious, will prevent your coming. Mrs. Jack is so
looking forward to my having that bicycle ride.
" P. P. P. S. Have you second-sighted any ships yet ?
Or any more white flowers for the Dead ? "
For long I sat with the letter in my hand after I had
read it over and over again many many times. Each
time I read it its purpose seemed more luminous. It
may have been that my old habit of a year ago of finding
secret meanings in everything was creeping back to me.
I thought and thought ; and the introspective habit made
me reason out causes even in the midst of imaginative
flights. " Might not " I thought " it be possible that there
be minor forms of Second Sight; Day Dreams based
on some great effort of truth. In the real world there
are manifestations of life in lower as well as higher forms ;
126 The Mystery of the Sea
and yet all alike are instinct with some of that higher
principle which divides the quick and the dead. The
secret voices of the brain need not always speak in
thunder; the Dream-Painter within us need not always
have a full canvas for the exercise of his craft.
On Tuesday morning when at nine o'clock to the
minute I went to the Fife Arms at Braemar, I found
Marjory alone. She came forward with a bright, frank
smile and shook hands. " It's real good to see you "
was all she said. Presently she added :
" Mrs. Jack will be here in a minute or two. Before
she comes, it is understood that between this and Aber-
deen and indeed for to-day, you and I are only to be
comrades."
"Yes! " said I, and then added: "Without preju-
dice ! " She showed her pearly teeth in a smile as she
answered :
"All right. Without prejudice! Be it so!" Then
Mrs. Jack came in, and having greeted me warmly, we
sat down to breakfast. When this was over, Marjory cut
a good packet of sandwiches and tied them up herself.
These she handed to me saying:
" You will not mind carrying these. It will be nicer
having our lunch out than going to a hotel; don't you
think so? " Needless to say I cordially acquiesced. Both
our bicycles were ready at the door, and we lost no time
in getting under weigh. Indeed my companion showed
some anxiety to be off quickly, as though she wished
to avoid observation.
The day was glorious. There was bright sunshine;
and a sky of turquoise with here and there a flock of
fleecy clouds. The smart easterly breeze swept us along
as though we were under sail. The air was cool and the
road smooth as asphalt, but with the springiness of well-
packed gravel. With the least effort of pedalling we sim-
A Ride Through the Mountains 127
ply seemed to fly. I could see the exhilaration on my com-
panion's face as clearly as I could feel it in my own nature.
All was buoyancy, above, below, around us ; and I doubt if
in all the wide circle of the sun's rays there were two such
glad hearts as Marjory's and my own.
As we flew along, the lovely scenery on either hand
seemed like an endless panorama. Of high mountains
patched with heather which here and there, early in
the year as it was, broke out in delicate patches of pink ;
of overarching woods whose creaking branches swaying
in the wind threw kaleidoscopic patterns of light along
our way; of a brown river fed by endless streams rush-
ing over a bed of stones which here and there lifted their
dark heads through the foam of the brown-white water;
of green fields stretching away on either side of the
river or rising steeply from our feet to the fringes of
high-lying pines or the black mountains which rose just
beyond; of endless aisles of forest where, through the
dark shade of the brown trunks, rose from the brown
mass of long-fallen pine needles which spread the ground
below, and where patches of sunlight fell in places with
a seemingly intolerable glare! Then out into the open
again where the sunlight seemed all natural and even the
idea of shade unreal. Down steep hills where the ground
seemed to slide back underneath our flying wheels, and
up lesser hills, swept without effort by the wind behind
us and the swift impetus of our pace.
After a while the mountains before us, which at first
had seemed like an unbroken line of frowning giants
barring our course, seemed to open a way to us. Round
and round we swept, curve after curve yielding and falling
back and opening new vistas; till at the last we passed
into the open gap between the hills around Ballater. Here
in the face of possible danger we began to crawl cau-
tiously down the steep hill to the town. Mrs. Jack
128 The Mystery of the Sea
had proposed that we should make our first halt at Balla-
ter. As, however, we put on pace again at the foot of
the hill Marjory said:
*' Oh do not let us stop in a town. I could not bear
it just after that lovely ride through the mountains."
" Agreed ! " I said " let us push on ! That twenty
miles seems like nothing. Beyond Cambus-o-May there
is a lake on the northern side; we can ride round it
and come back to the road again at Dinnet. If you like
we can have our lunch in the shelter of a lovely wood at
the far side of it."
" That will be enchanting ! " she said, and the happy
girlish freshness of her voice was like a strain of music
which suited well the scene. When we had passed Bal-
later and climbed the hill up to the railway bridge we
stopped to look back; and in sheer delight she caught
hold of my arm and stood close to me. And no wonder
she was moved, for in the world there can be few places
of equal beauty of a similar kind. Right above us to the
right, and again across the valley, towered mountains
of rich brown with patches of purple and lines of green ;
and in front of us in the centre of the amphitheatre, two
round hills, looming large in a delicate mist, served as
portals to the valley which trended upward between the
hills beyond. The road to Braemar seemed like a veritable
road of mystery, guarded by an enchanted gate. With
a sigh we turned our backs on all this beauty, and skirt-
ing the river, ran by Cambus-o-May and between woods
of pine in an opening vista of new loveliness. East-
ward before us lay a mighty sweep of hill and moor,
backed on every side by great mountains which fell away
one behind the other into misty distance of delicate blue.
At our feet far below, lay two spreading lakes of sap-
phire hue, fringed here and there with woods, and dotted
with little islands whose trees bent down to the water's
A Ride Through the Mountains 129
edge. Marjory stood rapt for awhile, her breast heaving
and her face glowing. At last she turned to me with
a sigh; her beautiful eyes were bright with unshed tears
as she said:
" Oh, was there ever in the world anything so beauti-
ful as this Country! And was there ever so exquisite a
ride as ours to-day ! "
Does ever a man love a woman more than when she
shows herself susceptible to beauty, and is moved to the
fulness and simplicity of emotion which is denied to
his own sex? I thought not, as Marjory and I swept
down the steep road and skirted by the crystal lakes of
Ceander and Davan to the wood in which we were
to have our al fresco lunch. Here, sheltered from the
wind, the sunshine seemed too strong to make sitting in
the open pleasant; and we were glad to have the shade
of the trees. As we sat down and I began to unpack the
luncheon, Marjory said:
" And now tell me how you have been getting on with
the cipher." I stood still for so long that she raised
her head and took a sharp glance of surprise at me.
In the charm of her presence I had absolutely for-
gotten all about the cipher and what might grow from it.
'
CHAPTER XIV
A SECRET SHARED
44f 1 HERE is so much to tell" I said "that 1
hardly know where to begin. Perhaps I
had better tell you all here, where we are
alone and not likely to be disturbed. We have come so
fast that we have lots of time and we need not hurry.
When you have had your lunch I shall tell you all."
" Oh please don't wait till then," she said, " I am all
impatience. Let me know right away."
" Young woman " I said sternly " you are at present
insincere. You know you are ravenously hungry, as
you should be after a twenty mile ride; and you are
speaking according to your idea of convention and not out
of your heart. This is not convention; there is nothing
conventional in the whole outfit. Eat the food prepared
for you by the thoughtfulness of a very beautiful and
charming girl ! " She held up a warning finger and
said:
" Remember 'Bon Camarade without prejudice.' "
" All right " I answered " so it shall be. But if the
lady wants to hold me up for criminal libel I shall un-
dertake to repeat the expression when, and where, and
how she will. I shall repeat the assertion and abide by
the consequences." She went on eating her sandwiches,
not, I thought, displeased. When we had both finished
she turned to me and said :
" Now ! " I took from my pocket the rescript of
130
A Secret Shared 131
Don Bernardino de Escoban's narrative and handed it to
her. She looked at it, turned over the pages, and glanced
at them as she went. Then she returned to the beginning,
and after reading the first few lines, said to me with
an eager look in her eyes:
"Is this really the translation of the secret writing?
Oh, 1 am so glad you have succeeded. You are cute ! "
She took out her watch, and having looked at it, went
on : " We have loads of time. Won't you read it for
me? It will be so much nicer! And let me ask you
questions."
" Delighted ! " I answered, " But would it not be better
if I read it right through first, and then let you ask
questions! Or better still you read it yourself right
through, and then ask." I had a purpose in this. If I
had to read it, my eyes must be wholly engrossed in my
work; but if she read, I need never take them off her
face. I longed to see the varying expression with which
she would follow every phase of the strange story. She
thought for a few seconds before answering, and as she
thought looked me straight in the eyes. I think she read
my secret, or at any rate enough of it to fathom my
wish ; nothing else could account for the gentle blush that
spread over her face. Then she said in quite a meek
tone:
" I shall read it myself if you think it best ! "
I shall never forget that reading. Her face, always
expressive, was to me like an open book. I was by this
time quite familiar with de Escoban's narrative, as I had
with infinite patience dug it out letter by letter from
the cipher in which it had been buried for so long. As
also I had written it out fair twice over, it was little
wonder that I knew it well. As she read I so followed
that I could have told to a sentence how far she had got
in the history. Once she unconsciously put her hand to
132 The Mystery of the Sea
her throat and felt the brooch; but immediately drew it
away again, glancing for a moment at me from under
her eyelashes to see whether I had observed. She saw
I had, shook her head with a smile, and read on.
When she had finished reading, she gave a long sigh
and then held out her hand to me saying:
" Bravo ! I congratulate you with all my heart ! " Her
touch thrilled me; she was all on fire, and there was a
purposeful look in her face which was outside and beyond
any joy that she could have with regard to any success
of mine. This struck me so much that I said impulsively :
" Why are you so glad ? " She answered instinctively
and without thought:
" Because you will keep it from the Spaniards ! " Then
she stopped suddenly, with a gesture of self repression.
I felt a little piqued. I would have thought that her
concern would have been rather individual than political.
That in such a matter even before racial hatred would
have come gladness at the well-doing of even such a
friend without prejudice as I was. Looking at me, she
seemed to see through me and said
" With her two white hands extended, as if praying one offended:"
" Oh, I am sorry ! I did not mean to hurt you. I
can't explain yet; not to-day, which is for comradeship
only. Yes without prejudice " for she saw my look and
answered it " But some day you will understand." She
was so evidently embarrassed and pained at having for
some reason which I did not comprehend to show ret-
icence to me who had been so open with her, that I felt
it my duty to put her at ease. This I tried to do by
assuring her that I quite understood that she had some
good reason, and that I was quite content to wait. I
could not help adding before I stopped : " This is a
A Secret Shared 133
small thing to have to wait for after all; when I have
to wait for something so much more important." The
warning finger was held up again with a smile.
Then we went over the whole of the narrative again, I
reading this time and she stopping to ask me questions.
There was not much to ask; all the story was so plain
that the proceeding did not take very long. Then she
asked me to explain how I had come to decipher the
cryptogram. I took out my pocket book and proceeded
to make a key to the cipher, explaining as I went on the
principle. " To me," I said, " it is very complete, and can
be used in an infinity of ways. Any mode of expression
can be used that has two objects with five varieties of
each." Here she interrupted me. As I was explaining
I was holding out my hands with the fingers spread as
a natural way of expressing my meaning. She saw at
once what had escaped me, and clasping her hands ex-
claimed impulsively:
" Like your two hands ! It is delightful ! Two hands,
and five fingers on each. We can talk a new deaf and
dumb alphabet; which no one but ourselves can under-
stand ! " Her words thrilled through me. One more
secret to share with her ; one more secret which would be
in perpetual exercise, in pursuance of a common thought.
I was about to speak when she stopped me with a gesture.
" Sorry ! " she said. " Go on ; explain to me ! We can
think of variety later ! " So I continued :
" So long as we have means that are suitable, we have
only to translate into the biliteral, and we who know this
can understand. Thus we have a double guard of secrecy.
There are some who could translate into symbols with
which they are familiar, symbols with which they are not ;
but in this method we have a buffer of ignorance or mys-
tery between the known and the unknown. There is
also this advantage ; the cipher as it stands is sufficiently
134 The Mystery of the Sea
on a basis of science or at any rate of order, that its key
is easily capable of reproduction. As you have seen, I
can make a key without any help. Bacon's biliteral
cipher is scientifically accurate. It can, therefore, be easily
reproduced; the method of exclusions is also entirely
rational, so that we need have no difficulty in remembering
it. If two people would take the trouble to learn the
symbols of the biliteral, as kept after the exclusions and
which are used in this cipher, they might with very little
practice be able to write or read off-hand. Indeed the
suggestion, which you have just made, of a deaf-and-
dumb alphabet is capital. It is as simple as the daylight !
You have only to decide whether the thumb or the little
finger means i or 2; and then reproduce by right hand
or left, and using the fingers of each hand, the five sym-
bols of the amended biliteral, and you can talk as well
and as easily as do the deaf mutes ! " Again she spoke
out impulsively:
" Let us both learn off by heart the symbols of our
cipher ; and then we shan't want even to make a key. We
can talk to each other in a crowd, and no one be the wiser
of what we are saying."
This was very sweet to me. When a man is in love, as
I was, anything which links him to his lady, and to her
alone, has a charm beyond words. Here was a perpetual
link, if we cared to make it so, and if the Fates would
be good to us."
" The Fates ! " With the thought came back Gor-
mala's words to me at the beginning. She had told me,
and somehow I seemed to have always believed the same,
that the Fates worked to their own end and in their own
way. Kindness or unkindness had no part in their work-
ings ; pity had no place at the beginning of their interest,
no more than had remorse at the end. Was it possible that
in the scheme of Fate, in which Gormala and I and
A Secret Shared 135
Lauchlane Macleod had places, there was also a place for
Marjory? The Witch-woman had said that the Fates
would work their will, though for the doing of it came
elements out of past centuries and from the ends of the
earth. The cipher of Don de Escoban had lain hidden
three centuries, only to be revived at its due time. Mar-
jory had come from a nation which had no existence when
the Don had lived, and from a place which in his time
was the far home of the red man and the wolf and the
bison and the bear.
But yet what was there to connect Marjory with Don de
Escoban and his secret? As I thought, 1 saw Marjory
who had turned her back to me, quietly take something
from her throat and put it into her pocket. Here was the
clue indeed.
The brooch! When I had taken it up from the sea
at the Sand Craigs I had returned it to her with only a
glance ; and as I had often seen it since, without any mys-
tery, I had hardly noticed it. It rushed in on my mind
that it was of the same form as that described by Don de
Escoban as having been given by the Pope. I had only
noticed a big figure and a little one ; but surely it could be
none other than .a figure of St. Christopher. I should
have liked to have asked Marjory about it at once; but
her words already spoken putting off explanation, and
her recent act, of which I was supposed to know nothing,
in putting it out of sight, forbade me to inquire. All the
more I thought, however; and other matters regarding it
crowded into my mind.
The chain was complete, the only weak link being the
connection between Marjory and the St. Christopher
brooch. And even here there was a mystery, acknowl-
edged in her concealment, which might explain itself when
the time came.
Matters took such a grave turn for me with my latest
136 The Mystery of the Sea
surmise, that I thought it would be well to improve the
occasion with Marjory, in so far as it might be possible
to learn something of her surroundings. I was barred
from asking questions by her own wish ; but still I did not
like to lose the chance without an effort, so I said to her :
" We have learned a lot to-day, haven't we? "
" Indeed we have. It hardly seems possible that a day
could make such a change ! "
" I suppose we should take it that new knowledge
should apply new conditions to established fact? " I said
this with some diffidence; and I could see that the
change in my tone, much against my will, attracted her
attention. She evidently understood my wish, for she
answered with decision:
" If you mean by ' new conditions ' any alteration of the
compact made between us for to-day yes, I remember
' without prejudice ' there is nothing in our new knowl-
edge to alter the old ones. Do remember, sir, that this
day is one set apart, and nothing that is not a very grave
matter indeed can be allowed to alter what is established
regarding it."
" Then," said I, " at all events let us learn the cipher
our cipher as you very properly called it."
" Oh no ! surely ? " this was said with a rising blush.
" Indeed, yes I am glad to say ! "
" Take care ! " she replied, meaningly, then she added :
" Very well ! Ours let it be. But really and truly I
have no right to its discovery; it makes me feel like a
fraud to hear you say so."
" Be easy," I replied. " You helped me more than I
can say. It was your suggestion to reduce the terms of
the biliteral; and it was by that means that I read the
cipher. But at any rate when we call it ' ours ' it will con-
tent me if the word ' ours ' I could not help repeating the
word for it was delight to me; it did not displease her
A Secret Shared 137
either, though it made her blush " is applied not to in-
vention but to possession ! "
" All right," she said. " That is good of you. I
cannot argue with you. Amendment accepted! Come,
let us get on our wheels again. You have the key of our
cipher with you; you can tell me the items one by one,
and we will learn them as we go along."
And so as we swept round Davan Lake, with the wind
behind us driving us along except just before we regained
the high road at Dinnet, I repeated the symbols of the
reduced biliteral. We went over and over them again
and again, till we were unable to puzzle each other ques-
tioning up and down, ' dodging ' as the school-boys say.
Oh, but that ride was delightful! There was some
sort of conscious equality between us which I could see
my comrade felt as well as myself. Down the falling
road we sped almost without effort, our wheels seeming
to glide on air. When we came to the bridge over the
railway just above Aboyne, where the river comes north
and runs in under a bank of shale and rock, we dis-
mounted and looked back. Behind us was our last view
of the gorge above Ballater, where the two round hills
stood as portals, and where the cloud rack hanging above
and beyond made a mystery which was full of delightful
fascination and no less delightful remembrance. Then
with a sigh we turned.
There, before us lay a dark alley between the closing
pines. No less mysterious, but seemingly dark and grim.
CHAPTER XV.
A PECULIAR DINNER-PARTY
E did not stop at Aboyne, but ran on beyond
Kincardine O'Neill, and took our second
rest close to the Bridge of Potarch where we
had tea at the little hotel on the right bank of the river.
Then for a while we leaned over the parapet and looked at
the water flowing swiftly far below as the river narrows
from its pebbly bed to the gorge of rock on which the
bridge rests. There is something soothing, perhaps some-
thing, hypnotic, in the ceaseless rush of water. It uncon-
sciously takes one's thoughts on and on, till the reality of
the present is in some measure lost and the mind wanders
towards imagination through the regions of the unknown.
As I looked at Marjory, with the afternoon sun falling on
her superb figure and showing up her clear-cut profile
with all the finish of a cameo, I could not but be struck
with the union of gentleness and independence which was
so clearly manifested in her. Without thinking, I spoke
out my mind. It is a privilege of those who understand
each other, or of the very young, to give voice to the
latter portion of a train of thought without feeling it
necessary to enlighten the hearer as to what has gone to
make up the conclusion. The feeling was hourly growing
upon me that, even if I could not quite understand Mar-
jory, at least she understood me.
" But then all you American girls are so independent! "
She did not seem a bit surprised by this fag end of reason-
138
A Peculiar Dinner-Party 139
ing; she had evidently been following up some train of
thought of her own, and by some happy instinct my
words fitted in with it. Without turning towards me, but
still keeping her eyes fixed down the stream to where far
away it swayed to the right through a gap between pine
clad hills she answered :
" Yes ! We are as a rule brought up to be independent.
It seems to be a part of what our people call the ' genius '
of the country. Indeed for many, women as well as men,
it is a sort of necessity. Our nation is so vast, and it ex-
pands so quickly, that there . is nearly everywhere a
family separation. In the main, all the children of one
generation become the heads of families of the next.
Somehow, the bulk of our young people still follow the
sunset ; and in the new life which comes to each, whether
in the fields or in the city or in the reclamation of the
wilderness, the one thing which makes life endurable is
this independence which is another form of self-reliance.
This it is which enables them to brave hunger and thirst
and all danger which comes to pioneers; which in the
cities makes the solitude of lonely life bearable to the
young as well as to the old ; which makes them work and
study in patience ; which makes them self-sacrificing, and
thrifty, and long enduring. I tell you it is this which
makes a race of patriots, whose voices swell in unison till
the great voice of the nation, raised in some good cause,
can ring and echo through the world ! " As she spoke she
got more and more earnest, more and more enthusiastic,
till her voice began to vibrate and her face to flush.
When she turned towards me at the end, her eyes were
full of spiritual light. I looked at her, and I suppose my
love as well as my admiration must have expressed itself,
for her eyes fell and the flush on her face melted into a
soft blush. She turned, looked at the water again, and
then went on speaking :
140 The Mystery of the Sea
" This is the good side of our independence and faute
de mieux it serves; those who know no better do not
miss what might be. But oh ! it has to be paid for. The
little sufferings of day by day can grow into a mass which
in the end outweighs those seemingly far greater ills
which manifest themselves all at once. No one knows,
no one ever will know, how much quiet, dull pain goes to
tame a woman's heart to the solitude of life. I have not
seen so much of it as some others ; my life has been laid in
pleasant places, and only through the small accidents of
life have I come to know of the negative pain which other
girls have to endure. It is so much to have round one the
familiar faces of our youth; to meet sympathy at every
turn of life, and to know that there is understanding for
us always. We women have to give something in order
to be happy. The stronger-minded ones, as we call them,
blame the Creator for this disposition of things or else I
do not know who or what they blame ; but the rest of us,
who are wise enough to accept what cannot be altered,
try to realise what can be done for the best. We all want
to care for some one or something, if it is only a cat or a
dog. For myself, so far back as I can remember, I longed
to have a brother or sister, but I think that in my secret
heart it was a brother I wanted. Of course as I merged
into my actual surroundings I grew out of this; but
once it was brought home to me with new force. We
were staying for a few days in one of those great English
houses where there was a growing family of boys and
girls. There was one sweet young girl, just about my own
age, who seemed idolised by all her brothers. When we
arrived they were all going in to evening prayers. The
last of the sunlight was falling through the old stained
glass window of the great baronial hall, and lit up the
little family group. The girl sat between two of her
young brothers, great stalwart lads who had all the char-
A Peculiar Dinner-Party 141
acteristics of a family of soldiers. During prayers each
of them held one of her hands ; and when they all knelt,
her arms went round their necks. I could not help feel-
ing deeply down into the very depths of my soul how
good it was for them all. I would have given everything
I have, or am ever likely to have, that mine had been
such an upbringing. Think, how in after years it will
come back to those boys in hours of trial, or pain, or pros-
perity, or passion; in all times when their manhood or
their honour or their worth is' to be tried ; how they will
remember the words which were spoken to them as those
were spoken, and were listened to as those were listened to,
in the midst of sympathy and love. Many and many a time
in years to come those boys will bless such hours, and God
Himself will surely rejoice that His will was being
wrought in so sweet a way. And the same thing is going
on in a thousand English homes ! " She paused and
turned to me and the feeling in her heart found expression
in the silent tears that ran down her cheeks. Again she
turned her eyes to the running water and gazed awhile
before speaking again. Then looking at me, she went
on:
" And the girl, too, how good it was for her ! What
an antidote to selfishness ! How much of self-control, of
sympathy, of love, of toleration was begun and fostered
and completed in those moments of the expression of her
heart! What place can there really be for selfish want
and sorrows in the heart of a woman so trained to sympa-
thise with and help others ? It is good ! good ! good ! and
I pray that in the later development of my own dear coun-
try, all such things may have a part. Expansion at its
present rate must soon cease ; and then some predominant
idea must take the place of the eternal self-independence.
We shall, I trust, moult no feather of our national feeling
of personal duty ; but I am sure that our people, and more
142 The Mystery of the Sea
especially our women, will lead happier as well as Health-
ier lives."
This present phase of Marjory's character was new to
me, fresh and enchanting. Every hour seemed to bring
out new worths and beauties of the girl's character, of her
intellectual gifts, of the endless wealth of her heart.
When she ceased speaking 1 took her hand in mine, she
not resenting, and kissed it. I said only one word
" Marjory ! " but it was enough. I could see that in her
eyes which made my heart leap.
Then a new life seemed to come to both of us. With
one accord we moved towards our bicycles, and mounted
in silence. After a few minutes of rapid spin down the
sloping road from the bridge, we began to chat again
gaily. For myself I was in wildly joyous spirits. Even
a self-doubting lover could not fail to understand such a
look in his mistress's eyes. If ever love spoke out in elo-
quent silence it was then, all doubt melted from my
heart, as the night shadows pale before the dawn. I was
content to wait now, illimitably and in silence. She,
too, seemed altogether happy, and accepted in unquestion-
ing faith all the little pleasures which came in the progress
of our journey. And such pleasures are many. As we
drew down the valley of the Dee, with the mountains
falling back and the dark pinewoods running up them
like tongues of flame and emphasising by their gloom
the brightness of grass and heather which cropped up
amongst the rocks beyond, every turn of the road brought
us to some new scene of peaceful beauty. From under
the splendid woods of Crathes Castle we saw the river
running like a blue ribbon far to the east and on either side
of it fields and gardens and woods spreading wide. On
we sped with delight in every moment, till at last through
miles of shady woods we came to the great stone bridge,
A Peculiar Dinner-Party 143
and ended our jaunt over the rough granite cobble-
stones of Aberdeen.
We were a little before the time the train was due ; so
leaving our wheels in the Palace Hotel we went down
on the platform to meet Mrs. Jack on her arrival.
We met her in due course, and brought her up to the
hotel. At the stairway Marjory, who had lingered half a
flight behind her companion, whispered to me :
" You have been a good boy to-day, a real good boy ;
and you shall before long have your reward." As she
gave me her hand, I whispered :
" I am content to wait now Marjory; dear Marjory! "
She blushed and smiled, and fled upstairs with a warning
ringer laid upon her lips.
It had been understood that I was to dine with Mrs.
Jack and her friend, so I went up to the room which I had
secured, to change my clothes. When 1 came down, in
what I thought was a reasonable time, I went to the
private sitting-room and knocked. As there was no an-
swer I knocked again; then receiving no reply I took it
for granted that the ladies had not yet come from their
rooms and entered.
The room was empty but on the table which was laid for
dinner for three was a note in Marjory's hand directed to
me. With a sinking of the heart I opened it, and stood for
a few minutes amazed. It had no apostrophe and ran as
follows :
" We have had to leave suddenly, but Mrs. Jack wants
you to oblige her very much if you will be so good. Stay
in the room, and when dinner is served sit down by your-
self and eat it. Please, please do not think hardly of
Mrs. Jack's request ; and do not fail to carry it out. There
is good reason for it, as you will very soon know. More
144 The Mystery of the Sea
depends on your doing as Mrs. Jack " the " Mrs. Jack "
was written over an obliterated " I " " asks than you
may think. I am sure that by this time you know you
can trust me.
" MARJORY."
The situation was disappointing and both humiliating
and embarrassing. To be a guest under such conditions
was almost ridiculous ; and under ordinary circumstances
I should have refused. But then I remembered that last
look of Marjory's eyes at the bridge of Potarch! With-
out a word, or another thought, of revolt I sat down to
the dinner which the waiter was just now bringing into
the room.
As it was evident to me that my staying in the room
was for some purpose of delay, 1 lingered over my wine
and had two cigars before I came away.
CHAPTER XVI
REVELATIONS
IN the hall I met together two men whom I knew well.
The first was Adams of the American Embassy in
London; the second Cathcart of 'ihe British Em-
bassy at Washington, now on leave. I had not seen
either for two years, and it was with mutual pleasure
that we met. After our preliminary handshaking, and the
inevitable drink at the American's request, Adams slapped
me on the shoulder and said her.rtily:
" Well, old fellow, I congratulate you ; or rather am I
to congratulate you?"
" What do you mean ? " I asked in feeble embarrass-
ment.
" All right, old chap ! " he said heartily. " Your blush
is enough. I see it hasn't come off yet at all events ! "
A man never lets well alone when he is in an awkward
position. If I had only held my tongue I might not have
made a guy of myself ; but as I was in doubt as to what
might be the issue of my suit to Marjory, I felt addition-
ally constrained to affect ignorance of his meaning. So I
floundered on:
"'Come off yet'? What on earth do you mean?"
Again he slapped me on the back as he said in his chaffing
way:
" My dear boy I saw you come in over the bridge.
You had had a long ride I could see by your wheels ; and
I am bound to say that you did seem on excellent terms
MS 10
146 The Mystery of the Sea
with each other ! " This was getting dangerous ground,
so I tried to sheer off. " Oh," I said, " you mean my
bike ride with Miss Anita " I was interrupted by his
sudden whistle.
" Oh," he said in exact imitation of my own manner.
" You mean Miss Anita ! So it has come to that al-
ready! Anyhow I congratulate you heartily, whether
it 'has come, or may come, or will come to anything
else."
" I don't see," I said, with a helpless feeling of having
been driven into a corner, " that there is anything es-
pecially remarkable in a man having a bicycle ride with a
young lady of his acquaintance."
" Keep your hair on, old man ! " he said with a smile.
" There is nothing remarkable about a man riding with a
young lady ; but there is something very remarkable about
any man riding with this particular young lady. Why,
man alive, don't you know that there isn't a man in
America, or out of it, that wouldn't give the eyes out of
his head to take your place on such an occasion. To ride
alone with Marjory Drake "
" With whom ? " I said impulsively ; and having spoken
could have bitten out my tongue. Adams paused ; he was
silent so long that I began to grow uneasy. His face grew
very grave, and there spread over it that look between
cunning and dominance which was his official expression.
Then he spoke, but his words had not the same careless
ring in them. There was a manifest caution and a certain
indefinable sense of distance.
" Look here, Archie Hunter ! Is it possible that you
don't know who it is that you were with. All right! I
know of course that you are acquainted with her person-
ally," for he saw I was about to protest, " the very fact
of your being with her and your knowing the name that
she seldom uses answer for that ; and you may take it from
Revelations 147
me that the lady needs no character for discretion from
me. But how is it that you are on such good terms with
her, and yet don't seem even to know her name ? " For
fully a minute there was silence between us. Cathcart had
as yet said not a word, and Adams was thinking. For
myself I was in a sea of multitudinous concerns; which-
ever way I turned I was face to face with some new diffi-
culty. It would not do to leave these men under the
impression that there was any social irregularity in my
friendship with Marjory; 1 was too jealous of her good
name to allow such a thing to be possible. And yet I
could not explain at length how we had come to be such
good friends. Already there were so many little mys-
teries ; right up to this very evening when she and Mrs.
Jack had gone away so strangely, leaving me in the
ridiculous position of a guest with no host. It was not
easy to explain these things; it was impossible to avoid
them. In the midst of this chaotic whirl of thoughts
Adams spoke:
" I think I had better say no more, anyhow. After all,
if Miss Drake chooses to keep a secret, or to make one,
it is not my business to give it, or her, away. She knows
what she's doing. You will excuse me, old fellow, won't
you; but as it is manifestly a lady's wish, I think I can
do best by holding my tongue.
" Any wish of that lady's," said I, and I felt that I
must seem to speak grandiloquently, " can only have my
most loyal support."
There was an awkward silence which was relieved by
Cathcart, who said to me:
" Come up to my room, Archie ; I want to tell you
something. You'll join us, too, Sam, won't you?"
" All right, Billy/' said Adams, " I'll come in a few
minutes. I want to give some directions about a horse
for to-morrow."
148 The Mystery of the Sea
When we were in Cathcart's room, he closed the door
and said to me with the most genuine good feeling :
" I didn't like to say a word downstairs, old chap ;
but I could see you were in some difficulty. Of course
I know it's all right; but ought you not to know some-
thing of the lady? With any one else but Sam and
myself such a thing might have conveyed a false im-
pression. Surely you can best protect the lady by know-
ing how to avoid anything that might embarrass her ! "
This was all good sound common sense. For a mo-
ment I weighed up the matter against the possibility
of Marjory's wishing to keep her name a secret. Look-
ing back, however, I could see that any concealment that
had been was rather positive than negative. The original
error had been mine; she had simply allowed it to pass.
The whole thing had probably been the passing fancy
of a bright, spirited young girl ; to take it too seriously,
or to make too much of it might do harm. Why, even
these men might, were I to regard it as important, take
it as some piece of deliberate deceit on her part. Thus
convinced of the wisdom of Cathcart's proposition I
spoke :
" You are quite right ! and I shall be much obliged if
you will if you will enlighten me." He bowed and
smiled, and went on genially:
" The lady you called Miss Anita, you so far called
quite correctly. Her name is Anita; but it is only her
second Christian name. She is known to the world as
Miss Marjory Drake, of Chicago."
" Known to the world." Was this a mere phrase, or
the simple expression of a fact ! I asked directly :
" How known to the world ? Do you mean that is
the name known amongst her circle of acquaintances ? Is
is there any cause why the great world outside that
circle should know her at all? " He smiled and laid his.
Revelations 149
hand on my shoulder in a very brotherly way as he an-
swered :
" Yes, old fellow. There is a reason, and a good one,
why the great world should know her. I see you are all
in the dark ; so I had better tell you what I know. Mar-
jory Anita Drake is an heiress, a great heiress, a very
great heiress ; perhaps a long way the greatest heiress in
America, or out of it. Her father, who died when she
was a baby, left her a gigantic fortune ; and her trustees
have multiplied it over and over again." He paused; so
I said it seeming necessary to say something:
" But being an heiress is not sufficient reason why a
girl should be known to the world."
" It is a pretty good one. Most people wouldn't want
any better. But this is not the reason in her case. She
is the girl who gave the battle ship to the American Gov-
ernment ! "
" Gave the battle ship ! I don't understand ! "
" It was this way. At the time the reports kept crowd-
ing in of the Spanish atrocities on the reconcentrados;
when public feeling was rising in the United States,
this girl got all on fire to free Cuba. To this end she
bought a battle ship that the Cramp's had built for Japan.
She had the ship armed with Krupp cannon which she
bought through friends in Italy ; and went along the East-
ern coast amongst the sailors and fishermen till she had
recruited a crew. Then she handed the whole thing over
to the Government as a spur to it to take some action. The
ship is officered with men from the Naval Academy at
Annapolis; and they tell me there isn't one of the crew
from the cabin boy to tKe captain that wouldn't die
for the girl to-morrow."
" Bravo ! " I said instinctively ! " That's a girl for a
nation to be proud of ! "
" She is all that ! " said Cathcart enthusiastically.
150 The Mystery of the Sea
" Now you can understand why Adams congratulated you ;
and why he was so surprised when you did not seem to
know who she was." I stood for a moment thinking, and
all the clouds which wrapped Marjory's purpose in mys-
tery seemed to disperse. This, then, was why she allowed
the error of her name to pass. She had not made an incog-
nita; chance had done this for her, and she had simply
accepted it. Doubtless, wearied with praise and with
publicity and notoriety in all its popular forms, she was
glad to get away and hide herself for a while. Fortune
had thrown in her way a man who was manifestly ignor-
ant of her very existence; and it was a pleasure to play
with him at hide-and-seek!
It was, after all, an up-to-date story of the Princess
in disguise; and I was the young man, all unknowing,
with whom she had played.
Here a terrible doubt assailed me. Other Princesses
had played hide-and-seek; and, having had their sport,
had vanished ; leaving desolation and an empty heart be-
hind them. Was it possible that she too was like this;
that she had been all the while playing with me; that
even whilst she was being most gracious, she was taking
steps to hide even her whereabouts from me? Here was
1, who had even proposed marriage ; and yet who did not
even know when or where I should see her again if in-
deed I should ever see her again at all. I could not
believe it. I had looked into her eyes, and had seen the
truth. Here was no wanton playing at bowls with men's
hearts. My life upon her faith!
I seemed to have lost myself in a sort of trance. I
was recalled from it by Cathcart, who seeing me in a
reverie had gone over to the fireplace and stood with his
back to me, filling his pipe at the mantel-piece:
" I think I hear Adams coming. Pardon me, old fel-
low, but though I am sure he knows I have told you
Revelations 151
about Miss Drake, and though he probably made an ex-
cuse for delay so that I might have an opportunity to do
so, he wants to appear not to enter on the subject. He
is diplomat all over. Remember he is of tfie U. S. Em-
bassy ; and Miss Drake, as an American citizen, is theo-
retically under his care in this foreign country. Let us
be talking of something else when he comes in ! " Sam
came along the passage softly whistling a bar of " Yankee
Doodle." Cathcart nodded to me and whispered:
" I told you so ! He takes good care that he may not
surprise us." When he came in we were talking of the
prospects of the Autumn fishing on the Dee.
When we left Cathcart's room, after a cigar, I, being
somewhat tired with my long ride, went at once to my
room. Adams came with me as far as the door.
I was just getting into bed when I heard a slight tap
at the door. I unlocked it and found Adams without. He
raised a warning hand, and said in a whisper :
" May I come in ? I want to say something very pri-
vately." More than ever mystified everything seemed
a mystery now I opened the door. He came in and I
closed it softly and locked it.
CHAPTER XVII
SAM ADAMS'S TASK
ADAMS began at once : " Archie I want to tell
you something; but it is in the strictest con-
fidence. You must promise me not to mention
to any one, mind any one, what I say; or even that I
have spoken to you on the subject." I thought for a
moment before replying. It flashed across me that what
he had to say must concern Marjory, so I answered:
" I fear I cannot make such a promise, if the matter
is regarding some one other than myself." A shade of
annoyance passed across his face as he said :
" Well, it is about some one else ; but really you must
trust me. I would not for the world, old fellow, ask
you to do anything that was not correct."
" I know that " I said " I know it right well ; but you
see it might be regarding some one with whom my
relations might be peculiar not fixed you know. It
might be necessary for me to speak. Perhaps not now;
but later on." I was stumbling blindly, so sought refuge
in fact and query, " Tell me " I said " does it relate to
Miss Drake?"
" It does ; but I thought that you who are a friend of
hers might like to do her a service."
" Of course I would." I answered. '"' There is noth-
ing I would not do for her if it were in my power."
" Except hold your tongue ! '* he said with a touch
of bitterness unusual with him., I could see* that anxious
152
Sam Adams's Task 153
as I was to hear he was still more anxious to tell me;
so I was able to keep my temper and not make matters
worse by answering back sarcastically. I said:
" Yes, old chap, even by holding my tongue. If I
could see that 1 would benefit her by holding my tongue,
or by cutting out my tongue, I would do it. What I
must refuse is to promise to hold my tongue. Come,
old fellow, don't put me in a wrong position. You don't
know all that I do, or exactly how I am placed. Why
don't you trust me ? I am willing to promise that I won't
speak at all of the matter unless it be necessary; and
that I won't speak at all in any case of having been told
anything by you." He brightened up at once and said:
" All right, then we can drive on. I take it that since
we met last " that was a few minutes ago, but he was
a diplomatist " you have learned more about Miss
Drake, or rather of her history and her position and
importance, than you knew at that time ? "
" Yes," I answered, and I could not help smiling.
" Then we needn't go into that. We take facts for
granted. Well, that fine act of hers you know what
I mean has brought her, or may bring her, a peck of
trouble. There are, or there were, a certain lot of Span-
iards Copperheads at home who look on her as a
sort of embodiment of the American antagonism to their
own nation. They are the low lot ; for mind you, though
we are at war with them 1 say it, the good Spaniard is
a fine fellow. It came to the ears of the authorities in
Washington that there was some sort of plot on foot to
do her a harm. The Secret Service was a little at fault,
and couldn't get accurate or full information; for natur-
ally enough the Spaniards didn't trust any but themselves
in such a matter. We know enough, however, to be some-
what concerned for her ; and it was arranged that a secret
watch should be kept on her, so that no harm should
154 The Mystery of the Sea
come that could be prevented. The proper men had been
detailed off for the work; when to our surprise, and a
little to our consternation, it turned out that the young
lady had disappeared. We knew of course that her going
was voluntary; she had left word to that effect, so that
there might not be any bother made about her. But the
trouble was that she did not know of the danger which
threatened her ; and as our people didn't know where she
was, no step could be taken to protect or warn her. It
is clear that my lady got tired of fireworks and of the
Joan of Arc business, and bolted. It was considered nec-
essary at headquarters that we should in the meantime
all keep our heads shut. But we were advised at the
Embassy in London that the plot was on, and that
we should hump ourselves a bit to look after her in
case she was in England. The matter was handed over
to me, and I have been on the run ever since ; but I have
not been able to hear tale or tiding of her. Two days
ago we got a cable in our cipher which told us that, from
information received and the rest of it, they suspected
she was in England, or probably in Scotland; and that
there was later evidence that the plot was more active
than ever. Unfortunately we have as yet no details, and
not even a clue. That is why I am here. I came down
with Cathcart, who fortunately was bound for the North,
as it covered up my purpose. I have been in a regular
stew for days past. Marjory Drake is too good to have
any trouble come to her that any American can help. You
can imagine my delight when I saw her this evening ; for
now that I have located her, I can take steps to look after
her safety if necessary. You two went so fast on your
wheels that I lost you at the Bridge ; but I surmised that
you would be coming here anyhow after your ride. So
I came up as quickly as I could, and saw you two and the
old lady come up from the railway station. I couldn't get
Sam Adams's Task 155
to see Miss Drake to-night; but I expect to look her
up pretty early in the morning."
Here was a new entanglement. It seemed to me as
more than likely that Marjory, having seen Adams and
knowing his diplomatic position, suspected some inter-
ference with her liberty, and made an escape at once.
This, then, was the reason why she had asked me to stay
and eat dinner alone; I was to cover up her tracks and
secure her a night's delay. Thus, even to Adams, my
tongue was tied as to her movements. I did not wish
to seem to deceive him, so avoided the subject. In an-
swer to him I asked:
" But tell me, old fellow, how and where do I come
into your story ? Why do you tell me this ? " He an-
swered very gravely:
" Because I want your help. This is, or rather may
be, a very serious matter to Miss Drake. The whole
business is entrusted by our government to my chief, who
has detailed me on the service. It is of so delicate and
secret a nature that I cannot make confidence with many
people, and I am loth to trust any one but a gentleman.
Besides Miss Drake is a very peculiar girl. She is abso-
lutely independent, thoroughly determined, and more than
plucky. If she knew there was a plot on foot, as likely
as not she would try to encourage it out of mere reck-
lessness ; and would try to counterplot all by herself. Her
enemies know this, and will avail themselves of every
chance and of every false move of hers ; so that she might
help to work out herself the evil intended for her. This
we cannot permit; and I am quite sure that you, who
are a friend of hers, are at one with me here. Now, if
you want to know exactly how you can help I will tell
you; and you will, I am sure, pardon me if I say too
much or too little. If she were to know that the matter
of her protection was a Government one, nothing on earth
156 The Mystery of the Sea
would make her yield herself to our views. But if it were
suggested by a a friend whom she she valued, her
action would probably be quite the opposite. She is a
girl all heart and soul. When she is taken rightly you
can lead her with a thread; but you can't drag her with
gun-ropes. From what I saw yesterday, I am inclined to
think that you might have more influence with her than
any one else I could pick out."
I could not say anything to this, either positive or
negative, so I remained silent. He went on:
" There is one other reason why I ask you to help,
but it is secondary to the other one, believe me, and
one I only use to fortify a better one. I ask you as an
old friend to help me in a matter which, even if you
are not concerned in it, may be of the utmost importance
to me in my diplomatic career. This matter has been
placed in my hands, and it would not do for me to fail.
There is not much KV$OS to be got out of it if all be
well except with my immediate chiefs; but if I failed
it would go far against me. If Marjory Drake should
suffer from this Spanish plot, she who had, so to speak,
fired the torch of the nation in the war, it would be formal,
official ruin to me. There wouldn't be a man from Maine
to California, from the Lakes to the Gulf, who wouldn't
look on me as an imbecile, or worse ! " Whilst he was
speaking I was thinking, and trying to make up my mind
as to what I should do. Manifestly, I could not tell him
of the dawning relations between Marjory and myself.
I was not yet prepared to speak of the Pope's treasure.
I could not in honour give away Marjory's confidence
in me in asking me to cover up her escape, or the implied
promise of my acceptance of it. Still, Adams's confidence
required some measure of frankness from me. His last
appeal to me as an old friend to help him as an individual
in an important work, which might mar if it could not
Sam Adams's Task 157
make him, demanded that 1 should stretch every point
I could in his favour. So I said :
" Sam, I shall do all I honestly or honourably can.
But I must ask you to wait a while and trust me. The
fact is I am not at liberty just at present to turn any
way I choose. I am already committed to certain confi-
dences, which were made before I saw you or had any
knowledge of what you tell me. Moreover, I am in cer-
tain ways ignorant in matters that you would not expect.
I shall at once take every step I can to be in a position
to speak to you more freely. I am more deeply stirred,
old fellow, by what you have told me than I can say ; and
out of the depths of my heart I am grateful to you and
your Government for your care for Miss Anita Miss
Drake. I may say this, that until to-morrow at all events,
I am unable to help you in any possible way. Were I
to try to do anything till a certain thing happens, it would
hinder rather than help your purpose. So wait patiently
and do please try to understand me."
He replied with unwonted sarcasm :
" Try to understand you ! Why man alive I've been
trying whilst you were speaking, until my brain reels.
But I'm blamed if I can make head or tail of what you
say. You seem to be snarled up in more knots than a
conjuror. What the hell does it all mean? You don't
seem to be able to turn anywhere or do anything, even
when the safety or the life of such a girl as Marjory
Drake is in question. On my faith Mr. Hunter I hope I
don't make any mistake about you ! "
" Yes, you do, Sam ! " I said quietly, for I could not
but feel that he had good cause for disappointment or
even anger. " At the first moment I am free to do so,
I shall tell you all I can; and you shall then see that I
am only doing what you would under similar circum-
stances do yourself. Won't you trust me, old friend ! "
158 The Mystery of the Sea
He gazed at me steadily for a few seconds, and then
his look softened.
" By God I will ! " he said, as he held out his hand.
" Now tell me," I said " what can I do to keep in
touch with you. I must go back to Cruden in the morn-
ing. It is necessary." This was in answer to his ques-
tioning look. " It is the first step in my doing as you
wish." I knew that Marjory would send to me, if at all,
to Cruden. " But tell me how or where I can wire you
in case we are not within hail." For answer he pulled
out of his pocket a bundle of " priority " telegrams ad-
dressed to the United States Embassy in London.
" Take them and use them as may be required. I am
in constant touch with the Embassy and they will know
where to find me. How will I find you ? "
" Send to me care of Post-office, Cruden Bay," I said,
" I shall keep you advised of wherever I may be." With
that we said good night.
" I shall see you in the morning," he said as he went
out.
CHAPTER XVIII
FIREWORKS AND JOAN OF ARC
FOR some time I did not sleep. Things were hurry-
ing on so fast; and so many new events and
facts and dangers were coming to light, that I
hardly knew where to begin to think. Of course all
things concerning Marjory, principally her safety, took
the first place. What could be this Spanish plot; what
could be its method or its purpose? At first when
Adams had told me of it, 1 had not been much con-
cerned; it seemed so far away, so improbable, that I
fear I did not take it with sufficient gravity. I had not
thought at the time that the two nations were actually at
war, and that already, both before the war and during
it, deeds of desperate treachery had been done, the
memory of which were not even obliterated by the valour
and chivalry which had been shown by the nobler of
America's foes. " Remember The Maine " was still a
watchword and war cry. There were many scoundrels,
such as chiefly come to the surface in war time, who
would undertake any work, however deadly, however
brutal, however dangerous. Such villains might be at
work even now! With a bound I was out upon the
floor. In that moment of concrete thought of danger to
Marjory I realised to the full the danger of my own
ignorance of her situation, and even of the locality where
she might be. This impotence to do anything was simply
maddening ; when I felt it I could not but understand the
159
160 The Mystery of the Sea
annoyance of Adams in feeling a measure of the same
impotence, with what looked like my obstinacy added.
But think how I would, I could do nothing till I should
see Marjory or hear from her. With this thought, which,
under the circumstances, was more than harrowing, I
went back to bed.
1 was waked by the knocking of Adams who in reply
to my " Come," slipped in and shut the door behind
him.
" They are gone ! "
" Who? " I asked mechanically, though I well knew.
" Miss Drake and her friend. They went away last
night, just after you came back from the station. By the
way, I thought you dined with them ? " he said interroga-
tively, and with a dash of suspicion in his tone.
" I was to dine with them ; " I answered " but they
were not there." He made a long pause.
" I don't understand ! " he said. I felt that as the time
which I was to cover had passed, I might speak; for
all sakes I wanted to avoid collision with Adams or the
appearance of deceiving him. So I said:
" I can tell you now, Sam. I was asked to dine last
night with Mrs. Jack and Miss Anita Miss Drake.
When I came down to the room I found a letter saying
that they had to go away and making a special request
that I would dine alone, just as though they were there.
I was not to say a word to any one about their being
away. Please understand, my dear fellow and I must
ask you to take it that this is only a hint which you must
accept and not attempt to follow up that there are
reasons why I should act on any request of Miss Drake's,
'blindfold. I told you last night that my hands were
tied; this was one of the cords. To-day I hold myself
free to explain I may now also tell you more. Last
night I could do nothing. I could take no step myself,
Fireworks and Joan of Arc 161
nor could I help you to take one; simply for the reason
that I do not know where Miss Drake is staying. She
is I know stopping, or was till lately, somewhere on
the eastern side of Aberdeen County; but where the
place is I have not the faintest idea. I expect to know
very shortly; and the moment I know I will try to in-
form you, unless I am forbidden. You will know in
time that 1 have spoken exact truth ; though you may
have found my words or meaning hard to understand. I
am more than anxious to put Marjory on guard. When
you left me last night, the whole deadly seriousness of
the matter grew on me, till I was as miserable as a man
can be." His face lightened as I spoke.
" Well," he said " at least we are one in the matter ;
that is something. I feared you were, and would be,
working against me. Now look here, I have been think-
ing the matter over, and I daresay I have come nearer
to understanding your position than you imagine. I
don't want to limit or hamper you in working in your
own way for Miss Drake's good ; but I may tell you this.
I mean to find her if I can, and in my own way. 1 am not
fettered anywhere, except by the necessary secrecy. Out-
side of this I am free to act. I shall keep you advised at
Cruden."
Before I was dressed I had another visitor. This
time it was Cathcart who, with considerable diffidence
and all the shamefaced embarrassment of an Englishman
when doing a kindly action in which he may be taken
as intruding, offered me his services. I tried to set
him at ease by the heartiness of my thanks. Upon which
he expanded enough to say:
" From something Adams let drop in all confidence
believe me I gather you are or may be in trouble about
some friend. If this should be, and from my heart I
trust it may not, I hope you will bear in mind that I am
ii
1 62 The Mystery of the Sea
a friend, and unattached. I am pretty well alone in the
world so far as family is concerned, and there is no one
to interfere with me. Indeed there are some who would
be happy, for testamentary reasons, to attend my funeral.
I hope you will remember this, old chap, if there is any
fun going." Then he went away, easy of carriage and
debonnair as usual. It was in such wise that this gallant
gentleman made me a proffer of his life. It moved me
more than I can tell.
I went down to Cruden by the next train, and arranged
with the postmaster to send on to me at once by messen-
ger or wire any telegram that might come directed as
I had told Adams.
Towards dusk a letter was brought to me. It was
in Marjory's hand, and on my asking at once how it
had come, I was told that it was brought by a mounted
man who on handing it in had said " no answer " and had
ridden away.
With hope and joy and misgiving mingled I opened it.
All these feelings were justified by the few words it
contained :
" Meet me to-morrow at eleven at Pircappies."
I passed the night with what patience I could, and rose
early. At ten I took a light boat and rowed by myself
from Port Erroll across the bay. I hung round out-
side the Skares, ostensibly fishing but keeping watch for
any sign of Marjory ; for from this point I could see the
road to Whinnyfold and the path by the beach. A
little before eleven I saw a woman wheeling a bicycle
down the Whinnyfold laneway. Taking in my lines,
I pulled, quietly and avoiding any appearance of hurry,
for I knew not whether any one might see us, into the tiny
harbour behind the jutting rock. Marjory arrived just
at the same time, and I rejoiced to see that her face bore
no mark or sign of care. As yet nothing had happened.
Fireworks and Joan of Arc 163
We met with a slight hand shake; but there was a look
in her eyes which made my heart leap. For the past
thirty-six hours my anxiety for her had put aside every
other feeling. I had not thought of myself, and there-
fore not of my love for her; but now my selfish instinct
woke again in full force. In her presence, and in the
jubilance of my own heart, fear in all forms seemed
as impossible to realise as that the burning sun above
us should be blotted out with falling snow. With one
of her mysterious signs of silence she pointed to the
rock that here stretches out into the sea, and whose top
is crowned with long sea grass. Together we climbed the
face of the cliff, and bearing across the narrow promon-
tory passed over the top of the rock. We found a cosy
nest hidden behind it. Here we were absolutely isolated
from the world; out of earshot of every one, and out of
sight except from beyond the stretch of rocky sea. In
a demure way she acknowledged my satisfaction.
" Isn't it a nice place. I chose it out yesterday when
I was here ! " For an instant I felt as though she had
struck me. Just to think that she had been here yes-
terday, whilst I was waiting for her only across the bay,
eating my heart out. However, there was no use looking
back. She was with me now, and we were alone. The
whole delight of the thing swept away every other feel-
ing. With a pretty little motion of settling herself com-
fortably, and which to me seemed to prelude a long talk,
she began:
" I suppose you know a lot .about me now ? "
" How do you mean ? "
" Come now, don't prevaricate. I saw Sam Adams in
Aberdeen, and of course he told you all about me." I
interrupted :
" No he didn't." The very tone of my voice enlight-
ened her. With a smile she said :
164 The Mystery of the Sea
" Then some one else did. Answer me some ques-
tions. What is my name?"
" Marjory Anita Drake."
"Am I poor?"
" In the way of money, no."
"Right! Why did I leave America?"
" To run away from the fireworks and the Joan of
Arc business."
" Right again ; but that sounds mighty like Sam Adams.
Well, that's all right; now we may begin. I want to
tell you something which you don't know." She paused.
Half in delight and half in fear, for her appearance of
purpose alarmed me, I set myself to listen.
CHAPTER XIX
ON CHANGING ONE'S NAME
WITH a smile Marjory began:
" You are satisfied that it was because of
the fireworks and Joan of Arc business that
I came away ? "
"Oh yes!"
" And that this was the final and determining cause? "
"Why certainly!"
" Then you are wrong ! " I looked at her in wonder
and in some secret concern. If I were wrong in this
belief, then why not in others ? If Adams's belief and my
acceptance of it were erroneous, what new mystery was
there to be revealed? Just at present things had been
looking so well for the accomplishment of my wishes that
any disturbance must be unwelcome. Marjory, watching
me from under her eyelashes, had by this time summed
me up. The stern look which she always had when her
brows were fixed in thought, melted into a smile which
was partly happy, partly mischievous, and wholly girlish.
" Make your mind easy, Archie " she said, and oh I how
my heart leaped when she addressed me by my Christian
name for the first time. " There isn't anything to get
uneasy about. I'll tell you what it was if you wish."
" Certainly I wish, if __ ou don't dislike telling me."
So she went on :
" I did not mind the fireworks ; that is I did mind
them and liked them too. Between you and me, there has
165
1 66 The Mystery of the Sea
to be a lot of fireworks for one to object to them. People
may say what they please, but it's only those who have
not tasted popular favour that say they don't like it.
I don't know how Joan of Arc felt, but I've a pretty cute
idea that she was like other girls. If she enjoyed being
cheered and made much of as well as I did, no wonder
that she kept up the game as long as she could. What
broke me all up was the proposals of marriage! It's
all very well getting proposed to by people you know,
and that you don't dislike. But when you get a washing
basket full of proposals every morning by the post ; when
seedy looking scallywags ogle you; when smug young
men with soft hats and no chins wait outside your door
to hand you their own poems; and when greasy cranks
stop your carriage to proffer their hearts to you before
your servants, it becomes too much. Of course you can
burn the letters, though there are some of them too good
and too honest not to treat their writers with respect. But
the cranks and egotists, and scallywags and publicans
and sinners, the loafers that float round one like an
unwholesome miasma; these are too many and too
various, and too awful to cope with. I felt the convic-
tion so driven in to me that the girl, or at any rate
her personality, counts for so little, but that her money,
or her notoriety, or celebrity or whatever it is, counts
for so much, that I couldn't bear to meet strangers at
all. Burglars and ghosts and tigers and snakes and all
kinds of things that dart out on you are bad enough;
but I tell you that proposers on the pounce are a holy
terror. Why, at last I began to distrust everyone. There
wasn't an unmarried man of my acquaintance that I didn't
begin to suspect of some design; and then the funny
part of it was that if they didn't come up to the scratch
I felt aggrieved. It was awfully unfair wasn't it ? But I
could not help it. I wonder if there is a sort of moral
On Changing One's Name 167
jaundice which makes one see colours all wrong! If
there is, I had it; and so I just came away to get cured
if I could.
" You can't imagine the freedom which it was to me
not to be made much of and run after. Of course there
was a disappointing side to it ; I'm afraid people's heads
swell very quick! But, all told, it was delightful. Mrs.
Jack had come with me, and I had covered up my tracks
at home so that no one would be worried. We ran up to
Canada, and at Montreal took a steamer to Liverpool.
We got out, however, at Moville. We had given false
names, so that we couldn't be tracked." Here she
stopped; and a shy look grew over her face. I waited,
for I thought it would embarrass her less to tell things
in her own way than to be asked questions. The shy
look grew into a rosy blush, through which came that
divine truth which now and again can shine from a girl's
eyes. She said in quite a different way from any in which
she had spoken to me as yet; with a gentle appealing
gravity :
" That was why I let you keep the wrong impression
as to my name. 1 couldn't bear that you, who had been
so good to me, should, at the very start of our our
friendship, find me out in a piece of falsity. And then
when we knew each other better, and after you had
treated me with so much confidence about the Second
Sight and Gormala and the Treasure, it made me feel
so guilty every time I thought of it that I was ashamed
to speak." She stopped and I ventured to take her hand.
I said in as consolatory a way as I could :
" But my dear, that was not any deceit to me at any
rate. You took another name to avoid trouble before
ever I even saw you; how then could I be aggrieved.
Besides " I added, feeling bolder as she did not make
any effort to draw away her hand, " I should be the last
1 68 The Mystery of the Sea
person in the world to object to your changing your
name ! "
" Why ? " she asked raising her eyes to mine with a
glance which shot through me. This was pure coquetry ;
she knew just as well as I did what I meant. All the
same, however, 1 said:
" Because I too want you to change it ! " She did
not say a word, but looked down.
I was now sure of my ground, and without a word I
bent over and kissed her. She did not draw back. Her
arms went round me; and in an instant I had a glimpse
of heaven.
Presently she put me away gently and said:
" There was another reason why I did not speak all
that time. I can tell it to you now."
"' Pardon me " I interrupted " but before you tell me,
am I to take it that well, what has just been between
us is an affirmative answer to my question? " Her teeth
flashed as well as her eyes as she answered:
" Have you any doubt ? Was there any imperfection in
the answer? If so, perhaps we had better read it as
' no.' "
My answer was not verbal; but it was satisfactory to
me. Then she went on :
" I can surely tell you now at all events. Have you
still doubts ? "
" Yes " said I, " many, very many, hundreds, thousands,
millions, all of which are clamouring for instant satis-
faction ! " She said quietly and very demurely, at the
same time raising that warning hand which I already
well knew, and which I could not but feel was apt to have
an influence on my life, though I had no doubt but that
it would always be for good :
" Then as there are so many, there is not the slightest
use trying to deal with them now."
On Changing One's Name 169
" All right " I said " we shall take them in proper sea-
son and deal with them seriatim." She said nothing,
but she looked happy.
I felt so happy myself that the very air round us, and
the sunshine, and the sea, seemed full of joyous song.
There was music even in the screaming of the myriad
seagulls sweeping overhead, and in the wash of the rising
and falling waves at our feet. I kept my eyes on Mar-
jory as she went on to speak:
" Oh, it is a delight to be able to tell you now what
a pleasure it was to me to know that you, who knew
nothing of me, of my money, or my ship, or all the fire-
works and Joan of Arc business I shall never forget that
phrase had come to me for myself alone. It was a
pleasure which I could not help prolonging. Even had I
had no awkwardness in telling my name, I should have
kept it back if possible; so that, till we had made our
inner feelings known to each other, I should have been
able to revel in this assurance of personal attraction ; "
1 was so happy that I felt I could interrupt :
" That sounds an awfully stilted way of putting it, is
it not ? " I said. " May I take it that what you mean
is, that though you loved me a little of course after I
had shown you that I loved you a great deal you still
wished to keep me on a string; so that my ignorance of
your extrinsic qualities might add a flavour to your en-
joyment of my personal devotion ? "
" You talk " she said with a joyful smile " like a small
book with gilt edges ! And now, I know you want to
know more of my surroundings, where we are living and
what are our plans."
Her words brought a sort of cold shiver to me. In my
great happiness I had forgotten for the time all anxiety
for her safety. In a rush there swept over me all the
matters which had caused me such anguish of mind for
170 The Mystery of the Sea
the last day and a half. She saw the change in me, and
with poetic feeling put in picturesque form her evident
concern :
" Archie, what troubles you ? your face is like a cloud
passing over a cornfield ! "
" I am anxious about you " I said. " In the perfection
of happiness which you have given me, I forgot for the
moment some things that are troubling me." With in-
finite gentleness, and with that sweet tenderness which is
the sympathetic facet of love, she laid her hand on mine
and said:
" Tell me what troubles you. I have a right to know
now, have I not?" For answer I raised her hand and
kissed it ; then holding it in mine I went on :
" At the same time that I learned about you, I heard
of some other things which have caused me much
anxiety. You will help to put me at ease, won't you?"
" Anything you like I shall do. I am all yours now ! "
" Thank you, my darling, thank you ! " was all I could
say; her sweet surrender of herself overwhelmed me.
" But I shall tell you later ; in the meantime tell me all
about yourself, for that is a part of what I wait for." So
she spoke:
" We are living, Mrs. Jack and I, in an old Castle some
miles back in the country from here. First I must tell
you that Mrs. Jack is my old nurse. Her husband had
been a workman of my father's in his pioneer days. When
Dad made his own pile he took care of Jack Jack Demp-
sey his name was, but we never called him anything but
Jack. His wife was Mrs. Jack then, and has been so ever
since to me. When mother died, Mrs. Jack, who had lost
her husband a little while before, came to take care of
me. Then when father died she took care of everything ;
and has been like a mother to me ever since. As I dare
say you have noticed, she has never got over the deferen-
On Changing One's Name 171
tial manner which she used to have in her poorer days.
But Mrs. Jack is a rich woman as women go; if some of
my proposers had an idea of how much money she has
they would never let her alone till she married some
one. I think she got a little frightened at the way I
was treated; and there was a secret conviction that she
might be the next to suffer. If it hadn't been for that,
I doubt if she would ever, even to please me, have fallen
in with my mad scheme of running away under false
names. When we came to London we saw the people
at Morgan's ; and the gentleman who had charge of our
affairs undertook to keep silence as to us. He was a
nice old man, and I told him enough of the state of
affairs for him to understand that I had a good reason
for lying dark. I thought that Scotland might be a good
place to hide in for a time; so we looked about amongst
the land agents for a house where we would not be likely
to be found. They offered us a lot; but at last they
told us of one between Ellon and Peterhead, way back
from the road. We found it in a dip between a lot of
hills where you would never suspect there was a house
at all, especially as it was closely surrounded with a
wood. It is in reality an old castle, built about two or
three hundred years ago. The people who own it
Barnard by name, are away, the agent told us, and the
place was to let year after year but no one has ever taken
it. He didn't seem to know much about the owners as
he had only seen their solicitor; but he said they might
come some time and ask to visit the house. It is an inter-
esting old place, but awfully gloomy. There are steel
trellis gates, and great oak doors bound with steel, that
rumble like thunder when you shut them. There are
vaulted roofs ; and windows in the thickness of the wall,
which though they are big enough to sit in, are only slits
at the outside. Oh ! it is a perfect daisy of an old house.
172 The Mystery of the Sea
You must come and see it! I will take you all over it;
that is, over all I can, for there are some parts of it shut
off and locked up."
" When may I go? " I asked.
" Well, I had thought," she answered, " that it would
be very nice if you were to get your wheel and ride over
with me to-day."
" Count me in every time ! By the way what is the
name of the place?"
" Crom Castle. Crom is the name of the little village,
but it is a couple of miles away." I paused a while think-
ing before I spoke. Then with my mind made up I
said:
" Before we leave here I want to speak of something
which, however unimportant you may think it, makes me
anxious. You will let me at the beginning beg, won't you,
that you do not ask me who my informant is, or not to
tell you anything except what I think advisable." Her
face grew grave as she said :
" You frighten me ! But Archie, dear, I trust you. I
trust you; and you may speak plainly. I shall under-
stand."
I
CHAPTER XX
COMRADESHIP
6 4 T WANT you to promise me that you will not hide
yourself where I cannot find you. I have grave
reason for the request. Also, I want you, if
you will, to let some others know where you are." At first
there was instinctive defiance in her mouth and nostrils.
Then her brows wrinkled in thought ; the sequence was an
index to character which I could not but notice. How-
ever the war was not long ; reason, whatever was the out-
come of its dominance, triumphed over impulse. I
thought I could understand the logical process which led
to her spoken conclusion:
" You want to report me to ' Uncle Sam V
" That's about it ! " I answered, and hurried on to give
her a reason before she made up her mind to object.
" Remember, my dear, that your nation is at war ; and,
though you are at present safe in a country friendly to
both belligerents, there are evil-minded people in all coun-
tries who will take advantage of anything unusual, to
work their own ends. That splendid gift of yours to the
nation, while it has made you a public favourite and won
for you millions of friends and proposals has yet made
for you a host of enemies. It is not as if you had given a
hospital-ship or an ambulance. Your gift belongs to
the war side and calls out active hatred; and no doubt
there are men banded together to do you harm. This
cannot be allowed. Your friends, and the nation as a
i73
174 The Mystery of the Sea
whole, would take any step to prevent such a thing; but
they might all be powerless if you were hidden anywhere
where they could not find you." As 1 spoke, Marjory
looked at me keenly, not with hostility, but with genuine
interest. When I had finished she said quietly :
" That is very well ; but now tell me, dear " how the
word thrilled me ; it was the first time she had used it to
me " did Sam Adams fill you up with that argument, or is
it your own ? Don't think me nasty ; but I want to know
something of what is going on. Believe me, I am willing
to do all you wish if it is your own will; and I am
grateful for your thought for me. But I don't want you
to be a mere mouthpiece for any party moves by the poli-
ticians at home."
" How do you mean?"
" My dear boy, I don't suppose you know enough of
American politics to see how a certain lot would use to
their own advantage anything that came in their way.
Anybody or anything which the public takes an interest
in would be, and is, used by them unscrupulously. Why,
if the hangers-on to the war party wanted to make a show,
they might enroll my proposers and start a new battalion."
" But," I remonstrated, " you don't think the Govern-
ment is like that? " In reply she smiled:
" I don't altogether know about that. Parties are par-
ties all the world over. But of course the Washington
people wouldn't do things that are done by local poli-
ticians. And one other thing. Don't imagine for a mo-
ment that I think Sam Adams is anything of the kind.
He belongs to the service of the nation and takes his
orders from his chief. How can he, or any one fixed like
him, know the ins and outs of things; except from what
he hears privately from home, or gathers from what goes
on around him if he is cute ? " It appeared to me that all
this was tending to establish an argument against taking
Comradeship 175
the American Embassy into confidence, so I struck in
before it should be complete. As I was not at liberty to
take Marjory into confidence with regard to my source
of information, I had to try to get her to agree to what I
thought right or necessary on other grounds :
" My dearest, can you not leave out politics, American
or otherwise. What on earth have politics to do with
us ? " She opened her eyes in wonder ; she was reason-
ing better than I was. With an air of conviction she
said:
" Why, everything ! If any one wants to do me harm,
it must be on the grounds of politics. I don't believe
there is any one in the world who could want to injure
me on private grounds. Oh! my dear, I don't want to
talk about it, not even to you ; but all my life I have tried
to help other people in a quiet way. My guardians would
tell you that I have asked them for too much money to
give to charities ; and personally I have tried to do what
a. girl can in a helpful way to others. I have been in hos-
pitals and homes of all kinds ; and I have classes of girls
in my own house and try to make them happier and better.
Archie, don't think poorly of me for speaking like this ;
but I couldn't bear that you should think I had no sense
of the responsibility of great wealth. I have always
looked on it as a trust ; and I hope, my dear, that in time
to come you will help me to bear the burden and to share
the trust ! " I had thought up to now that I couldn't love
her more than I did. But when I heard her words, and
recognised the high purpose that lay behind them, and
saw the sweet embarrassment which came to her in speak-
ing them to me, I felt that I had been mistaken. She
looked at me lovingly, and, holding my hand in both of
hers, went on :
" What then could hurt me except it came from the
political side. I could quite understand it if Spaniards
176 The Mystery of the Sea
wished to harm me, for I have done what I can to hinder
them from murdering and torturing other victims. And
I could understand if some of our own low-down poli-
ticians would try to use me as a stalking horse, though
they wouldn't harm me. I want to keep clear of politics ;
and I tell you frankly that I shall if I can."
" But Marjory dear, there may be, I believe there
are, Spaniards who would try to harm you. If you were
in America you would be safer from them; for there at
present, whilst the war is on, every stranger is a marked
man. Here, on neutral ground, foreigners are free; and
they are not watched and observed in the same way. If
there were such fiends, and I am told there are, they
might do you a harm before any one could know their
intention or have time to forestall them."
All the native independence of Marjory's race and
nature stood out in strong relief as she answered me:
" My dear Archie, I come from a race of men who
have held their lives in their hands from the cradle to the
grave. My father, and my grandfather, and my great
grandfather were pioneers in Illinois, in Kentucky, in the
Rockies and California. They knew that there were
treacherous foes behind them every hour of their lives;
and yet they were not afraid. And I am not afraid either.
Their blood is in my veins, and speaks loudly to me when
any sense of fear comes near me. Their brains, as well as
their hands, kept guard on their lives ; and my brains are
like theirs. I do not fear any foe, open or secret. Indeed,
when I think of a secret foe all the keenness of my people
wakes in me, and I want to fight. And this secret work
is a way in which a woman can fight in an age like ours.
If my enemies plot, I can counter-plot; if they watch
without faltering to catch me off guard, I can keep guard
unflinchingly. A woman can't go out now-a-days, except
at odd times, and fight with weapons like Joan of Arc, or
Comradeship 177
the Maid of Saragossa ; but she can do her fighting in her
own way, level with her time. I don't see that if there is
to be danger around me, why I shouldn't do as my ances-
tors did, fight harder than their foes. Here! let me tell
you something now, that I intended to say later. Do you
know what race of men I come from ? Does my name tell
you nothing? If not, then this will ! "
She took from her neck, where again it had been con-
cealed by a lace collar, the golden jewel which I had res-
cued from the sea. As I took it in my hand and examined
it she went on:
" That came to me from my father, who got it from his,
and he from his, on and on till our story of it, which is
only verbal, for we have no records, is lost in the legend
that it is a relic of the Armada brought to America by
two cousins who had married, both being of the family
to which the great Sir Francis Drake belonged. I didn't
know, till lately, and none of us ever did, where exactly
in the family the last owners of the brooch came in, or
how they became possessed of such a beautiful jewel.
But you have told me in your translation of Don de Esco-
ban's narrative. That was the jewel that Benvenuto
Cellini made in duplicate when he wrought the figurehead
for the Pope's galley. The Pope gave it to Bernardino de
Escoban, and he gave it to Admiral Pedro de Valdes. 1
have been looking up the history of the time since I saw
you, and I found that Admiral de Valdes when he was
taken prisoner by Sir Francis Drake at the fight with the
Armada was kept, pending his ransom, in the house of
Richard Drake, kinsman of Sir Francis. How the Drake
family got possession of the brooch I don't know; but
anyhow I don't suppose they stole it. They were a kindly
lot in private, any of them that I ever knew; though
when they were in a fight they fought like demons. The
old Spanish Dons were generous and free with their pres-
12
178 The Mystery ot the Sea
ents, and I take it that when Pedro de Valdes got his
ransom he made the finest gift he could to those who
had been kind to him. That is the way I figure it out."
Whilst she was speaking, thoughts kept crowding in
upon me. Here was indeed the missing link in the chain of
Marjory's connection with the hidden treasure; and here
was the beginning of the end of Gormala's prophecy, for
as such I had come to regard it. The Fates were at work
upon us. Clotho was spinning the thread which was to
enmesh Marjory and myself and all who were in the
scheme of the old prophecy of the Mystery of the Sea
and its working out.
Once more the sense of impotence grew upon me. We
were all as shuttlecocks, buffeted to and fro without power
to alter our course. With the thought came that measure
of resignation which is the anodyne to despair. In a
sort of trance of passivity I heard Marjory's voice run on :
" Therefore, my dear Archie, I will trust to you to
help me. The comradeship which has been between us,
will never through this grow less; though nearer and
dearer and closer ties may seem to overshadow it."
I could not answer such reasoning; but I took her in
my arms and kissed her. I understood, as she did, that
my kisses meant acquiescence in her wishes. After a
while I said to her :
" One thing I must do. I owe it as a duty of honour
to tell my informant that I am unable to give your address
to the American Embassy, and that I cannot myself take
a part in anything which is to be done except by your
consent. But oh! my dear, I fear we are entering on a
dangerous course. We are all staying deliberately in the
dark, whilst there is light to be had ; and we shall need all
the light which we can get." Then a thought struck me
and I added, " By the way, I suppose I am free to give
information how I can, so long as you are not committed
Comradeship 179
or compromised ? " She thought for quite a few minutes
before she an^vered. 1 could see that she was weighing
up the situa^n, and considering it from all points of
view. Then she said, putting both her hands in mine :
" In this, as in all ways, Archie, I know that I can
trust you. There is so much more than even this between
us, that I should feel mean to give it a thought here-
after 1"
CHAPTER XXI
THE OLD FAR WEST AND THE NEW
PRESENTLY Marjory jumped up and said:
" Now you must get your wheel and come over
to Crom. I am burning to show it to you ! " We
crossed the little isthmus and climbed the rocks above
the Reivie o' Pircappies. As we topped the steep path I
almost fell back with the start I gave.
There sat Gormala MacNiel, fixed and immovable as
though she were of stone. She looked so unconcerned
that I began to suspect her. At first she seemed not to
notice us; but I could see that she was looking at us
under her eyelashes. I was anxious to find out how long
she had been there, so I said, mentioning her name in
order that Marjory might know who she was:
" Why, Gormala, what has become of you ? I thought
you were off again to the Islands. We haven't seen you
for a long time." She replied in her usual uncompromis-
ing way:
" I hae nae doot that ye thocht me far, gin ye did na
see me. Aye! Aye! the time has been lang; but I could
wait : I could wait ! "
"What were you waiting for?" Marjory's voice
seemed almost as that of a being from another world. It
was so fresh, so true, so independent that it seemed at
variance with Gormala and her whole existence. As a
man beside two women, I felt more as a spectator than as
a participant, and my first general impression was that the
New World was speaking to the Old. Gormala seemed
180
The Old Far West and the New 181
to me absolutely flabbergasted. She stared, and looked in
a dazed way at the girl, standing up as she did so with
the instinctive habit, ingrained through centuries of cus-
tom, of an inferior to a superior. Then she moved her
hand across her forehead, as though to clear her brain,
before she replied:
" What was I waitin' for ? I'll tell ye, an ye will. I
was waitin' for the fulfillment o' the Doom. The Voices
hae spoken; and what they hae said, will be. There be
them that would stand in the way o' Fate, and would try
to hinder the comin' that must be. But they will fail ; they
will fail ! They can no more block the river o' time wi'
ony deeds o' mon, than they can dam the spate wi' a
bairn's playtoy." Again came Marjory's searching ques-
tion, with all the mystery-dispelling freshness of her
unfettered youth ; and indeed it seemed as if the Old-
world mystery could not hold its dignity in the face of
overt, direct questioning :
" By the way, what was it that the Doom said ? Was it
anything that an American girl can understand ? " Gor-
mala gazed at her in manifest wonder. To her, reared
in the atmosphere of the Old Far West, this product of
the New Far West seemed like a being of another world.
Had Marjory been less sweet in her manner than she was,
or less fair to look upon, less dignified, or less grave, the
old woman would probably have shown hostility at once.
But it seemed to me impossible that even a witch-woman
could be hostile to Marjory to-day. She looked so sweet,
and kind and happy; so bright and joyous; so much like
the incarnation of ideal girlhood, that criticism was dis-
armed, and hostility could not force a way into the
charmed circle of that radiant presence. To me, her atti-
tude towards Gormala was incomprehensible. She knew
Gormala, for I had told her of who and what the Seer was,
and of the prophecies and warnings that she had already
1 82 The Mystery of the Sea
uttered ; and yet from her manner she appeared ignorant of
all concerning both her and them. She was not concilia-
tory after the manner of the young who wish to please the
old, or to ingratiate themselves with them. She was
not hostile, as would be one who had determined on oppo-
sition. About her or her manner there was nothing hard,
or frivolous or contradictory. And yet it was apparent
to me that she had some fixed, determined purpose of her
own ; and it became before long apparent to me also, that
the other woman knew, or at any rate suspected, such an
existence, though she could neither comprehend nor locate
it. Gormala seemed once, twice, as though she were
about to speak, but hesitated; at last with an effort she
spoke out:
" The Voice o' the Doom no sounds in words such as
mortals can hear. It is spoken in sounds that are heard
of the inner ear. What matter the words, when the ear
that hearkens can understan' ! "
" But," said Marjory, " could I not be told the words,
or if there were no actual words, could you not give me
in your own words what the sounds uttered seemed to you
to mean ? " To anyone but a Seer such a request would
seem reasonable enough; but visionaries who have a re-
ceptive power of their own, and who learn by means
whose methods are unconscious to them, can hardly under-
take to translate the dim, wide-stretching purpose of the
powers of the Unknown into bald, narrow, human speech.
Gormala's brows wrinkled up in thought ; then a scowl of
disappointment swept over her face. In an angry tone
she turned to me and said :
" Wha be yon lassie that questions so blithely the truth
o' the Voice that is kent by ye an' me? Why dinna ye
tak her awa' before she mocks me, an' in me the Doom;
an' I speak oot to her? " Marjory spoke up for herself.
"Please do not think it a liberty to ask you; but I
The Old Far West and the New 183
should like so much to know exactly what was said. It is
so easy for people to confuse ideas when words are
loosely used. Don't you find it so?" I do not think
Gormala MacNiel had any humour at all; if she had, I
had certainly never seen any trace of it. Had it been
there it would have surely saved her from anger; for
there was something delicious in the way in which Mar-
jory put her question, as though to one of her own kind
and holding the same views as herself on general matters.
Gormala did not like it. Though there was a blank in
her mind as to the existence of humour, she must have
felt conscious of the blank. She could not understand the
other woman; and for a little while sought refuge in a
silence composed of about equal parts of sulk and dignity.
But Marjory was not content with silence; she pressed
home her question in the most polite but most matter of
fact way, till I could see the Witch-woman mentally
writhe. I should have interfered, for I did not want any
unpleasant scene in which Marjory must have a part ; but
I felt that the girl had some purposeful meaning in her
persistence. Had Gormala had a pause in the attack she
would, 1 felt, have gone away and bided her time : but in
such a pushing of the matter as Marjory braced herself
to, there could be no withdrawal, unless under defeat.
Gormala looked round now and again, as one, man or
animal, does when hunted; but each time she restrained
herself by an effort. At last her temper began to rise ; her
face flushed, and the veins of passion stood out on her
forehead. Her eyes flashed, and white marks began to
come and go about the face, especially round the nose.
I could see from the leap of fire in Marjory's eyes that
this was what she was waiting for. She lowered her
voice, and the tone of her speaking, till both matter and
manner were icily chill ; but all the time she persisted in
her matter-of-fact questioning.
1 84 The Mystery of the Sea
t At last Gormala's temper broke, and she turned on the
girl in such a fury that for a few seconds I thought she
was going to attack her physically. I stood ready to
hold her off if necessary. At the first moment the passion
in her was so great that she spoke in Gaelic; blind, white-
hot fury will not allow a choice of tongues. The savage
in her was speaking, and it spoke in the tongue it knew
best. Of course neither of us could understand it, and we
only stood smiling. Marjory smiled deliberately as
though to exasperate her; I smiled because Marjory was
smiling. Presently, through the tumult of her passion,
Gormala began to realise that we did not understand her ;
and, with an effort which shook her, began to speak in
English. With the English which she had, came inten-
tion and the restraint which it implies. Her phrases were
not common curses, but rather a picturesque half prophecy
with a basis of hate. The gravamen of her charge was that
Marjory had scoffed against the Doom and Fate and the
Voices. To me, who had suffered the knowledge to which
she appealed, the attack was painful. What was charged
was a sort of natural sacrilege; and it wounded me and
angered me to see Marjory made the subject of any
attack. I was about to interfere, when with a gesture,
which the Witch-woman did not see, she warned me to
silence. She struck into the furious woman's harangue
with quiet, incisive, cultured voice which made the other
pause :
" Indeed you do me a wrong ; I scoffed at nothing. I
should not scoff at your religion any more than I should
at my own. I only asked you a few questions as to facts
which seemed to touch a friend of mine." The point of
this speech which, strange to say, affected the woman
most was regarding her religion:
" Wha be ye, ye hizzie, that wad daur to misca' me that
is a Christian woman all my days. What be your re-
The Old Far West and the New 185
leegion, that ye try to shame me wi' mine." Marjory said
deliberately, but with all the outward appearance of
courtesy :
" But I did not know that in the scheme of the Chris-
tian belief there were such things as the Doom and the
Voice and Fate ! " The old woman towered up ; for a
moment she was all Seer and Prophet. Her words thrilled
through me; and 1 could see through Marjory also.
Though she held herself proudly, her lips grew pale:
" Then learn while ye may that there be lesser powers
as well as greater in the scheme o' God's warld, and o' His
working o' the wonders therein. Ye may scoff at me
wha' am after all but an aud wife; though one to whom
are Visions given, and in whose ears the Voice has spoken.
Ye may pride yersel' that yer ignorance is mair than the
knowledge o' ithers. Ye may doot the truths that hae
been garnered oot o' centuries o' dour experience, an' tak'
the cloak o' yer ignorance as an answer to a' the mysteries
that be. But mark me weel ! the day will come it is no
far aff the noo when ye will wring yer honds, and pray
wi' all the power an' bitter grief o' yer soul for some licht
to guide ye that ye no hae had yet ! " She paused and
stood in a sort of trance, stiffening all over like a pointer
at mark. Then she raised one hand high over her head,
so* that the long arm seemed to extend her gaunt form to
an indefinite length. With a far-away solemn voice she
spoke:
" I see ye too, though no by yer lanes, in the wild tide-
race amang the rocks in the dark nicht, mid leaping waves.
An' lo ! o'er the waste o' foam is a floatin' shrood ! " Then
she stopped, and in a few seconds came back to herself.
In the meantime Marjory, whose lips had grown white as
death, though she never lost her proud bearing, groped
blindly for my hand and held it hard. She never for a
moment took her eyes off the other. '
1 86 The Mystery of the Sea
When Gormala was quite her own woman again, she
turned without a word and walked away in her gaunt,
stately manner, feeling I am sure, as we did, that she did
not go without the honours of war. Marjory continued
to watch her until she had passed up the track, and had
disappeared behind the curve of the hill.
Then, all at once, she seemed to collapse in a faint ; and
had I not held her hand, and so was able to draw her
into my arms, she must have fallen to the ground.
In a wonderfully short time she recovered her senses,
and then with a great effort stood up; though she still
had to steady herself by my hand. When she was all
right again she said to me :
" I suppose you wonder why I attacked her like that.
Oh! yes, I did attack her; I meant to," for she saw the
question in my eyes. " It was because she was so hostile
to you. What right had she to force you to do any-
thing? She is harmful to you, Archie. I know it! I
know it ! I know it ! and I determined not to let her have
her way. And besides," this with a shy loving look at
me, " as she is hostile to you she must be to me also. I
want to be with you, even in the range of the hate and the
love of others. That is to be one ; and as we are to fight
together I must share your lot in all ! " I took her in my
arms, and for some divine moments, our hearts beat to-
gether.
In those moments my mind was made up as to the
wishes of Adams. How could I refuse in any way to fight
the battle, as she might wish it fought, of a girl who so
loyally shared my lot!
Then we arranged that I should go home for my
bicycle, and meet Marjory at the bridge by the Parish
Church.
CHAPTER XXII
CROM CASTLE
WHEN I rejoined Marjory, we went up the high
road and then turned off by a by-way which
took us round innumerable slopes and mounds,
so characteristic of this part of Aberdeen. The entire
county, seen from high places, looks bare and open;
but it has its hills and hollows in endless variety. From
the cross road we turned up another and still another, till
I lost my bearings entirely.
The part of the country where we now were was a sort
of desolation of cultivation; endless low hills clad with
fields of wheat and barley with never a house to be
seen, except some far off cottage or the homestead of a
laird perched on the top of a hill. At last we entered
through an open gateway with broken pillars, still bear-
ing the remains of some armorial device in statuary.
There was an avenue, fringed with tall trees on either
side, and beyond a broad belt of undergrowth. The
avenue wound round and round in an endless series of
curves. From the gate where we entered was a thick,
close wood nearly a quarter of a mile in width. Here the
trees stood so close, and their locking branches made such
a screen, that it was quite gloomy within. Here too the
road was made in perpetual curves, so that it was not
possible to see far ahead.. Indeed I remarked to- Marjory
as we rode along:
" No wonder you chose this as a place to hide in ; if
187
1 88 The Mystery of the Sea
looks as if it was made for concealment. It is a regular
Rosamund's Bower ! "
When we had passed through the wood, we came out on
a great piece of level ground with a wide mound some
twenty feet high, in the midst of it. On this was built of
granite, a crenelated castle. It was not very high, but
extended wide in a square, with a low arched doorway in
front of us through which it might be possible to drive
with care. The doorway was closed by two gates ; first a
massive network of interlocking steel bars of seemingly
foreign workmanship, and secondly great gates of oak
fortified with steel bands and massive bosses of hammered
iron. Before going in, Marjory took me right round the
castle and I saw that it was the same on all four sides.
It was built by the points of the compass ; but there was
no gateway except on one side. The ordinary way of
entering was by a more modern door on the south side.
From inside the castle it was not possible to see anywhere
beyond the wood. Even from the stone roof, made for
defence, where Marjory took me, it was only possible to
get a glimpse through the tree tops here and there of
round-topped hills yellow with ripening grain or crowned
with groves of scanty wind-swept pine trees. Altogether
it was as gloomy a place as I had ever seen. It was cut
off altogether from the outer world ; one might remain in
it for a life-time unknown.
Inside it was, if possible, more gloomy. Small rooms
almost everywhere, except the great hall, and one room at
the top facing the south side which lay just under the
roof and which was lined with old oak. Here there were
quite a number of windows such as Marjory had de-
scribed, all of them, though wide on the inner side, nar-
rowed to mere slits on the outer. In castles and houses
built, like this, for defence, it did not do to allow opportu-
nities to an attacking force to send missiles within.
Crom Castle 189
Mrs. Jack and Marjory had made this their living room,
and here were all the pretty treasures and knick-knacks
which they had gathered on their travels. The old lady
welcomed me warmly. Then Marjory took her aside and
told her something in whispers. I could guess what it
was; but any doubts I might have had were dispelled
when she came over and kissed me and said :
" Indeed, I congratulate you with all my heart. You
have won the best, and sweetest, and dearest girl that
ever drew breath. I have been with her all my life ; and
I have not found a flaw in her yet. And I am glad that
it is you whom she has chosen. Somehow, I wisEed it
from the first moment I saw you. That you may both be
happy, I pray the good Lord God ! And 1 know you will ;
for you are true, and Marjory has a heart of gold."
" A heart of gold ! " Her words had given me more
than pleasure; but the last phrase pulled my joy up short.
A cold shiver ran through me. A golden man had been
a part of the prophecy of the Mystery of the Sea; and
only a little while ago Gormala had in her vision seen
Marjory struggling in the tide-race with a shroud in the
air.
I think Marjory felt something of the same kind, for
she looked at me anxiously and grew a little pale. She
said nothing, however, and I thought it better to pass the
matter by. Although Marjory had heard the expression
of the Witch-woman's vision, and though I had told her
of my first experience of the old rhyming prophecy, the
former was at a time when neither I myself nor the whole
mystery was of any special importance to her. She might
not have remembered it ; I trusted that this was so.
However, we could not either of us be sad for long
t v o-day. Our joy was too fresh to be dimmed by any
thought of gloom, except momentarily as a mirror is by a
passing breath.
190 The Mystery of the Sea
Tea in the old oak room was a delight, with the after-
noon sun coming in slantwise through the narrow win-
dows and falling in lines of light across the floor. Mar-
jory made the tea and served me; and each time I took
anything from her hand our fingers met, she no more than
myself avoiding the touch. Then, leaving the old lady
upstairs, she took me through the various rooms ; and in
her pretty, impulsive way she told me all the romances
which she had already woven about them in her brain.
She came and saw me off; with her kiss of good-bye on
my lips I rode back through the gloomy wood, feeling as
proud and valiant as a knight of old.
I found my way to Ellon and went on the train to Aber-
deen, for I felt it due to Adams that I should see him
at once. It was impossible to write all I had to say ; and
besides I wanted to retain his good will, and to arrange
for securing his aid, if he would consent to do so under
our altered conditions.
I found him in his room hard at work. He was writing
something which I suppose he considered important, for
he put it carefully away and locked his despatch box be-
fore we began to talk. Of course it might have been only
his diplomatic habit ; but he seemed grave over it. I en-
tered at once on the matter between us, for I thought to
get the disagreeable side over first and let concessions and
alterations follow:
" I am sorry, Sam, I shall not be able to help you with
information regarding Miss Drake."
" Why ? Haven't you heard from her ? "
" It is not that ; but I am not free to do what you wish."
Adams looked at me for a long time. Then he said
quietly :
" I see. You have your orders ! Well, I am sorry for
it; it may bring dreadful harm to her, and I daresay to
you too, now. Say, old chap, is that decision of yours
Crom Castle 191
final? The matter is more grave than I thought when I
saw you last. We have had more information, and they
are pressing us from Washington to take all precautions
we can. Come, won't you help me help her? "
" I can't, the way you say. Sam Adams, you know I
would do anything I could for you ; but in this matter I am
pledged. I have been given a secret, and I must keep it
honourably at all hazards. But look here, I am anxious
all the same. Can't you trust me a little bit and tell me
what to look for. I won't give you away ; and J may be
able to carry out your wishes as to helping to guard
her, though I have to do it in my own way." He smiled,
though very bitterly and ironically. I was glad to see
the smile anyhow, for we were old and tried friends and
1 should not like there to be any break between us. Be-
sides I wanted his help; his knowledge now, and his
resources later on, if need should be. He was an official,
and the matter was an official one though his heart was
in it ; it was not as if his personal feelings or his honour
had been involved.
" Well," he said, " you have a fine gall anyhow ! You
refuse point blank to give me the slightest help, though
I ask it on all grounds, official for America, personal as I
am in charge, and for the sake of your own girl; and
then you expect me to tell you all I can. Well, look here,
I'll tell you anything that will help you as soon as I
know it, if you will keep me advised of exactly where
you are so so that I may be able to find you if I
wish."
I told him heartily that I would keep him posted as
to my movements. Then, as there was nothing to re-
main for, I said good-bye a good-bye, I am glad to say,
given and taken with our old heartiness. Before I went
I said:
" Sam, you know how a message can find me if there
192 The Mystery of the Sea
is anything you should think it well to tell me." To
which he replied:
" All right, Archie, I'll remember. You understand
that as I shall have to work this racket alone I must do
it in my own way : otherwise we shall have complications.
But if there is anything I can do on your side, I shall do
it all the same. You know how to reach me. If you send
for me I shall come any hour of the day or night. And
say, old chap, I go heeled ! " he pointed to his pistol
pocket. ." Let me advise you to do the same just at
present ! "
I took his advice and bought in Aberdeen, before re-
turning to Cruden, two of the finest revolvers I could
get. One of them was made for a lady ; the other I always
carried myself from that day forward.
CHAPTER XXIII
SECRET SERVICE
NEXT morning after breakfast I wheeled over to
Crom, bringing in my bicycle bag the revolver
and ammunition for Marjory. I could not but
feel alarmed for her safety as I rode through the wood
which surrounded the house. It would need a regiment
to guard one from a stray assassin. For myself I did
not have any concern ; but the conviction grew and grew
on me to the point of agony that harm which I should be
powerless to prevent might happen here to Marjory.
When I was inside the house the feeling was easier.
Here, the place was to all intents and purposes fortified,
for nothing short of cannon or dynamite could make any
impression on it.
Marjory received my present very graciously; I could
see from the way that she handled the weapon that she
had little to learn of its use. I suppose the thought must
have crossed her that I might think it strange to find
her so familiar with a lethal weapon, for she turned to
me and said with that smoothness of tone which marks
the end rather than the beginning of a speech :
" Dad always wished me to know how to use a gun. I
don't believe he was ever without one himself, even in his
bed, from the time he was a small boy. He used to
say ' It never does any one any harm to be ready to get
the drop first, in case of a scrap ! ' I have a little beauty
in my dressing-case that he got made for me. I am
doubly armed now."
193 13
194 The Mystery of the Sea
I stayed to lunch, but went away immediately after as
I was anxious to find if Adams had sent me any message.
Before going, I asked Marjory to be especially careful
not to be out alone in the woods round the house, ior a
few days at any rate. She demurred at first ; but finally
agreed ' to please you ' as she put it not to go out at all
till I had come again. 1 told her that as I was coming
to breakfast the next morning if I might, it was not a very
Jong time of imprisonment.
When I asked for telegrams at the post-office, which
was in the hotel, I was told that a gentleman was waiting
to see me in the coffee room. I went in at once and found
Sam Adams reading an old newspaper. He started up
when he saw me and straightway began :
" I hurried over to tell you that we have had further
news. Nothing very definite to-day; but the Washing-
ton people hope to have a lot of detail by to-morrow
night. So be ready, old chap 1 " I thanked him, but
even in the act of doing so it struck me that he had taken
a deal of trouble to come over when he could have sent
me a wire. I did not say so, however; doubts of an
act of this kind can always wait.
Sam had tea with me, and then we smoked a cigar out-
side on the little terrace before the hotel. There were
some fishermen and workmen, as usual sitting on or lean-
ing against the wall across the road, and three men who
were lounging about, evidently trippers waiting for their
tea to be served. When we came out and had passed
them, the little group went into the coffee room. They
were, all three, keen-looking, alert men, and I had a pass-
ing wonder what they were doing in Cruden as they had
no golf bags with them. Sam did not remain long but
caught the six-ten train back to Aberdeen.
I cannot say that my night was an easy one. Whilst I
lay awake I imagined new forms of danger to Marjory;
Secret Service
and when I fell asleep I dreamt them. I was up early,
and after a sharp ride on my bicycle came to Crom in
time for breakfast.
As we had a long forenoon, Marjory took me over
the house. It was all of some interest, as it represented
the life and needs of life in the later days of Queen Eliza-
beth in a part of the country where wars and feuds had
to be prepared for. The Castle was arranged for siege,
even to the water supply; there was a well of immense
depth situated in a deep dungeon under the angle of the
castle which they called the Keep. They did not, how-
ever, ordinarily depend on this, as there was otherwise
an excellent water supply. In the dungeon were chains
and manacles and some implements of torture, all covered
with the rust of centuries. We hoped that they had not
been used. Marjory consoled herself with the thought
that they had been placed there at the time of the build-
ing as part of the necessary furnishing of a mediaeval
castle. One room, the library, was of great interest. It
had not been built for the purpose, for there was no pro-
vision of light ; but it must have been adapted to this use
not long after the place was built. The woodwork of
carved oak was early seventeenth century. I did not
have time to look over the books, and there was no cata-
logue; but from the few which I glanced at I could see
that whoever had gathered the library must have been a
scholar and an enthusiast.
In the course of our survey of the castle, Marjory
showed me the parts which were barred up and the rooms
which were locked. That such a thing should be in a
house in which she lived was a never-ending source of
curiosity. There was a dozen times as much room as she
could possibly want; but here was something unknown
and forbidden. She being a woman, it became a Tree of
Knowledge and a Bluebeard's Chamber in one. She was
196 The Mystery of the Sea
so eager about it that I asked if she could not get permis-
sion from the agent to go through the shut rooms and
places so as to satisfy herself. She replied that she had
already done so, the very day after she had arrived, and
had had an answer that the permission could not be given
without the consent of the owner; but that as he was
shortly expected in Scotland her request would be for-
warded to him and his reply when received would be at
once communicated to her. Whilst we were talking of
the subject a telegram to Mrs. Jack came from the agent,
saying that the owner had arrived and was happy to
give permission required and that further he would be
obliged if the tenant would graciously accord him per-
mission to go some day soon through the house which he
had not seen for many years. A telegram was at once
sent in 'Mrs. Jack's name, thanking him for the per-
mission and saying that the owner would be most welcome
to go through the house when he pleased.
As I was anxious to hear if there was any news from
Adams I said good-bye at the door, and rode back on my
bicycle. I had asked Marjory to renew her promise of
not .going out alone for another day, and she had ac-
ceded ; ' only to please you/ she said this time.
I found a wire from Adams sent at six o'clock:
" Important news. Come here at once." I might
catch the train if I hurried, so jumped on my bicycle and
got to the station just in time.
I found Adams in his room at the Palace Hotel, walk-
ing up and down like a caged panther. When I came in
he rushed over to me and said eagerly as he handed me a
sheet of note paper:
" Read that ; it is a translation of our cipher telegram.
I thought you would never come ! " I took it with a
sinking heart; any news that was so pressing could not
be good, and bad must affect Marjory somehow. I read.
Secret Service 197
the document over twice before I fully understood its
meaning. It ran as follows :
" Secret Service believe that Drake plot is to kidnap and
ransom. Real plotters are understood to be gang who
stole Stewart's body. Are using certain Spanish and
other foreigners as catspaw. Heads of plot now in Eu-
rope, Spain, England, Holland. Expect more details.
Use all precautions."
" What do you think of that? " said Adams when I had
taken my eyes off the paper.
" I hardly know yet. What do you make of it ? You
have thought of it longer than I have."
" Just what I have thought all along. The matter is
serious, very serious ! In one way that wire is some-
thing of a relief. If that kidnapping gang are behind it,
it doesn't mean political vengeance, but only boodle; so
that the fear of any sudden attack on her life is not so
imminent. The gang will take what care they can to
keep from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
But then, the political desperadoes who would enter on
such a matter are a hard crowd ; if they are in power, or
at any rate in numerical force, they may not be easy to
keep back. Indeed, it is possible that they too may have
their own game to play, and may be using the black-
mailers for their own purpose. I tell you, old man, we
are in a very tight place, and must go to work pretty
warily. The whole thing swings so easily to one side or
the other, that any false move on the part of any of us
may give the push to the side we would least care should
win. By the way, I take it that you are of the same
mind still regarding Miss Drake's wishes."
" Now and always ! But as you can guess I am
anxious to know all I can that can help me to guard her."
Somewhat to my astonishment he answered heartily :
" All right, old chap, of course I will tell you ; but I
198 The Mystery of the Sea
will depend on your letting me know of anything you are
free to tell which might serve me in my work."
" Certainly ! I say," I added, " you don't mind my not
having worked with you about finding her address."
" Not a bit ! I have to find it in my own way ; that is
all ! " There was a sort of satisfaction, if not of triumph,
in his tone which set me thinking.
" Then you know it already ? " I said.
" Not yet ; but I hope to before the night is over."
" Have you a clue ? " He laughed.
" Clue ? a hundred. Why, man, none of us were born
yesterday. There isn't a thing on God's earth that mayn't
be a clue now and again if it is properly used. You are
a clue yourself if it comes to that." In a flash I saw it all.
Adams had come to Cruden to point me out to his detect-
ives. These were the keen-looking men who were at
Cruden when he was. Of course they had followed me,
and Marjory's secret was no secret now. I said nothing
for a little while ; for at the first I was angry that Adams
should have used me against my will. Then two feelings
strove for mastery; one of anxiety lest my unconscious
betrayal of her secret might hurt me in Marjory's eyes,
the other relief that now she was in a measure protected
by the resources of her great country. I was easier in
my mind concerning her safety when I thought of those
keen, alert men looking after her. Then again I thought
that Adams had done nothing which I could find fault
with. I should doubtless have done the same myself had
occasion arisen. I was chagrined, however, to think that
it had all been so childishly simple. I had not even con-
templated such a contingency. If I couldn't plot and hide
my tracks better than that, I should be but a poor ally for
Marjory in the struggle which she had voluntarily under-
taken against her unknown foes.
Secret Service 199
Before I left Adams, I told him that I would come
back on the to-morrow evening. I went to bed early in
the Palace hotel, as I wanted to catch the first train back
to Cruden.
CHAPTER XXIV
A SUBTLE PLAN
IT was now a serious matter of thought to me how
I could take Marjory into proper confidence, with-
out spoiling things and betraying Adams's con-
fidence. As I pondered, the conviction grew upon me
that I had better be quite frank with her and ask her
advice. Accordingly when I saw her at Crom at noon
J entered on the matter, though I confess with trepida-
tion. When I told her I wanted to ask her advice she
was all attention. I felt particularly nervous as I began :
" Marjory, when a man is in a hole he ought to con-
sult his best friend ; oughtn't he ? "
"Why certainly!"
" And you are my best friend ; are you not ? "
" I hope so ! I should certainly like to be."
"Well, look here, dear, I am in such a tangle that
I can't find a way out, and I want you to help me." She
must have guessed at something like the cause of my
difficulty, for a faint smile passed over her face as she
said:
" The old trouble ? Sam Adams's diplomacy, eh ? "
" It is this. I want to know how you think I should
act so as to give least pain to a very dear friend of mine,
and at the same time do a very imperative duty. You
may see a way out that I don't."
" Drive on dear ; I'm listening."
" Since we met I have had some very disturbing in-
formation from a source which I am not at liberty to
200
A Subtle Plan 201
mention. I can tell you all about this, though you must
not ask me how I know it. But first there is something-
else. I believe, though I do not know for certain, that
your secret is blown; that the deteclivcs have discovered
where you live." She sat up at once.
" What ! " I went on quickly :
"And I am sorry to say that if it Js discovered it
has been through me; though not by any act or indeed
by any fault of mine." She laid her hand on mine and
said reassuringly :
" If you are in it, I can look at it differently. May
I ask how you came into that gallery ? "
" Certainly ! I am not pledged as to this. It was by
the most simple and transparent of means. You and I
were seen together. They did not know where to look
for you or follow you up, when they had lost the scent ;
but they knew me and watched me. Voila!"
" That's simple enough anyhow ! " was her only com- *
ment. After a while she asked:
" Do you know how far they have got in their search ? "
" I do not ; I only know that they expected to find
where you lived two days ago. I suppose they have
found it out by this."
" Sam Adams is getting too clever. They will be
making him President, or Alderman or something, if
he doesn't look out. But do you know yet why all this
trouble is being taken about me."
" I can tell you," I answered " but you must not tell
any one, for it would not do for the sake of others if
it got about. There is a plan got up by a gang of black-
mailers to kidnap you for a ransom." She jumped up
with excitement and began to clap her hands.
" Oh, that is too delicious ! " she said. " Tell me all
you know of it. We may be able to lead them on a bit.
It will be an awful lark ! " I could not possibly share
2O2 The Mystery of the Sea
her mirth; the matter was really too grave. She saw
my feeling in my face and stopped. She thought for
a minute or two with her brows wrinkled and then she
said:
" Are you really serious, Archie, as to an} danger in
the matter?"
" My dear, there is always danger in a conspiracy of
base men. We have to fear, for we don't know the
power or numbers of the conspiracy. We have no idea
of their method of working, or where or how we may
expect attack. The whole thing is a mystery to us.
Doubtless it will only come from one point ; but we must
be ready to repel, all round the compass."
"' But, look here, it is only danger."
"The danger is to you; if it were to me, I think I
could laugh myself. But, my darling, remember that it is
out of my love for you that my fear comes. If you were
nothing to me, I could, I suppose, bear it easily enough.
You have taken new responsibilities on you, Marjory,
since you let a man love you. His heart is before you to
walk on; so you have to tread carefully."
" I can avoid treading on it, can't I ? " she said falling
into the vein of metaphor. " Surely, if there is any-
thing in the world that by instinct 1 could know is in
danger, it would be your heart ! "
" Ah, my dear, it does not stay still. It will keep
rolling along with you wherever you go; hopping back
and forward and sideways in every conceivable way.
You must now and again tread on it for all your care;
in the dark or in the light."
" I had no idea," she said " that I had taken such a
responsibility on my shoulders when I said I would
marry you."
" It is not the marrying " I said " but the loving that
makes the trouble 1 "
A Subtle Plan 203
" I see ! " she replied and was silent for a while. Then
she turned to me and said very sweetly:
" Anyhow Archie, whatever we may settle about what
we are to do, I am glad you came to consult me and to
tell me frankly of your trouble. Do this always, my dear.
It will be best for you, and best for me too, to feel that
you trust me. You have given me a pleasure to-day
that is beyond words. 1 '
Then we spoke of other things, and we agreed to
wait till the next day before arranging any fixed plan
of action. Before I went away, and whilst the sentiment
of parting was still on her, she said to me and I could
see that the thought had been in her mind for some time :
" Archie, you and I are to live together as man and
wife. Is it not so ? I think we both want to be as nearly
one as a man and a woman can be flesh of each other's
flesh, and bone of bone, and soul of soul. Don't you
think we shall become this better by being joined, us
two, against all comers. We have known each other only
a short time as yet. What we have seen of each other
has been good enough to make us cling together for life.
But, my dear, what has been, has been only the wishing to
cling ; the clinging must be the struggle that is to follow.
Be one with me in this fight. It is my fight, I feel, begun
before i ever knew you. When your fight comes, and
I can see you have it before you with regard to that
treasure, you will know that you can count on me. It may
be only a fancy of mine, but the comradeship of pioneers,
when the men and women had to fight together against a
common foe, runs in my blood! Let me feel, before I
give myself altogether to your keeping, or you to mine,
that there is something of this comradeship between us;
it will make love doubly dear ! "
What could a man in love say to this? It seemed
like the very essence of married love, and was doubly
204 The Mystery of the Sea
dear to me on that account. Pledged by my kisses I
came away, feeling as if 1 had in truth left my wife
behind.
When I got back to Cruden I took up the matter of
the treasure whilst I was waiting for news from Adams.
In the stir of the events of the last few days I had almost
forgotten it. I read the papers over again, as I wished
to keep myself familiar with the facts; I also went
over the cipher, for I did not wish to get stale in it. As
I laboured through it, all Marjory's sweetness to me on
that day of the ride from Braemar came back to me ; and
as I read 1 found myself unconsciously drumming out
the symbols on the table with the fingers of my right
hand and my left after the fashion of Marjory's variant.
When I was through, I sat pondering, and all sorts of
new variants kept rising before me in that kind of linked
succession when the mind runs free in day-dreaming and
one idea brings up another. I was not altogether easy,
for I was now always expecting some letter or tele-
gram of a disconcerting kind; anxiety had become an
habitual factor in my working imagination. All sorts of
possibilities kept arising before me, mostly with reference
to Marjory. I was glad that already we understood in
common one method of secret communication ; and I de-
termined then and there that when I went over to Crom
on the next day I would bring the papers with me, and
that Marjory and I would renew our lesson, and practice
till we were quite familiar with the cipher.
Just then a message was brought to me that a gentle-
man wished to see me, so I asked the maid to bring him
up. I do not think that I was altogether surprised to
find that he was one of the three men whom I had seen
at Cruden before. He handed me in silence a letter
which I found to be from Adams. I read it with a sink-
ing heart. In it he told me that it was now ascertained
A Subtle Plan 205
that two members of the blackmail gang had come to
England. They had been seen to land at Dover, but
got out between there and London; and their trace was
lost. He said he wished to advise "me at once, so that
I might be on the alert. He would himself take his
own steps as I understood. The messenger, when he saw
I had read the letter, asked me if there was any answer.
I said " only thanks " and he went away. It was not
till afterwards that I remembered that I might have
asked the man to tell me something of the appearance
of the suspected men, so that I might know them if I
should come across them. Once again I fell in my own
esteem as a competent detective. In the meantime I
could do nothing; Marjory's last appeal to me made it
impossible for me to take steps against her wishes. She
manifestly wanted the fight with the kidnappers to go on ;
and she wanted me to be with her in it heart and soul.
Although this community of purpose was sweet, there
grew out of our very isolation a new source of danger,
a never-ending series of dangers. The complications
were growing such that it would soon be difficult to
take any step at all with any prospect of utility. Marjory
would now be watched with all the power and purpose of
the American Secret Service. That she would before
long infallibly find it out, and that she would in such
case endeavour at all hazards to escape from it, was
apparent. If she did escape from their secret surveillance,
she would be playing into the hands of her enemies ; and
so might incur new danger. I began to exercise my
brain as to how I could best help her wishes. If we were
to fight together and alone, we would at least make as
good a battle as we could.
I thought, and thought, and thought till my head began
to spin; and then an idea all at once sprang into my
view. It was so simple, and so much in accord with
2o6 The Mystery of the Sea
my wishes; so delightful, that I almost shouted out
with joy.
I did not lose a minute, but hurried a change of clothes
into a bag and caught the train for Aberdeen en route
for London.
I did not lose any time. Next morning I was in Lon-
don and went with my solicitor to Doctor's Commons.
There I got a license of the Archbishop of Canterbury
entitling Archibald Hunter and Marjory Anita Drake to
be married anywhere in England there being no similar
license in Scotland. I returned at once, stopping at Car-
lisle to make arrangements with a local clergyman to be
ready to perform a marriage service at eight o'clock of
the second morning.
CHAPTER XXV
INDUCTIVE RATIOCINATION
1 THINK Marjory must have suspected that I had
something strange to say, for almost as soon as
I came in the morning room I saw that queer little
lift of her eyebrows and wrinkle in her brows which I
was accustomed to see when she was thinking. She held
out her two hands towards me so that I could see them
without Mrs. Jack being able to. She held up her fingers
in the following succession:
Left index finger, right middle finger, left little finger,
right little finger, left thumb, right fourth finger,
right index finger, left thumb, right index finger; thus
spelling " wait " in her own variant of our biliteral cipher.
I took her hint, and we talked commonplaces. Presently
she brought me up to the long oak-lined room at the top
of the Castle. Here we were all alone ; from the window
seat at the far end we. could see that no one came into
the room unknown to us. Thus we were sure of not
being overhead. Marjory settled herself comfortably
amongst a pile of cushions, " Now " she said " go on
and tell me all about it !
" About what ? " said I, fencing a little.
" The news that you are bursting to tell me. Held
on! I'll guess at it. You are elated, therefore it is not
bad ; but being news and not bad it must be good from
your point of view at any rate. Then you are jubilant,
so there must be something personal in it you are sufii-
207
208 The Mystery of the Sea
ciently an egoist for that. I am sure that nothing busi-
ness-like or official, such as the heading off the kid-
nappers, would have such a positive effect on you. Then,
it being personal, and you having rather more of a domi-
nant air than usual about you Let me see Oh ! " she
stopped in confusion, and a bright blush swept over her
face and neck. I waited. It frightened me just a wee
bit to see the unerring accuracy with which she summed
me up; but she was clearing the ground for me rapidly
and effectively. After a pause she said in a small voice:
" Archie show me what you have got in your waist-
coat pocket." It was my turn to blush a bit now. I
took out the tiny case which held the gold ring and
handed it to her. She took it with a look of adorable
sweetness and opened it. I think she suspected only
an engagement ring, for when she saw it was one of
plain gold she shut the box with a sudden " Oh ! " and
kept it hidden in her hand, whilst her face was as red
as sunset. I felt that my time had come.
" Shall I tell you now ? " I asked putting my arms
round her.
" Yes ! if you wish." This was said in a low voice
" But I am too surprised to think. What does it all
mean ? I thought that this this sort of thing came later,
and after some time was mutually fixed for for it!"
"No time like the present, Marjory dear!" As she
was silent, though she looked at me wistfully, I went on :
" I have made a plan and I think you will approve of
it. That is as a whole; even if you dislike some of the
details. What do you think of an escape from the espio-
nage of both the police and the other fellows. You got
hidden before; why not again, when once you have put
them off the scent. I have as a matter of fact planned
a little movement which will at any rate try whether we
can escape the watchfulness of these gentlemen."
Inductive Ratiocination 209
" Good ! " she said with interest.
" Well, first of all " I went on, getting nervous as I
drew near the subject " Don't you think that it will be
well to prevent anyone talking about us, hereafter, in
an unpleasant way?"
" I'm afraid I don't quite understand ! "
" Well, look here.. Marjory. You and I are going to be
much thrown together in these matters that seem to be
coming on; if there is any escaping to be done, there
will be watchful eyes on us before it, and gossiping
tongues afterwards ; and inquiries and comparing of notes
everywhere. We shall have to go off together, often
alone or under odd circumstances. You can't fight a
mystery in the open, you know ; and you can't by walking
out boldly, bamboozle trained detectives who have already
marked you down.
" Not much ; but it doesn't need any torturing of our
brains with thinking to know that."
" Well then my suggestion is that we be married at
once. Then no one can ever say anything in the way
of scandal; no matter what we do, or where we go!"
My bolt was sped, and somehow my courage began to
ooze away. I waited to hear what she would say. She
waited quite a while and then said quietly :
" Don't be frightened, Archie, I am thinking it over.
I must think; it is all too serious and too sudden to
decide on in a moment. I am glad, anyhow, that you
show such decision of character, and turn passing cir-
cumstances into the direction in which you wish them
to work. It argues well for the future 1 "
" Now you are satirical ! "
"Just a little. Don't you think there is an excuse?"
She was not quite satisfied; and indeed I could not be
surprised. I had thought of the matter so unceasingly
for the last twenty-four hours that I did not miss any of
2io The Mystery of the Sea
I
the arguments against myself; my natural dread of her
refusal took care of that. As, however, I almost expected
her to begin with a prompt negative, I was not unduly
depressed by a shade of doubt. I was z however, so
single-minded in my purpose my immediate purpose
that I could endure to argue with her doubts. As it
was evident that she, naturally enough, thought that I
wanted her to marry me at once out of the ardour of
my love, I tried to make her aware as well as I could of
my consideration for her wishes. Somehow, I felt at
my best as I spoke ; and I thought that she felt it too :
"I'm not selfish in the matter, Marjory dear; at
least I don't wish to be. In this 1 am thinking of you
altogether; and to prove it let me say that all I suggest
is the formal ceremony which will make us one in form.
Later on and this shall be when you choose yourself
and only then we can have a real marriage, where and
when you will ; with flowers and bridesmaids and wedding
cake and the whole fit out. We can be good comrades
still, even if we have been to church together^; and I will
promise you faithfully that till your own time I won't
try to make love to you even when you're my wife of
course any more than I do now. Surely that's not too
much to ask in the way of consideration."
My dear Marjory gave in at once. It might have
been that she liked the idea of an immediate marriage;
for she loved me, and all lovers like the seal of possession
fixed upon their hopes:
"Time goes on crutches, till love have all his rites."
But be this as it may, she wished at any rate to be-
lieve in me. She came to me and put both her hands
in mine and said with a gentle modesty, which was
all tenderness in fact, and all wifely in promise:
Inductive Ratiocination 211
" Be it as you will, Archie ! I am all yours in heart
now; and I am ready to go through the ceremony when
you will."
" Remember, dear " I protested " it is only on your
account, and to try to meet your wishes at any sacrifice,
that I suggested the interval of comradeship. As far as
1 am concerned I want to go straight to the altar the
real altar now." Up went her warning finger as she
said lovingly:
" I know all that dear ; and I shall remember it when
the time comes. But what have we to do to prepare for
for the wedding. Is it to be in a church or at a registry.
I suppose it doesn't matter which under the circumstances
and as we are to have the real marriage later. .When
do you wish it to be, and where ? "
" To-morrow ! " She started slightly as she murmured :
" So soon ! I did not think it could be so soon."
" The sooner the better " said I " If we are to carry
out our plans. All's ready ; see here " I handed her the
license which she read with glad eyes and a sweet blush.
When she had come to the end of it I said:
" I have arranged with the clergyman of St. Hilda's
Church in Carlisle to be ready at eight o'clock to-morrow
morning." She sat silent a while and then asked me:
" And how do you suggest that I am to get there with-
out the detectives seeing me ? "
" That is to be our experiment as to escape. I would
propose that you should slip out in some disguise. You
will of course have to arrange with Mrs. Jack, and at least
one servant, to pretend that you are still at home. Why
not let it> be understood that you have a headache and
are keeping your room. Your meals can be taken to you
as would be done, and the life of the household seem to
go on just as usual."
"And what disguise had you thought of? "
212 The Mystery of the Sea
" I thought that if you went dressed as a man it would
be best."
" Oh that would be a lark ! " she said. Then her face
fell. " But where am I to get a man's dress ? There
is not time if I am to be in Carlisle to-morrow morning."
" Be easy as to that, dear. A man's dress is on its way
to you now by post. It should be here by now. I am
afraid you will have to take chance as to its fit. It is
of pretty thick cloth, however, so that it will look all
right."
"What sort of dress is it?"
" A servant's, a footman's. I thought it would proba-
bly avoid suspicion easier than any other."
" That goes ! Oh this is too thrilling ; " she stopped
suddenly and said :
" But how about Mrs. Jack? "
" She will go early this afternoon to Carlisle and put up
at a little hotel out of the way. I have got rooms in
one close to the station. At first I feared it would not
be possible for her to be with us ; but then when I thought
it over, I came to the conclusion that you might not care
to let the matter come off at all unless she were present.
And besides you would want her to be with you to-night
when you are in a strange place." Again she asked after
another pause of thought:
" But how am I to change my clothes ? I can't be
married as a footman ; and I can't go to a strange hotel
as one, and come out as a young lady."
" That is all thought out. When you leave here you
will find me waiting for you with a bicycle in the wood
on the road to Ellon. You will have to start about half
past five. No one will notice that you are using a lady's
wheel. You will come to Whinnyfold where you will
find a skirt and jacket and cap. They are the best I could
get. We shall ride into Aberdeen as by that means we
Inductive Ratiocination 213
shall minimise the chance of being seen. There we will
catch the eight train to Carlisle where we shall arrive
about a quarter to two. Mrs. Jack will be there ready
for you and will have the dress you will want to-morrow."
" Oh, poor dear won't she be flustered and mystified !
How lucky it is- that she likes you, and is satisfied with
you ; otherwise I am afraid she would never agree to
such precipitancy. But hold on a minute ! Won't it look
odd to our outside friends on the watch if a footman
goes out and doesn't return."
" You will return to-morrow late in the evening. Mrs.
Jack will be home by then; she must arrange to keep
the servants busy in some distant part of the house, so
that you can come in unobserved. Besides, the detectives
have to divide their watches; the same men will not be
on duty I take it. Anyhow, if they do not consider the
outgoing of a footman as sufficiently important to follow
him up they will not trouble much about his incoming."
This all seemed feasible to Marjory; so we talked
the matter over and arranged a hundred little details.
These things she wrote down for Mrs. Jack's enlighten-
ment, and to aid her memory when she would be alone
to carry out the plans as arranged.
Mrs. Jack was a little hard to convince; but at last
she came round. She persisted to almost the end of our
interview in saying that she could not understand the
necessity for either the hurry or the mystery. She was
only convinced when at last Marjory said :
" Do you want us to have all the Chicago worry over
again, dear? You approve of my marrying Archie do
you not ? Well, I had such a sickener of proposals and all
about it, that if I can't marry this way now, I wont marry
at all. My dear, I want to marry Archie ; you know we
love each other."
"Ah, that I do, my dears!"
214 The Mystery of the Sea
" Well then you must help us ; and bear with all our
secrecy for a bit; won't you dear?"
" That I will, my child ! " she said wiping tears from
the corners of her eyes.
So it was all settled.
CHAPTER XXIV
A WHOLE WEDDING DAY
FORTUNE favoured us admirably in our plans.
Mrs. Jack, taking only her dressing bag and a
few odd parcels, went by the afternoon train
from Ellon to Aberdeen. In hearing of the household
she regretted that she had to go alone, as Miss Marjory
was unable to leave her room. About five o'clock I was
in the wood as appointed; and in about half an hour
Marjory joined me in her footman's livery. I had a
flannel coat in my bag which we exchanged for that
which she wore and which we hid in the wood. We
were thus less noticeable. We reached Whinnyfold a
little after six, and Marjory went into the house and
changed her dress which was left ready. She was not
long; and we were soon flying on our road to Aberdeen.
We arrived a little before eight and caught the mail ; ar-
riving at Carlisle at ten minutes to two o'clock. In
the hotel we found Mrs. Jack anxiously awaiting us.
In the early morning we were ready; and at eight
o'cl ck we all went together to St. Hilda's Church, where
the clergyman was waiting as had been arranged. All
formalities were gone through and Marjory and I were
made one. She looked oh ! so sweet in her plain white
frock; and her manner was gentle and solemn. It all
seemed to me like a dream of infinite happiness ; from
which every instant I feared I should wake, and find
in its stead some grim reality of pain, or terror, or un-
utterable commonplace.
215
2i6 The Mystery of the Sea
When we went back to breakfast at the hotel, we did
not even go through the form of regarding it as in any
way a wedding feast. Marjory and I had each our part
to play, and we determined I certainly did to play it
well. Mrs. Jack had been carefully coached by Marjory
as to how she should behave ; and though now and again
she looked from one to the other of us wistfully, she did
not make any remark.
After a little shopping we got the 12:53 train,
arriving at Aberdeen at 6:20. Mrs. Jack was to go
on by the 7 train to Ellon where the carriage was to
meet her. My wife and I got our bicycles and rode
to Whinnyfold by Newburgh and Kirkton so as to avoid
observation. When she had changed her clothes in our
own house, we started for Crom. In the wood she
changed her coat and left her bicycle.
Before we parted she gave me a kiss and a hug that
made my blood tingle.
" You have been good " she said " and that is for my
husband ! " Once again she held up that warning finger
which I had come to know so well, and slipped away.
She then went on alone to the Castle, whilst I waited in
nervous expectancy of hearing the whistle which she
was to blow in case of emergency. Then I rode home
like a man in a dream.
I left my bicycle at the hotel, and after some supper
walked by the sands to Whinnyfold, stopping to linger
at each spot which was associated with my wife. My
wife ! it was almost too much to think of ; I could hardly
realise as yet that it was all real. As I sat on the Sand
Craigs I almost fancied I could see Marjory's figure once
again on the lonely rock. It seemed so long ago, for
so much had happened since then.
And yet it was but a few days, all told, since we had
first met. Things had gone in a whirl indeed. There
A Whole Wedding Day 217
seemed to have been no pause ; no room for a pause. And
now I was married. Marjory was my wife; mine for
good or ill, till death did us part. Circumstances seemed
to have driven us so close together that we seemed not
new lovers, not bride and groom, but companions of a
lifetime.
And yet . . . There was Marjory in Crom, com-
passed round by unknown dangers, whilst I, her husband
of a few hours, was away in another place, unable even
to gaze on her beauty or to hear her voice. Why, it was
not like a wedding day or a honeymoon at all. Other
husbands instead of parting with their wives were able
to remain with them, free to come and go as they
pleased, and to love each other unfettered as they would.
Why. . . .
I brought myself up sharp. This was grumbling al-
ready, and establishing a grievance. I, who had myself
proposed the state of things to Marjory, to my wife.
She was my wife ; mine against all the rest of the world.
My love was with her, and my duty was to her. My
heart and soul were in her keeping, and I trusted her to
the full. This was not my wedding day in the ordinary
sense of the word at all. This was not my honeymoon.
Those things would come later, when our joy would be
unfettered by circumstances. Surely 1 had reason to
rejoice. Already Mariory had called me her husband,
she had kissed me as such ; the sweetness of her kiss was
still tingling on my lips. If anything but love and trust
could come to me from sitting still and sentimentalising
and brooding, then the sooner I started in to do some
active work the better !
I rose straightway and went across the headland to
my house, unpacked the box of tools which had come
from Aberdeen, and set about my task of trying to make
an opening into the cave.
2i 8 The Mystery of the Sea
I chose for various reasons the cellar as the spot at
which to make the first attempt. In the first place it was
already dug down to a certain depth, so that the labour
would be less; and in the second, my working could be
kept more secret. In clearing the foundations of the
house the workmen had gone down to the rock nearly all
round. Just at the end of Witsennan point there seemed
to be a sort of bowl-like hollow, where the thin skin of
earth lay deeper than elsewhere. It was here that the
cellar was dug out, and the labour of cutting or blasting
the rock saved. With a pick-axe I broke and stripped away
a large patch of the concrete in the centre of the cellar,
and in a short time had dug and shovelled away the
earth and sand which lay between the floor level and the
bed rock. I cleared away till the rock was bare some
four or five feet square, before I commenced to work on
it. I laboured furiously. What I wanted was work,
active work which would tire my muscles and keep my
thoughts from working into channels of gloom and dis-
integration.
It took me some time to get into the way of using the
tools. It is all very well in theory for a prisoner to get
out of a jail or a fortress by the aid of a bit of scrap
iron. Let any one try it in real life; under the most
favourable conditions, and with the best tools available,
he will come to the conclusion that romancing is easy
work. I had the very latest American devices, including
a bit-and-brace which one could lean on and work with-
out stooping, and diamond patent drills which could,
compared with ordinary tools of the old pattern, eat their
way into rock at an incredible rate. My ground was on
the gneiss side of the geological division. Had it been
on the granite side of the line my labour and its rapidity
might have been different.
I worked away hour after hour, and fatigue seemed to
A Whole Wedding Day 219
come and go. I was not sleepy, and there was a feverish
eagerness on me which would not let me rest. When
I paused to ease my muscles cramped with work, thought
came back to me of how different this night might have
been. ,. . . And then I set furiously to work again.
At last I took no heed of the flying hours ; and was only
recalled to time by the flickering of my lamp, which was
beginning to go out. When I stood up from my task,
I was annoyed to see how little I had done. A layer
of rock of a few inches deep had been removed ; and that
was all.
When I went up the steps after locking the cellar
door behind me and taking away the key, I saw the
grey light of dawn stealing in through the windows.
Somewhere in the village a cock crew. As I stepped out
of the door to return home, the east began to quicken
with coming day. My wedding night had passed.
As I went back to Cruden across the sands my heart
went out in love without alloy to my absent wife; and
the first red bolt of dawn over the sea saw only hope
upon my face.
When I got to my room I tumbled into bed, tired
beyond measure. In an instant I was asleep, dreaming
of my wife and all that had been, and all that was to be.
Marjory had arranged that she and Mrs. Jack were
for the coming week at least, to come over to Cruden every
day, and lunch at the hotel; for my wife had set her
heart on learning to swim. I was to be her teacher,
and I was enthusiastic about the scheme. She was an
apt pupil; and she was strong and graceful, and al-
ready skilled in several other physical accomplishments,
we both found it easy work. The training which she
had already had, made a new accomplishment easy. Be-
fore the week was over she was able to get along so
well, that only practice was needed to make her a good
220 The Mystery of the Sea
swimmer. All this time we met in public as friends,
but no more; we were scrupulously careful that no one
should notice even an intimacy between us. When we
were alone, which was seldom and never for long, we
were good comrades as before; and I did not venture
to make love in any way. At first it was hard to re-
frain, for I was wildly in love with my wife; but I
controlled myself in accordance with my promise. I
soon began to have a dawning feeling that this very
obedience was my best means to the end I wished
for. Marjory grew to have such confidence in me
that she could be more demonstrative than before,
and I got a larger share of affection than I ex-
pected. Besides I could see with a joy unspeakable
that her love for me was growing day by day ; the tenta-
tive comradeship without prejudice was wearing thin !
All this week, whilst Marjory was not near, I worked in
the cellar at Whinnyfold. As I became more expert with
the tools, I made greater progress, and the hole in the
rock was becoming of some importance. One day on
coming out after a spell of afternoon work, I found Gor-
mala seated on a stone against the corner of the house.
She looked at me fixedly and said :
" Be yon a grave that ye thole ? " The question stag-
gered me. 1 did not know that any one suspected that
I was working in the house, or even that I visited it so
often as I did. Besides, it did not suit my purpose that
any one should be aware, under any circumstances, that
I was digging a hole. I thought for a moment before
answering her:
" What do you mean ? "
"Eh! but I'm thinkin' ye ken weel eneuch. I'm no
to be deceived i' the soond. I've heard ower mony a time
the chip o 1 the pick, not to ken it though there be walls
atween. I wondered why ye came by yer lanes to this
A Whole Wedding Day 221
dreary hoose when ye sent yon bonnie lassie back to her
hame. Aye she is bonnie though her pride be cruel to the
aud. Ah, weel! The Fates are workin' to their end,
whatsoe'er it may be. I maun watch, so that I may be
nigh when the end cometh ! "
There was no use arguing with her; and besides any-
thing that I could say would only increase her suspicion.
Suspicion abroad about my present task was the last
thing I wished for.
She was round about the headland the next morning,
and the next, and the next. During the day I never
saw her; but at night she was generally to be found
on the cliff above the Reivie o'Pircappies. I was glad of
one thing ; she did not seem to suspect that I was working
all the time. Once I asked her what she was waiting
for ; she answered without looking at me :
" In the dark will be a struggle in the tide-race, and
a shrood floatin' in the air! When next death an' the
moon an' the tide be in ane, the seein' o' the Mystery o'
the Sea may be mine ! "
It made me cold to hear her. This is what she foretold
of Marjory; and she was waiting to see her prophecy
come to pass.
CHAPTER XXVII
ENTRANCE TO THE CAVERN
ONE night, when I had got down a considerable
depth into the rock, I took the pick to loosen
out some stone which I had drilled. As I
struck, the sound of the rock was hollower than 1 had
before noticed. My heart leaped into my mouth, and I
had to pause. Then I struck again harder, and the
sound was more hollow still. Whether or no it was the
place I was looking for, there was some cave in the
rock below me. I would have gone on working straight-
way had there been anyone with me; but being alone I
had to be careful. I was now standing on, evidently,
only a layer of rock, over an opening of whose depth I
was in ignorance. Should this piece of stone break away,
as was quite possible from my working on it, I might
be precipitated into a living tomb. The very secrecy in
which I had kept my work, might tend to insure my
death. Therefore I made all preparation for such a
casualty. Henceforth I worked with round my waist
a short rope the other end of which was fastened to a
heavy staple in the wall. Even if the rock should give
way underneath me, a foot or two would limit my fall.
This precaution taken, I worked more furiously than
ever. With a large hammer I struck the rock at the
bottom of the shaft, again and again, with all my might.
Then I heard a dull sound of something rattling below
me ; the top of the cave was falling in. I redoubled my
222
Entrance to the Cavern 223
efforts; and all at once a whole mass of rock sunk be-
neath my hammer and disappeared into a black chasm
which sent up a whiff of cold air. I had seized my rope
to scramble out, fearing asphyxiation ; but when I smelled
salt water I did not fear. Then I knew that I had got an
opening into a sea cave of some sort. I stuck to my
work till I had hammered an irregular hole some three
feet square. Then 1 came up to rest and think. I lowered
a rope with a stone at the end, and found that the depth
was some thirty feet. The stone had gone into water
before it touched bottom. I could hear the " plop " as it
struck the surface. As I thought it better not to descend
by myself, lest there should be any danger of return-
ing, I spent the rest of my stay for that evening in rigging
up a pulley in the roof over the hole so that I might
be lowered down when the time should come. Then I
went home, for I feared lest the fascinating temptation to
make the descent at once would overcome me.
After breakfast I rode over to Crom, and when I was
alone with Marjory told her of my discovery. She was
wild with excitement, and I rejoiced to find that this
new pleasure drew us even closer together. We agreed
that she should come to help me; it would not do to
take any one else into our confidence, and she would
not hear of my going down into the cave alone. In order
to avoid comment we thought it better that she should
come late in the evening. The cave being dark, it was of
course immaterial whether day or night was appointed
for the experiment. Then it was, I could not help it, that
1 said to her:
" You see now the wisdom of our being married. We
can go where we like; and if we should be found out
no one can say a word ! " She said nothing ; there was
nothing to say. We decided that she had better slip out,
as she had done before, in the footman's dress. I went
224 The Mystery of the Sea
off and made preparation for her coming, bringing in
food for supper and plenty of candles and matches and
lamps and rope; for we did not know how long the ex-
ploration might take.
A little before nine o'clock I met her as before in the
wood. She changed her livery coat for the flannel one,
and we rode off to Whinnyfold. We got into the house
without being noticed.
When I took her down to the cellar and turned into
the hole the reflector of the strong lamp, she held on to
me with a little shiver. The opening did certainly look
grim and awesome. The black rock was slimy with sea
moisture, and the rays of the light were lost far below
in the gloom. I told her what she would have to do in
lowering me down, and explained the rude mechanism
which I had constructed. She was, I could see, a little
nervous with the responsibility ; and was anxious to know
any detail so thoroughly that no accident of ignorance
could occur.
When the rope was round me and I was ready to de-
scend, she kissed me more fondly than she had ever
done yet, and held on to me as though loth to part. As
I sank into the opening, holding the gasoline bicycle
lamp which I had elected to take with me, I saw her
pretty forehead wrinkled up in anxiety as she gave all
her mind to the paying out of the rope. Even then I
was delighted with the ease and poise of her beautiful
figure, fully shown in the man's dress which she had not
changed, as it was so suitable for the work she had
to do.
When I had been lowered some twenty feet, I turned
my lantern down and saw through the sheen of water a
bottom of rock with here and there a cluster of loose
stones; one big slab which stuck up endwise, was evi-
dently that which had fallen from the roof under my
Entrance to the Cavern 225
hammer. It was manifest that there was, in this part
of the cave at ;ny rate, not sufficient water to make it
a matter of any concern. I called to Marjory to lower
slowly, and a few seconds later I stood in the cave, with
the water just above my knees. I moved the new-fallen
slab to one side lest it might injure any one who was
descending. Then I took the strong rope from me,
and knotted round my waist the end of the thin rope
which I had brought for the purpose. This formed
a clue, in case such should be necessary, and es-
tablished a communication with Marjory which would
tend to allay her anxiety. With the cord running through
her fingers, she would know I was all right. I went cau-
tiously through the cave, feeling my way carefully with
the long stick which I had brought with me. When I
had got some distance I heard Marjory's voice echoing
through the cave :
" Take care there are no octopuses ! " She had been
thinking of all sorts of possible dangers. For my own
part the idea of an octopus in the cave never crossed my
mind. It was a disconcerting addition to my anxieties ;
but there was nothing to do. 1 was not going to aban-
don my project for this fear; and so I went on.
Further inland the cave shelved down on one side,
following the line of the rock so that I passed through
an angular space which, though wide in reality, seemed
narrow by comparison with the wide and lofty chamber
into which I had descended. A little beyond this again,
the rock dipped, so that only a low tunnel, some four
feet high, rose above the water. I went on, carefully feel-
ing my way, and found that the, cave ended in a point or
narrow crevice.
All this time I had been thinking that the appearance
of the place did not quite tally with the description in
de Escoban's narrative. No mention had been made
15
226 The Mystery of the Sea
of any such difficulties; as the few men had carried in
what must have been of considerable bulk and weight
there would have been great difficulties for them.
So I retraced my steps, intending to see if there was any
other branch nearer to the sea. I kept the line taut so
that Marjory might not be alarmed. I think I was as
glad as she was when I saw the light through the open-
ing, and the black circle of her head as she looked down
eagerly. When underneath, I told her of my adventure,
and then turned seawards to follow the cave down. The
floor here was more even, as though it had been worn
smooth by sea wash and the endless rolling of pebbles.
The water deepened only a few inches in all. As 1 went,
I threw the rays of my lamp around, anxiously looking
for some opening. The whole distance from the place
where I had made the entry to the face of the cliff was
not very great; but distance in the open seems very dif-
ferent from that within an unknown cavern. Presently I
came to a place where the floor of the cave was strewn
with stones, which grew bigger and more as I went on ;
till at last I was climbing up a rising pile of rocks. It was
slippery work, for there seemed some kind of ooze or
slime over the stones which made progress difficult.
When I had climbed up about half way towards the
roof, I noticed that on my left side the slope began to
fall away. I moved over and raising my lamp saw to
my inexpressible joy that there was an opening in the
rock. Getting close I found that though it was nearly
blocked with stones there was still a space large enough
to creep through. Also with pleasure I saw that the
stones here were small. With a very slight effort I dis-
lodged some of them and sent them rolling down, thus
clearing the way. The clatter of the stones evidently
alarmed Marjory for I heard her calling to me. I
hurried back under the opening the way seemed easy
Entrance to the Cavern 227
enough now I knew it and told her of my fresh dis-
covery. . ;
Then I went back again and climbed down the slope
of fallen stones ; this was evidently the debris of the ex-
plosion which had choked the mouth of the cave. The
new passage trended away a little to the right, making
a sharp angle with the cave I had left. Then after de-
flecting to the left it went on almost straight for a con-
siderable distance, thus lying, as I made it out, almost
parallel to the first cave. I had very little anxiety as to
the safety of the way. The floor seemed more level
than even that of the entrance to the first cave. There
was a couple of feet of water in the deepest part, but
not more; it would not have been difficult to carry the
treasure here. About two hundred feet in, the cave
forked, one arm bending slightly to the left and the other
to the right. I tried the former way and came to a
sheer dip in the rock such as I had met with before.
Accordingly I came back and tried the second. When I
had gone on a little way, I found my line running out;
so I went back and asked Marjory to throw me down
the end. I was so sure of the road now that I did not
need a clue. At first she demurred, but I convinced her;
taking Jthe rope I fixed one end of it within the cave
before it branched. Then I started afresh on my way,
carrying the coil of rope with me.
This branch of the cave went on crookedly with oc-
casionally strange angles and sharp curves. Here and
there, on one side or the other and sometimes on both,
the rock walls bellied out, making queer chambers or
recesses, or narrowing the cave to an aperture only a few
feet wide. The roof too was raised or fell in places, so
that I had now and again to bend my head and even to
stoop; whilst at other times I stood under a sort of high
dome. In such a zigzag course I lost my bearings some-
228 The Mystery of the Sea
what ; but I had an idea that the general tendency was in-
land to the right. Strange to say, the floor of the cave
remained nearly level. Here again, ages of tide and
rolling pebbles had done their work effectively. My cord
ran out again and I had to lose the far end and bring it
on, fixing it afresh, as I did not like to proceed without
keeping a clue behind me. Somewhat further on, the cave
dipped and narrowed so that I had to bend nearly double
to pass, my face being just above the water as I went.
It was with difficulty that I kept the lamp from touching
the water below or knocking against the rock above. I
was much chagrined to find this change in the structure
of the cave, for since I had entered on this branch of it
I had completely made up my mind that I was on the right
road and. that only a short time and a little distance lay
between me and the treasure. However there was noth-
ing to do but to go on.
A few feet more and the roof began to rise ; at first in
a very gentle slope, but then suddenly. Stretching my
cramped back and raising my head, I looked around. I
raised my lamp high, turning it so that its rays might let
me take in a wide circle.
I stood at the side of a large, lofty cave, quaint of out-
line, with here and there smooth walls from which great
masses of red rock projected ominously. So threatening
did these overhanging masses look, that for a few seconds
I feared to stir lest some of them should topple over on
me. Then, when my eyes had become accustomed to the
greater glare, I saw that they were simply masses of the
rugged rock itself. The whole cave, so far as I could see,
was red granite, formed of the great rock flung upward
in the pristine upheaval which had placed the Skares in
the sea.
CHAPTER XXVIII
VOICES IN THE DARK
I LOOKED round the cave with mingled feelings.
The place itself was, as a natural wonder, superb;
but to me as a treasure hunter it was a disappoint-
ment. In no way did it answer the description of Don de
Escoban. However I did not despair; there were many
openings, and some one of them might bring me to the
required spot. I passed to the centre of the cavern and
looked round. As I did so, I got a momentary fright, for
several of the openings were so much alike that only for
my rope I would not have been able to distinguish that by
which I had come in. The lesson of this shock should not
be lost ; I must make a mark by which I could distinguish
this entrance from the others. No matter where the other
openings might lead to, this alone, so far as I could tell,
was the one which could lead me to safety. With a heavy
pebble I hammered away at the right side of the entrance
till I had chipped off a piece of rock. I could tell this
place again by sight or by touch. Then I went round
the cave examining the various branches. It was here
that I began to feel the disadvantage of my imper-
fect light. I wanted some kind of torch which would give
sufficient light to see the whole place at once. One could
get no tit idea of proportion by merely making the little
patch of dim light from the bicycle lamp travel along the
rocky walls. I felt that all this time Marjory must be
anxious about me, doubly so since she had no clue to
229
230 The Mystery of the Sea
where I had gone. So I determined to come back at once,
and postpone the thorough examination of the place until
I should have proper appliances. Accordingly I made my
way back to the place where Marjory anxiously awaited
me.
Her reception of me was sweet and tender. It was
so natural that its force was hardly manifest. It may
have been that my mind was so full of many things that I
did not receive her caress with the same singleness of
devotion as was my wont. Now that I was assured of
her love for me, and since I had called her my wife, my
love lost its element of anxiety. It is this security which
marks the difference of a husband's love from that of a
lover; doubt is an element of passion, but not of true
conjugal love. It was only afterwards, when I was alone,
and Marjory's enchanting presence was not with me,
that I began to realise through the lenses of memory and
imagination the full sweetness of my wife's greeting in
her joy at the assurance of my safety. It took a very few
moments to tell her all the details of my adventure, and
of the conclusion which I had come to as to the need
for postponement. She thoroughly agreed with me in the
necessity ; and we then and there settled that it would be
wiser for her to go back to Crom to-night. We were to
settle later, when all preparations had been made, when
we should again attempt the investigation of the cave.
When I had put on dry clothes, we set out for Crom.
We walked our bicycles past Whinnyfold, and were grate-
ful for the unique peculiarity of that village, an absence of
dogs. We did not light our lamps till we got on the
Peterhead road ; and we put them out when we got into
the mesh of crossroads near Crom. In the wood Marjory
once more resumed her footman's coat, and we set out for
the castle. On our way we had agreed that it would be
best to try the other side of the castle where it was not
Voices in the Dark 231
likely that any stranger would attempt to approach, as
there was only the mossy foot track through the wood by
the old chapel. In the later days both Marjory and I had
used our opportunities of finding new paths through the
wood round the castle ; and we had already marked down
several tracks which we could follow even in the dark
with a little care. This was almost a necessity, as we had
noticed of late traces of the watchers round the main
gateway through which all in the castle were accustomed
to come and go.
The path which we took to-night required a long de-
tour of the wood, as it lay right on the other side from
the entrance gate. It was only a narrow grass path,
beginning between two big trees which stood closely to-
gether not very far from one of the flanking mounds or
hillocks which here came closer down to the castle than
any of the others. The path wound in and out among the
tree trunks, till finally it debouched at the back of the old
chapel which stood on a rising rock, hidden in the wood,
some three hundred feet from the west side of the castle.
It was a very old chapel, partly in ruins and antedating
the castle by so many centuries that it was manifestly a
relic of the older castle on whose site Crom was built.
It may have been used for service early in the sixteenth
century; but it could not even have been in repair, or
even weather-proof, for there were breaches at the end of
it in which had taken root seedlings which were now
forest trees. There was one old oak whose girth and
whose gnarled appearance could not have been achieved
within two centuries. Not merely the roots but the very
trunk and branches had pushed aside the great stones
which lay firmly and massively across the long low win-
dows peculiar to the place. These windows were mere
longitudinal slits in the wall, a sort of organised inter-
stices between great masses of stone. Each of the three
232 The Mystery of the Sea
on either side of the chapel was about two feet high and
some six feet in length; one stone support, irregu-
larly placed, broke the length of each. There was some
kind of superstition amongst the servants regarding this
place. None of them would under any circumstances go
near it at night; and not even in daytime if they could
decently excuse themselves.
In front of the chapel the way was very much wider.
Originally there had been a clear space leading through
the wood: but centuries of neglect had done their work.
From fallen pine-cone, and beech-mast, and acorn, here
and there a tree had grown which now made of the origi-
nal broad alleyway a number of tortuous paths between
the towering trunks. One of the reasons why we had
determined to use this path was that it was noiseless.
Grass and moss and rusty heaps of pine needles be-
trayed no footfall; with care one could come and go
unheard. If once she could get through the wood
unnoticed, Marjory might steal up to the doorway in
the shadow of the castle and let herself in, unobserved.
We went hand in hand slowly and cautiously, hardly
daring to breathe; and after a time that seemed endless
came out at the back of the chapel. Then we stole
quietly along by the southern wall. As we passed the
first window, Marjory who was ahead of me stopped
and gripped my hand so hard that I knew there must be
some good cause for her agitation. She pressed back so
that we both stood away from the window opening which
we could just see dimly outlined on the granite wall, the
black vacancy showing against the lichen-covered stone.
Putting her lips close to my ear she whispered :
" There are people there. I heard them talking ! "
My blood began to run cold. In an instant all the danger
in which Marjory stood rushed back upon me. Of late
we had been immune from trouble, so that danger which
Voices in the Dark 233
we did not know of seemed to stand far off ; but now the
place and the hour, the very reputation of the old chapel,
all sent back in a flood the fearful imaginings which had
assailed me since first I had known of the plot against
Marjory. Instinctively my first act was to draw my wife
close to me and hold her tight. Even in that moment
it was a joy to me to feel that she let herself come will-
ingly. For a few moments we stood silent, with our
hearts beating together ; then she whispered to me again :
" We must listen. We may perhaps find out who they
are, and what they intend."
Accordingly we drew again close to the opening, Mar-
jory standing under the aperture, and I beside it as I
found I could hear better in this position. The stooping
made the coursing of my own blood sound in my ears.
The voice which we first heard was a strong one, for
even when toned to a whisper it was resonant as well as
harsh and raucous:
" Then it's settled we wait till we get word from
Whiskey Tommy. How long is it likely to be?" The
answering voice, also a whisper, was smooth and oily,
but penetrating:
" Can't say. He has to square the Dutchy : and they
take a lot of sugar, his kind. They're mighty pious when
they're right end up; but Lordy! when they're down
they're holy terrors. This one is a peach. But he's
clever I will say that; and he knows it. I'm almost
sorry we took him in now, though he is so clever.
He'd better mind out, though, for none of us love
him ; and if he goes back on us, or does not come up
to the mark " He stopped, and the sentence was fin-
ished by a click which I knew was the snapping of the
spring of a bowie knife when it is thrown open.
" And quite right too. I'm on if need be ! " and there
was another click. The answering voice was strong and
234 The Mystery of the Sea
resolute, but somehow, for all the wicked intent spoken,
it did not sound so evil as the other. I looked at Marjory,
and saw through the darkness that her eyes were blazing.
My heart leaped again ; the old pioneer spirit was awake
in her, and somehow my dread for her was not the same.
She drew close to me and whispered again :
" Be ready to get behind the trees at the back, I hear
them rising." She was evidently right, for now the
voices were easier to hear since the mouths of the speak-
ers were level with the window. A voice, a new one, said :
" We must git now. Them boys of Mac's '11 be on their
round soon." With a quick movement Marjory doubled
under the window and came to me. She whispered as
before :
" Let us get behind trees in front. We may see them
coming through the door, and it will be well to know
them." So motioning to her to go on the side we were on,
I slipped round the back, and turning by the other side of
the chapel, and taking care to duck under the windows,
hid myself behind one of the great oak trees in front, to
the north of the original clearing. From where I stood I
could see Marjory behind a tree across the glade. From
where we were we could see any one who left the chapel ;
for one or other of us commanded the windows, and we
both commanded the ruined doorway. We waited, and
waited, and waited, afraid to stir hand or foot lest we
should give a warning to our foes. The time seemed
interminable ; but no one came out and we waited on, not
daring to stir.
Presently I became conscious of two forms stealing be-
tween the trees up towards the chapel. I glided further
round behind my sheltering tree, and, throwing an anxious
glance toward Marjory, was rejoiced to see that she was
doing the same. Closer and closer the two forms came.
There was not the faintest sound from them. Approach-
Voices in the Dark 235
ing the door-way from either side they peered in, listened,
and then stole into the darkness between the tree trunks
which marked the breach in the wall. I ventured out
and slipped behind a tree somewhat nearer; Marjory on
her side did the same, and at last we stood behind the two
nearest trees and could both note the doorway and each of
us the windows on one side. Then there was a whisper
from within; somehow I expected to hear a pistol shot
or to see a rush of men out through the jagged black
of the doorway. Still nothing happened. Then a match
was struck within. In the flash I could see the face of the
man who had made the light the keen-eyed messenger of
Sam Adams. He held up the light, and to our amazement
we could see that, except for the two men whom we had
seen go in, the chapel was empty.
Marjory flitted over to me and whispered:
" Don't be afraid. Men who light up like that aren't
likely to stumble over us, if we are decently careful."
She was right. The two men, seeing that the place was
empty, seemed to cast aside their caution. They came out
without much listening, stole behind the chapel, and set
off along the narrow pathway through the wood. Mar-
jory whispered to me:
" Now is my chance to get in before they come back.
You may come with me to the edge of the wood. When I
get in, dear, go back home as fast as you can. You must
be tired and want rest. Come to-morrow as soon as you
can. We have lots to talk over. That chapel must be
seen to. There is some mystery there which is bigger
than anything we have struck yet. It's no use going
into it now ; it wants time and thinking over ! " We were
whispering as we walked along, still keeping carefully in
the shadow of the trees. Behind the last tree Marjory
kissed me. It was her own act, and as impulsively I
clasped her tight in my arms, she nestled in to me as
236 The Mystery of the Sea
though she felt that she belonged there. With a mutual
' good-night ' and a whispered blessing she stole away into
the shadow. I saw her reach the door and disappear
through it.
I went back to Cruden with my mind in a whirl of
thoughts and feelings. Amongst them love was first;
with all the unspeakable joy which comes with love that
is returned.
I felt that I had a right to call Marjory my very own
now. Our dangers and hopes and sympathies made a tie
which seemed even closer than that tied in the church at
Carlisle.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE MONUMENT
FOR the remainder of that night, whether rushing
home on my bicycle, preparing for rest, lying
awake, or even in my sleep, I thought over the
mystery of the disappearance of the speakers in the old
chapel. Certainly I went to sleep on the thought, and
woke with it. It never left me even after breakfast as I
rode out towards Crom. It was manifest that there must
be some secret vault or hiding place in the chapel; or it
might be that there was some subterranean passage. If
the latter, where did it lead to ? Where else, unless to the
castle; such would be the natural inference. The very
thought made my blood run cold ; it was no wonder that
it overspread my mind to the exclusion of all else. In
such case Marjory's enemies were indeed dangerous, since
they held a secret way to her at all times; once within
the castle it would not be hard to work evil to her.
I thought that this morning I would do a little pros-
pecting on my own account. Accordingly 1 left my bicy-
cle in the wood and went a long circuit, keeping in the
shadow of the woods where possible, and elsewhere steal-
ing behind the hedgerows, till I got to the far side of the
hill or spur which came nearest to the old chapel. This
was one of the hills up whose base the trees ran in flame-
shaped patches. Half way up, the woods ceased, and
there was a belt of barrenness outcropping rock fringed
with green grass. The top, like most of the hills or
237
238 The Mystery of the Sea
mounds around the castle, was covered with woods, close-
growing masses of pine which made a dusk even in the
noonday.
I took my way up the back of the hill and stole through
the wood, carefully keeping a watchful look out all round
me, for I feared the presence of either of the sets of spies.
At the very top I came upon a good sized circle of
masonry, low but heavily built of massive stones com-
pletely covered with rich green lichen. The circle was
some fifteen feet diameter, and the top was slightly arched
as though forming a roof. Leaning over it I could hear
a faint trickle of water; this was evidently the source of
the castle supply.
I walked round it, examining it carefully; anything
which had any direct communication with the castle was
at present of possibly the supremest importance. There
was no flaw or opening anywhere ; and from the unbroken
covering of the stones by the lichen, it was apparent that
there had been no disturbance for years.
I sat down on the edge of the stonework and for a long
time thought over matters of probability. If underneath
me, as was almost to be taken for granted, lay the res-
ervoir of the castle, it must have been made coevally
with Crom itself, or even with the older castle on whose
ruins it was built. It must be fed by springs in the rock
which formed the base of the hill and cropped out all over
it; and if it was not approachable from without, there
must "be some way of reaching the water from within.
It might be that the chamber which contained the reser-
voir had some other entrance from the hill top, or from
some lower level. Accordingly I made as I conceived a
bee line for the castle, till I came to the very base of the
hill, for I knew that in matters of water conduit the
direct way is always chosen where work has to be done.
As I went, I conned the ground carefully ; not merely the
The Monument 239
surface for that was an uniform thick coating of brown
pine needles, but the general conformation. Where a
trench has been made, there is ever after some trace of it
to be found. Even if the workmen level the trench most
carefully there and then, the percolation of rain through
the softer broken earth will make discovery of the change
by shrinkage. Here, however, there was no such sign;
the ground, so far as one could judge, had never been
opened. The trees grew irregularly, and there was no
gap such as would be, had one ever been removed. Here
and there particles of rock cropped out amongst the pine
needles just as anywhere else. If any opening existed it
was not on the direct line between the reservoir and the
castle.
Back again I went to the reservoir, and, using it as a
base, began to cast around for some opening or sign. I
made circles in all directions, just as a retriever does
when looking for a fallen partridge in a dry stubble when
the scent is killed by heat.
At last I came upon something, though whether or no
it might have any point of contact with my purpose, I
could not at once decide. It was a rude monument of
some kind, a boulder placed endwise on a slab of rock
roughly hewn to form a sort of square plinth. This again
was surrounded on the outside, for the whole monument
was on the very edge of a steeply-dipping crag, by a few
tiers of rough masonry. The stones were roughly cut and
laid together without mortar ; or if mortar or cement there
had ever been, time and weather had washed it away.
In one respect this structure was in contrast to that above
the reservoir, there was not a sign of moss or lichen
about it. The trees of the wood came close up behind it ;
in front it was shut out from view below by the branches
of a few pine trees which grew crookedly from a pre-
carious foothold amongst the ledges of rock beneath. As
240 The Mystery of the Sea
I stood in front of it, I could see nothing immediately
below me; however, when I had scrambled to a ledge a
few feet lower down, the back wall of the old chapel
became visible, though partly obscured by trunks and
branches of intervening trees. I searched all over the
monument for some inscription, but could see none. Then
I stood on the plinth to see if there might be any inscrip-
tion on the top of the boulder. As I stood, looking over
the top of it from the bank, I could just see through a
natural alleyway amongst the tree tops, the top of one
corner of the castle, that on the side of, and farthest from
the old chapel. As I looked, a bright thought struck me.
Here was a place from which one might correspond with
the castle, unseen by any one save at the one spot. 1 de-
termined then and there, that Marjory and I should
arrange some method of signalling to one another.
Somehow this place impressed me, possibly because it
was the only thing, except the reservoir, which seemed to
have a purpose in the whole scheme of the hill top.
Where there was labour and manifest purpose, there must
surely be some connection. I examined all round the
place minutely, scrambling down the rocks below and on
either side, but always keeping a bright look out in case
of spies. The only thing 1 noticed was that there seemed
a trace of some kind of a pathway through the wood here.
It was not sufficiently marked to allow one to accept it
with certainty as a pathway; but there is something
about a place which is even occasionally trodden, which
marks it from its surroundings virgin of footsteps. I
could not find where the path ended or where it began.
It seemed to grow from the monument, but here under-
foot was stone and hard gravel ; and the wind coming over
the steep slope swept the fallen pine needles back amongst
the shelter of the trees. After a few hundred yards any
suggestion of a pathway disappeared, lost in the aisles of
The Monument 241
the pine trees spreading round on every side. There
was no need of a pathway here where all was open.
Once or twice as I searched the thought came to me that
there might be some opening here to a secret way or
hiding place; but look how I would, I could not find the
faintest trace or suggestion of any opening. In the end
I had to take it that the erection was merely a monument
or mark of some kind, whose original purpose was proba-
bly lost in time.
At last, as the day was well on, I made my way back
to where my bicycle was hidden, always taking care to
keep from observation. Then emerging on the road,
I went as usual through the old ruined gateway and
the long winding avenue to the castle.
Marjory met me with an anxious look, and hung on to
my arm lovingly as she said :
" Oh, you are late ! I have been quite nervous all the
morning lest anything should have happened to you ! "
Mrs. Jack, after we had greeted, discreetly left us alone ;
and I told my wife of all that I had thought since we had
parted, and of what I had seen on the hill top. She was
delighted at the idea of a means of signalling ; and insisted
on my coming at once to the roof to make further arrange-
ments and discoveries.
We found the spot which I had indicated admirably
adapted for our purpose. One could sit on the stone roof,
well back from the wall, and through one of the openings
in the castellation see the top of the monument amongst
the tree tops; and could yet be unobserved oneself from
any other spot around. The angles of the castellation of
the various walls shut out the tops of the other hills or
mounds on every side. As the signs of our code were al-
ready complete we had only to fix on some means of sig-
nalling ' A ' and ' B '. This we did by deciding that by
daylight A should be signified by red and B by white
16
242 The Mystery of the Sea
and at night A by red and B by green. Thus by daylight
two pocket handkerchiefs of red and white or two flowers
of white and red; or a piece of paper and a red leaf or
flower would suffice. We fixed on colour as the best
representative, as the distance made simplicity necessary.
By night an ordinary bicycle lamp with the lens covered
could be used ; the ordinary red and green side lights could
be shown as required. Then and there we arranged that
that very afternoon when I had left the castle I should
steal back to the monument and we should make a trial of
our signalling.
Then we talked of other things. Alone there on the
roof we could talk freely; and the moments flew swiftly
by in a sweet companionship. Even if the subjects which
we had to discuss were grim ones of danger and intrigue ;
of secret passages and malignant enemies ; of spies and
possibilities of harm to one or both of us, still mutuality of
our troubles and dangers made their existence to us sweet.
That we shared in common even such matters was dear
to us both. I could not but be conscious of Marjory's
growing love for me ; and if I had to restrain myself now
and again from throwing my arms round her and pressing
her beautiful body close to me and sweeping her face with
kisses, I was repaid when, as we descended she put both
her hands in mine and said :
" Oh Archie ! you are good to me ! and and I love
you so ! " Then she sank into my arms and our mouths
met in a long, loving kiss.
We decided that as there must be some hidden open-
ing in the old chapel, we should make search for it the
next day. I was to come soon after sunrise, for this
we judged would be the time when the spies of both kinds
would least expect movement from the castle. I was to
come by the grass path between the trees into the old
The Monument 243
chapel where she would meet me and we should make
our investigations together.
After tea I came away. Marjory came out on the steps
with me to see me off. As we bade each other good-bye
she said aloud in case any one might be listening :
" Remember, you are to come to tea to-morrow and to
bring me the book. I am quite anxious to know how it
ends. It is too bad of the librarian not to send us all
the volumes at once ! "
When I got to the road I hid my bicycle in the old
place, and took my way secretly to the monument. Mar-
jory had been much struck by the suggestion of the foot-
path, and, woman-like, had made up her mind 011 the
subject. She had suggested that we should test whether
any one came or went by it, and to this end gave me a
spool of the finest thread so that I might lay a trap. Be-
fore I should leave the place I was to stretch threads
across it here and there between the tree trunks. If on
the next visit I should find them broken, we might take
it that some one had been there.
From the top of the boulder I made signal and was
immediately answered. My own signal was simply the
expression of my heart's feeling:
" I love you, my wife ! " The answer came quickly
back filling me with joy :
" I love you, my husband ! Don't forget me ! Think of
me!"
CHAPTER XXX
THE SECRET PASSAGE
THAT night was one of rest. I was physically tired
out, and after I had posted a few letters to mer-
chants in Aberdeen, giving orders for various
goods to be sent at once to Whinnyfold, I went to bed
and slept till the early morning. I got up at daylight, and
after my morning swim rode off to Crom. Again I
left my bicycle in the wood and took my way round to
the back of the hill and up through the wood to the
monument beyond the reservoir. It was still early morn-
ing, as it is counted in the cities, though the sun was well
up. I went with extra caution, stealing from tree to
tree; for I knew nothing of the locality of the watchers
at this hour. I saw no sign of anyone ; and coming at last
to where the rudimentary pathway lay, examined care-
fully where I had placed the first thread. As I did so 1
straightened myself quickly and looked round with appre-
hension. The thread was broken across, though the two
ends were tied where I had placed them !
With a beating heart I examined all the others in turn,
with the same result. It was quite evident that some one,
or some thing had passed along the track. In spite of
my concern I rejoiced, for something had been found. It
was at least probable that there was a regular route
somewhere at hand. Accordingly I prepared my traps
afresh, this time placing them in various directions, and
at irregular distances along the path and all round the
244
The Secret Passage 245
monument. I might thus be able to trace the exact route
of anyone who might disturb them. This done, and it
took some time, I went back to the wood, and thence
rode to the castle.
Marjory was eager for news, but it thrilled me to see
that her eagerness was not all from this cause; hour by
hour I found myself growing in her affection. When I
told her of the broken threads, she clapped her hands
with delight; the hunter spirit hereditary in her was
pleased. She gave her opinion that on the next morning
I should be able to locate the entrance to the passage, if
one there was. In the midst of her speaking thus she
stopped ; a bright, keen light came into her eyes, and her
brows knitted.
" Why," she said, " how stupid I am. I never once
thought of doing the same at my end. Yesterday, after
you left, I spent an hour in the old chapel and went over
every inch of it ; but it never occurred to me to do there
what you had gone to do at the monument. If I had done
so, I might this morning have been able to discover the
secret of the disappearance of the kidnappers. I shall take
good care to do it this evening."
While she was speaking a fear grew upon me lest
being alone in the ruin she might give her enemies the
very opportunity they wanted. She saw my distress, and
with her quick woman's wit guessed the cause of it. With
a very tender movement she placed her hand on the back
of mine, and without squeezing it held it there firmly as
she said:
" Don't be frightened for me, dear. These are expert
workmen that we are dealing with. They won't move
till their plans are all ready. They don't wish to get hold
of me for five minutes and let " Mac's men " as lacking
due respect for President McKinley, they call the Secret
Service agents of my country catch them red-handed.
246 The Mystery of the Sea
They are only laying their plans as yet. Perhaps we may
have cause to be anxious when that is done; but as yet
it's all right. Anyhow, my dear, as I know it will make
you easier in your mind, when you are not at hand to pro-
tect me, I shall lay the traps whilst you are with me.
There now! Am I good to my husband, or am I not? "
I made her aware in my own way I could not help it
that she was good! and she let the incident pass unre-
buked. Even lovers, though they have not the status of
the husband, must be allowed a little latitude now and
again.
We talked over all the possibilities that we could either
of us think of with regard to a secret passage between
the castle and the monument. It was apparent that in
old time such a hidden way might have been of the utmost
importance; and it was more than possible that such a
passage might exist. Already we had reason to believe
that there was a way between the ruined chapel and the
top of the reservoir hill, and we knew that there must
be existing some secret hiding place gained from the
interior of the chapel. What we had still to discover, and
this was the most important of all, was whether there
was a method of communication between the castle and
the chapel. After tea we started out together ; and as we
had arranged between us before starting, managed in our
strolling to go quite round the castle and through many of
the grassy alleys between the woods. Then, lest there
should be any listener, I said :
" Let us go into the old chapel. I haven't had a good
look at it since I have been coming here ! " So we went
into the chapel and began to lay our traps. Of course we
could not guard against any one spying upon us. There
might be eyes of enemies bent on us through some secret
chink or cranny or organised spy-hole. This we could not
help, and had to take our chances of it ; but if anyone were
The Secret Passage 247
within ear-shot and unable to see us, we guarded our
movements by our misleading remarks concerning his-
tory and art. Deftly Marjorie stretched sections of her
gossamer thread from place to place, so that if any one
went in the chapel their course must be marked by the
broken threads. We finished near the door, and our art-
less, innocent, archaeological conversation stopped there,
too. We strolled back to the castle, feeling sure that if
there were any secret hiding place within the ruin we
should have located the entrance to it in the morning.
That afternoon I went to the house at Whinnyfold.
Most of the things which I had ordered had arrived, and
when I had had the various boxes and bundles moved
inside I felt able to start on my work.
First I rigged up a proper windlass over the hole into
the cave; and fixed it so that any one could manipulate
it easily and safely from above. It could be also worked
from below by aid of an endless chain round the axle.
I hammered the edges of the hole somewhat smoother,
so that no chance friction might cut the rope; and I
fixed candles and lanterns in various places, so that all
the light which might be necessary could be had easily.
Then I furnished a room with rugs and pillows, and with
clothes for Marjory for changing. She would be sure to
require such, when our search after the treasure should
come off. 1 had ready some tins of provisions, and I had
arranged at the hotel that as I might sometimes stay and
work in my own home I was supposed to be an author
some fresh provisions were to be sent over each morning,
and left ready for me with Mrs. Hay at Whinnyfold. By
the time my work was through, it was late in the evening,
and I went to the hotel to sleep. I had arranged with
Marjory to be with her early in the morning. It was
hardly daylight when I woke, but I got up at once and
took my way towards Crom, for the experience of the
248 The Mystery of the Sea
day before had shown me that whoever used the path near
the monument used it in the grey of the dawn. As usual
I hid my bicycle and took my way cautiously to the
monument. By this time the sun was up and the day was
bright; the dew lay heavy, and when I came on any of
my threads I could easily distinguish them by the shim-
mering beads which made each thread look like a minia-
ture rope of diamonds.
Again the strings across the path were broken. My
heart beat heavily as I began to follow back towards the
monument the track of the broken thread. It led right up
to it, on the side away from the castle, and then stopped.
The other threads all round the monument were intact.
Having learned so much, my first act was to prevent
discovery of my own plan. Accordingly I carefully re-
moved all the threads, broken and unbroken. Then I
began to make minute investigation of the monument
itself. As it was evident that whoever had broken the
threads had come straight from it, there was a presump-
tion that there was an opening somewhere. The rock
below was unbroken and the stonework was seemingly
fixed on the rock itself. By a process of exclusions I
came to the belief that possibly the monument itself might
be moveable.
Accordingly I began to experiment. I pressed against
it, this way and that. I tried to move it by exercising
pressure top and bottom in turn; but always without
avail. Then I began to try to move it sideways as though
it might be on a pivot. At first there was no yielding, no
answer of any kind to my effort ; but suddenly 1 thought
I perceived a slight movement. I tried again and again,
using my strength in the same way; but with no result.
Then I tried turning it in the suspected direction, hold-
ing both my hands low down on the corners of the
boulder; then going gradually up higher I pursued the
The Secret Passage 249
same effort ; again no response. Still I felt I was on the
track and began to make efforts in eccentric ways. All at
once, whilst I was pressing with my left hand low down
whilst I pulled with my right high up on the other edge,
the whole great stone began to move in a slow easy way, as
though in perfect poise. I continued the movement and
the stone turned lazily over on one side, revealing at my
very feet a dark opening of oval form some three feet
across its widest part. Somehow I was not altogether
surprised ; my head kept cool in what was to me a won-
derful way. With an impulse which was based on safety,
lest the opening of the hole should make discovery of my
presence, I reversed the action ; and the stone rolled slowly
over to its old position. Several times I moved it from
its place and then back again, so that I might become ac-
customed to its use.
For a while I hesitated as to whether I should explore
the opening immediately ; but soon came to the conclusion
that I had better begin at once. So I went back to my
bicycle and took the lamp with me. I had matches in my
case, and as I had the revolver which I always carried
now, I felt equal to any emergency. 1 think I was finally
influenced in my decision to attempt the passage at once
by the remembrance of Marjory's remark that the kid-
nappers would make no effort until their plans were quite
complete. They, more than I, might fear discovery; and
on this hope I was strong as I lowered myself down
through the narrow opening. I was glad to see that there
was no difficulty in moving the stone from the inside;
there were two iron handles let into the stone for the
purpose.
I cannot say I was at ease in my mind, I was, however,
determined to go on ; and with a prayer to God for protec-
tion, and a loving thought of Marjory, I went on my way.
The passage was doubtless of natural origin, for it was
250 The Mystery of the Sea
evident that the seams in the rock were much like those on
the coast where the strata of different geological forma-
tions joined. Art had, however improved the place won-
derfully. Where the top had come too low it had been
quarried away; the remnants still lay adjacent where the
cave broadened out. The floor where the slope was steep
was cut into rough steps. Altogether, there were signs of
much labour in the making of the passage. As I went
down, 1 kept an eye on the compass whenever I came to a
turn, so that I might have a rough idea of the direction
in which I was going. In the main the road, with coun-
terbalancing curves and angles, led straight down.
When I had got to what I considered must be half way,
allowing for the astounding magnitude which seems to
be the characterisation of even a short way under ground ;
the passage forked, and at a steep angle another passage,
lower and less altered than that along which I had come,
turned away to the left. Going a few feet up it I could
hear the sound of running water.
This was evidently the passage to the reservoir.
CHAPTER XXXI
MARJORY'S ADVENTURE
AS I felt that time, in which I had the passage all
to myself, was precious, 1 turned back to the
main way down. The path was very steep and
low and the rock underfoot was cut in rude steps; as I
held the lantern before me I had to droop it so that I
could smell the hot metal where the flame touched the
back. It was indeed a steep and difficult way, made for
others than men of my own stature. As I went, I felt
my first fears passing away. At first I had dreaded a
lack of air, and all sorts of horrors which come to those
who essay unknown passages. There came back to my
recollection passages in Belzoni's explorations in the
Pyramids when individuals had got lost, and when whole
parties were stopped by the first to advance jamming in
a narrow passage as he crawled along on his belly. Here,
though the roof came down in places dangerously low,
there was still ample room, and the air came up sweet
and cool. To any one unused to deep burrows, whether
the same be natural or artificial, there is a dread of being
underground. One is cut off from light and air; and
burial alive in all its potential horrors is always at hand.
However, the unexpected clearness and easiness of the
way reassured me; and I descended the steep passage
with a good heart. All distance underground seems
extravagantly long to those unaccustomed to it; and to
me the mere depth I had descended seemed almost im-
possible when the way before me became somewhat level
251
252 The Mystery of the Sea
again. At the same time the roof rose so that I could
stand upright. I guessed that I must be now somewhere
at the foot of the hillock and not far from the old chapel ;
so I went forward carefully, keeping my hand ready to
cover up the front of the lamp. As the ground was fairly
level, I could in a way pace it; and as I knew that there
was only about two hundred feet distance from the foot
of the hill to the chapel, I was not surprised when after
some eighty paces I found the passage end in a sort of
rude chamber cut in the rock. At right angles to the place
of my entry there was a regular stairway, partly cut in
rock and partly built, leading upward. Before I ascended
I looked around carefully and could see that sections of
the walls of the chamber were built of great blocks of
stone. Leaving further investigation for the future I
went upward with a beating heart.
The stair was rudely circular, and I had counted thirty
steps when I saw the way blocked by a great stone.
For a few seconds I was in fear lest I should find this,
impossible; then I looked carefully for any means of
moving the obstacle. I thought it more than likely that
something of the same process would be adopted for
both ends of the passage.
Luck was certainly on my side to-day ! Here were two
iron handles, much the same as those with which I had
been enabled to move the monument from within. I
grasped them firmly, and began to experiment as to which
way the stone moved. It trembled under my first effort ;
so exerting a very little of my strength in the same di-
rection the great stone began to move. I saw a widening
line of open space through which a dim light shone in
upon me. Holding the stone in poise with one hand, I
covered the front of the lamp with my cap, and then re-
sumed the opening process. Slowly, slowly, the stone
rolled back till a clear way. lay abreast of me through
Marjory's Adventure 253
which, doubled up, I could pass. From where I stood
I could see part of the wall of a building, a wall with
long low windows in massive stone; and I knew that at
last I had reached the old chapel. A joyous feeling
rushed over me; after the unknown perils of the cavern
passage at last I had reached safety. I bent low and
began to step out through the narrow opening. There
was fully four feet in the circumference of the stone
so that two such steps as were possible to me were neces-
sary to take me out. I had taken one and my foot was
lifted for the second when a clear firm voice said in a
whisper :
" Hands up ! If you move you are a dead man ! " I
stopped of course, and raising my face, for my head
was bent low in the necessary effort of stooping, I found
myself opposite the muzzle of a revolver. For an instant
I looked at it; it was firm as the rock around me, and
I felt that I must obey. Then I looked beyond it, to the
hand which held it, and the eyes which directed. These
too were inflexible ; but a great joy came over me when I
recognised that the hand and eyes were those of Mar-
jory. I would have sprung forward to her, but for that
ominous ring of steel in front of me. I waited a few
seconds, for it seemed strange that she did not lower the
revolver on seeing who it was. As, however, the pistol
still covered me unpleasantly, I said:
" Marjory ! " In an instant her hand dropped to her
side. I could not but notice with an admiration for her
self-control and the strength of her resolution, that she
still held the revolver in her grasp. With a glad cry
she leaped towards me with a quick impulsive movement
which made my heart bound, for it was all love and spon-
taneity. She put her left hand on my shoulder; and as
she looked into my eyes I could feel the glad tremor that
swept through her.
254 The Mystery of the Sea
For several seconds she stood, and then with a sigh
said in a voice of self-reproach :
" And / did not know you!" The way she spoke the
words " I " " you " was luminous ! Had I not already
known her heart, she would in that moment have stood
self-revealed.
We were manifestly two thoroughly practical people,
for even in the rapture of our meeting to me it was
no less than rapture to come from so grim an aperture in
the secret cavern passage we had our wits about us.
I think she was really the first to come to a sense of
our surroundings; for just as I was opening my mouth
to speak she held up a warning finger.
" Hush ! Some one may come ; though I think there
is no one near. Wait dear, whilst I look ! " she seemed
to flit noiselessly out of the doorway and I saw her
vanish amongst the trees. In a few minutes she returned
carrying carefully a wicker basket. As she opened it
she said:
" Some one might suspect something if they saw you
in that state." She took from the basket a little bowl of
water, soap, towel and a clothes-brush. Whilst I washed
my face and hands she was brushing me down. A very
short time completed a rough toilet. Then she poured
the water carefully into a crack in the wall, and putting
the things together with my lamp, back in the basket,
she said:
" Come now ! Let us get to the Castle before any one
finds us. They will think that I have met you in the
wood." We went as unobtrusively as we could to the
Castle; and entered, I think, unobserved. I had a
thorough clean up before I let any one see me; our
secret was too precious to risk discovery by suspicion.
When I had seen Mrs. Jack, Marjory took me to her
boudoir in the top of the castle, and there, whilst she sat
Marjory's Adventure 255
by me holding my hands, I told her every detail of my
adventure. 1 could feel how my story moved her; when
there was any passage of especial interest the pressure of
her clasp grew tense. She, who had seemingly no fear
for herself, was all in fear for me !
Then we talked matters over. We had now a good clue
to the comings and goings of the kidnappers; and we
felt that by a little thoughtful organisation we might
find their hours, and be able to trace them one by one.
By lunch time we had decided on our plan of action. We
took our idea from one of the old " Tales of the Genii "
where the conquered king was brought by his faithful
vizier into a cavern and asked to cut a rope which was
stretched before him, and which he soon discovered re-
leased the great rock which roofed the pavilion specially
built by the vizier to be seen and occupied by the con-
queror. We would fix a fine thread to the top of the
monument and bring it secretly to the castle, where its
breaking would apprise Marjory of the opening of the
passage ; thus she would discover the hour of the coming
of the kidnappers to the chapel. We arranged another in-
genious device, whereby a second thread, fastened to the
stone in the old chapel, would be broken by the opening
of the stone, and would cause a book to fall on Marjory's
bed and wake her if she were asleep. The better part
of the afternoon was taken up by us carrying out these
ideas, for we went slowly and cautiously to work. Then
I went home.
I was early at the monument in the morning, and get-
ting behind the stone signalled to the Castle roof in case
Marjory should happen to expect me and be there. But
there was no answer. So I sat down to wait till it would
be decent time to go to the Castle for an early breakfast.
As I sat waiting I thought I heard a sound, either close
to me and muffled, or else distant; I could hardly tell
256 The Mystery of the Sea
which. Matters might be lively if I were discovered ; so
I got my revolver ready. With my heart beating so
heavily that I mistook it at moments for the foreign
sound, I listened and listened, all ears.
It was as I had suspected; the sound came from the
tunnel beneath me. I hardly knew whether to stay or
go. If I waited I could see who came from the open-
ing; but on the other hand I should at once be known to
have discovered the secret. Still as the stone might roll
back at any moment, it was necessary that I should make
up my mind; I should either go or stay. I decided that
I would stay and make discovery at once. In any case
should I succeed in capturing a blackmailer, or even in
discovering or partially discovering his identity, 1 should
be aiding in Marjory's safety. So I got my revolver
ready ; and standing back so that I could not be seen at
once by any one emerging, waited.
No one came; but I could still hear a slight sound.
Filled with a growing unrest, I determined to take the
initiative, and began to move close to the stone. As I
looked, it began to quiver, and then to move slowly. As
it rolled softly back I kept behind it so that I might not
be seen; and waited with revolver ready and what pa-
tience I could.
There was dead silence ; and then a hand holding a re-
volver rested a moment on the edge of the opening.
I knew the hand, and I knew the revolver, and 1 knew
the quickness of both. I did not say a word or make a
sound, till Marjory with an alert movement seemed to
sweep up out of the opening and whirled round with
ready pistol, as though suspecting an enemy on every
side.
Marjory, all covered with dust, her cheeks as white as
snow, so that the smears of dust lay on them like soot;
and eyes with pupils distended as in coming from the
Marjory's Adventure 257
dark. For a few seconds she seemed hardly to recognise
me ; but when she did she sprang gladly into my arms.
" Oh ! Archie, I am glad to see you. It was so terrible
and lonely in the dark. I began to fear I might never find
my way out ! " In the dark ! I began to fear, and asked
her:
" But, dear one, how did you come; and why? Hadn't
you got a light with you? Surely you didn't come un-
prepared, if you did venture into the cave ! " Then in a
rush she told me the whole story. How before dawn she
had been waked by the dropping of the book and had
hurried to the castle roof to watch the stone. With her
field glass she had presently seen it move. She was then
satisfied that the watchers had gone home; and had de-
termined on a little adventure on her own account.
" I put on a grey tweed dress, and taking my revolver
and bicycle lamp, stole out of the castle and reached the
old chanel. Having lit my lamp, 1 rolled back the stone
and set out to explore the tunnel. I followed from your
description, the passage to its bifurcating, and determined
to explore the other arm to the reservoir. I easily found
it, a deep, dark tank cut in the rock and seemingly fed
by springs which bubbled up from patches of fine sand,
the accumulation of years of wasting rock. Whilst I
was trying to look into the depth of the reservoir, hold-
ing my bicycle lamp so as to throw its light downwards,
I saw something white at the bottom. Just then the
lamp from iia inverted position began to smoke, but as I
looked in that last moment through the crystal pure
water I recognised that the white object was a skull. In
the sudden shock of the discovery, the lamp dropped
from my hand and disappeared hissing and bubbling in
the last flicker of light." As she told me this, I took her
hand for I feared that the memory of such an appalling
moment must have unnerved her; but to my surprise
17
258 The Mystery of the Sea
her nerves were as firm as my own. She let her hand
remain in mine; but she had evidently understood my
thought for she said:
"Oh! it's all right now, Archie. For a moment or
two I do believe 1 was frightened. You can have the
laugh on me there if you like ! But then common sense
came to my aid. I was in a tight place, and it would
need all I knew to get out. I thought the matter over as
coolly as I could ; and do you know that coolness seemed
to grow with the effort! I was in the dark, in a cave,
deep underground, the entrance to which was secret; I
had no means of getting a light even for an instant, for
though I had taken plenty of wax matches they were all
in my lamp. The only thing I could do was to try to
grope my way out. I had noted the passage as I came
along, but I found so soon as I had felt my way out of the
reservoir chamber, how little use an abstract recollection
is when every second there is a new detail. I found, too,
the astonishing difference between sight and touch ; what
I had remembered had been with my eyes and not with
my fingers. I had to guard all round me, my head,
my feet, my sides. I am amazed, now when I think of it,
how many different kinds of mistakes and calculations I
made in a few yards. It seemed a terribly long time
till I came to the place where the passage forks. There
I weighed up the matter of whether it would be better
to go back by the way I had come to the old chapel, or
to go up the other passage to the monument of which
you told me. Somehow the latter seemed to me the
more feasible. I think it must have been that I trusted
you more than myself. You had not shrunk from going
into that passage; and I would not shrink from going
out."
I squeezed her hands hard, I had got both by this time.
She blushed a little and looked at me fondly and went on :
Marjory's Adventure 259
.
" THere was something cheering in the mere fact of
going up instead of down. It was like coming towards
the air and light again; and the time did not seem so
long till I came to the end of the passage, for so far as
I could feel there was nothing but solid rock all round
me. For a little bit my heart sank again; but I soon
bucked up. I knew that this must be the way out;
and I felt around for the iron handles of which you had
told me. And then, Thank God for His goodness ! when
the stone began to turn I saw the light, and breathed
fresh air again. They seemed to give me back all my
courage and caution. Up to this I had not troubled
about kidnappers; there was quite enough to think of
in getting along the passage. But now I was my own
woman again, and I determined to take no chances.
When I saw it was your gun that was aimed at me I was
glad!"
CHAPTER XXXII
THE LOST SCRIPT
AFTER a little consideration of ways and means,
we decided that the best thing we could do
was to pass through the passage to the old
chapel. It was still very early, so early that in all proba-
bility none of the household were yet awake ; if Marjory
could regain her room before being seen, it would avoid
curiosity. She was certainly in a shocking condition
of dust and dishevelment. Her groping in the dark
through that long rugged passage had not been accom-
plished without many hardships. Her dress was torn in
several places, and her hat was simply knocked to pieces ;
even her hair was tumbled about, and had been put up
again and again with dusty fingers. She saw me smiling ;
1 think it pained her a little for she suddenly said :
" Come along quick ; it's simply awful standing here
in the light of day in this filthy state. It won't feel half so
bad in the dark passage ! " Without more ado I lit my
lamp, and having, of course, closed the entrance behind us,
we went back into the cavern.
The tramp back through the tunnel did not seem nearly
so long or so difficult as at first. It may have been that
comparative familiarity made it easier; it certainly eased
its terrors. Or it is possible that our companionshp, each
to the other, made the bearing of fears and difficulties
lighter.
Anyhow, it was something of a surprise to both of us
to find ourselves so quickly in the rude chamber whence
260
The Lost Script 261
the steps led up to the old chapel. Before we left this, we
made a rough examination of it, turning the lantern over
walls and floor and ceiling; for I had an idea that the
passage from the castle, which I was satisfied must exist,
made its exit here. We could not, however, see any ex-
ternal sign of an opening; the walls were built up of
massive unmortared stones, and were seemingly as solid
as the rock itself.
When we got into the chapel we found the utility of
Marjory's foresight. In a corner was her little basket
with soap and towel, water and clothes brush; and to-
gether we restored her to some semblance of decency.
Then she went back to the castle and got in unobserved, as
I, watching from the shelter of the trees, could see. I
took my way back through the passage; and so to the
wood where my bicycle was hidden. I washed my hands
in the stream and lay down in the shelter of a thick
grove of hazel, where I slept till breakfast time. When
I rode up to the castle, I found Marjory with her kodak
on the sweep outside, taking views of its various points.
The morning was intensely hot ; and here, in the shelter
of the little valley and the enclosing wood, the air was
sultry, and the sun beat down pitilessly. We had a table
set out under the shelter of the trees and breakfasted
al fresco.
When we were alone in her boudoir I settled with
Marjory that we would on that evening attempt to find
the treasure, as the tide would be out at midnight. So
we went down to the library and got out Don de Esco-
ban's narrative and began to read it afresh, noting as
we went every word and sign of the secret writing, in
the hope that we might in thus doing stumble on some
new secret or hidden meaning.
Whilst we were thus engaged a servant came looking
for Mrs. Jack, for whom a stranger had brought a letter.
262 The Mystery of the Sea
Marjory told where she might be found, and for some
time we went on with our work.
Suddenly the door opened, and Mrs. Jack entered,
speaking over her shoulder as she came to a high-bred
looking, dark man who followed her. As she saw us
she stopped and said to Marjory:
" Oh ! my dear, I didn't know you were here. I thought
you were in the ladies' room." This was what they
usually called the big room at the top of the castle. We
both rose, seeing a stranger. For my own part there
was something in his face which set me thinking; as to
Marjory I could not help noticing that she drew herself
up to her full height, and held herself at tension in that
haughty way which now and again marked her high
spirit and breeding. There seemed so little cause for this
attitude that my own thinking of the new-comer was
lost in the contemplation of hers. Mrs. Jack noticed
that there was some awkwardness, and spoke hurriedly:
" This is the gentleman, my dear, that the agent wrote
about ; and as he wanted to look over the house I brought
him myself." The stranger probably taking his cue
from her apologetic tone spoke:
" I trust I have not disturbed the Senora ; if I have,
pardon! I have but come to renew my memory of a
place, dear to me in my youth, and which through the
passing of time and of some who were, is now my own
heritage." Marjory smiled, and swept him a curtsey as
she said, but still in her distant arm's-length manner :
" Then you are the owner of the castle, sir. I hope that
we do not disturb you. Should you wish to be anywhere
alone we shall gladly withdraw and wait your pleasure."
He raised a hand of eloquent protest, a well-kept, gentle-
man's hand, as he said in tones sweet and deferent:
" Oh ! I pray you, do not stir. May I say that when
my house is graced with the presence of so much loveli-
The Lost Script 263
ness I am all too full of gratitude to wish for any change.
I shall but look around me, for I have a certain duty to
do. Alas ! this my heritage comes not only as a joy, but
with grave duties which I must fulfill. Well I know this
room. Many a time as a boy I have sat here with my
kinsman, then so old and distant from me in my race;
and yet I am his next successor. Here has he told me
of old times, and of my race of which we who have the
name are so proud ; and of the solemn duty which might
some day come to me. Could I but tell .
Here he stopped suddenly.
His eyes had been wandering all over the room, up
and down the bookshelves, and at the few pictures which
the walls contained. When they rested on the table, a
strange look came into them. Here lay the type-script
which we had been reading, and the secret writing of the
dotted printing. It was on the latter that his eyes were
fixed absorbingly.
" Where did you get that ? " he said suddenly, pointing
to it. The question in its bald simplicity was in word
rude, but his manner of asking it was so sweet and defer-
ential that to me it robbed it of all offence. I was just
about to answer when my eye caught that of Marjory,
and I paused. There was such meaning in her eyes that
my own began roving- to find the cause of it. As 1 looked
she put her hands on the table before her, and her fingers
seemed to drum nervously. To me, however, it was no
nervous trifling; she was speaking to me in our own
cipher.
" Be careful ! " she spelled out " there is some mystery !
Let me speak." Then turning to the stranger she said :
""It is curious is it not?"
" Ah, Senora, though curious it be in itself, it is nothing
to the strangeness of its being here. If you only knew
how it had been searched for; how the whole castle
264 The Mystery of the Sea
had been ransacked from roof to dungeon to find it,
and always without avail. Did you but understand the
import of that paper to me and mine if indeed the sur-
mises of many generations of anxious men availed aught
you would pardon my curiosity. In my own youth I as-
sisted in a search of the whole place; no corner was left
untouched, and even the secret places were opened
afresh." As he went on, Marjory's eyes were resting
on his face unflinchingly, but her fingers were spelling
out comments to me.
" There are secret places, then ; and he knows them.
Wait" the stranger went on:
" See, I shall convince you that I speak from no idle
curiosity, but from a deep conviction of a duty that was
mine and my ancestors' for ages." There was a stern-
ness mingled with his grave sweetness now; it was evi-
dent that he was somewhat chagrined or put out by our
silence. Leaving the table he went over to one of the
bookshelves, and after running his eye over it for a mo-
ment, put his hand up and from a shelf above his head
took down a thick leather-covered volume. This he
laid on the table before us. It was a beautiful, old black
letter law book, with marginal notes in black letter and
headings in roman type. The pagination was, I could see
as he turned it over, by folios. He turned to the title-
page, which was an important piece of printing in many
types, explanatory of the matter of the book. He began
to read the paragraphs, placed in the triangular in form
in vogue at that day; following the text with his fore-
finger he read :
" A collection in English of the Statutes now in force,
continued from the beginning of Magna Charta made in
the 9. yeere of the reigne of King H. 3. until the ende
of the Session of Parliament holden in the 28 yeere of
the reigne of our gracious Queene Elizabeth under Titles
The Lost Script 265
placed by order of Alphabet. Wherein is performed
(touching the Statutes wherewith Justices of the Peace
have to deale) so much as was promised in the Booke
of their office lately published. For which purpose "
&c. &c., Then turning over the page he pointed to a
piece of faded writing on the back of it which had been
left blank of printing. We bent down and read in the
ink, faded to pale brown by time:
" My sonnes herein you will find the law which binds
the stranger in this land, wherein a stranger is a Vaga-
bond. F. de E.
XXIII. X. MDLXLIX
Then he turned rapidly over the leaves, till towards
the end there was a gap. On the right hand page, where
the folio number was all along placed was the number
528.
" See," he said, turning back and pointing to the bottom
of the title page " Anno 1588. Three hundred years,
since first my people used it."
Turning back he looked at the folio before the gap;
it was 510. "See" he said, placing his hand on the
pinmarked pages. " Folio 511 and the heading of " Vaga-
bonds, Beggars, et cetera." He folded his arms in a digni-
fied way and stood silent.
All along I had been following my own train of
thought, even whilst I had been taking in the stranger's
argument, and at the same time noting Marjory's warn-
ing. If this man who owned the Castle knew of the ex-
istence of the secret writing ; whose ancestors had owned
the book in which was the clue signed F. de E., surely
then this could be none other than the descendant of the
Don Bernardino who had hidden the treasure. This
was his castle ; no wonder that he knew its secret ways.
Matters were getting complicated. If this man were.
266 The Mystery of the Sea
now the hereditary guardian of the hidden treasure and
from his likeness to the ghostly Spaniard whom I had
seen in the procession at Whinnyfold I saw no reason to
doubt it he might be an enemy with whom we should
have to cope. I was all in a whirl, and for a few seconds
I think quite lost my head. Then rushed over me the
conviction that the mere lapse of time passed in these
few minutes of agonised silence was betraying our secret.
This brought me up with a round turn, and I looked
about me. The strange man was standing still as
marble; his face was set, and there was no sign of life
in him except his eyes which blazed as they wandered
around, taking everything in. Mrs. Jack saw that there
was something going on which she did not understand,
and tried to efface herself. Marjory was standing by
the table, still, erect and white. Her fingers began to
drum softly as she caught my eye, and spelled out :
" Give him the paper, from Mrs. Jack. Lately found
in old oak chest. Say nothing of interpretation." This
seemed such a doubtful move that with my eyes I queried
it. She nodded in reply. So I gathered myself together
and said:
" I'm afraid, sir, that there is some mystery here which
I cannot undertake to understand. I think I may say,
however, for my friend Mrs. Jack, that there will be no
trouble in your having full possession of your book. I
am told that these pages were lately found in an old oak
chest. It is remarkable that they should have been miss-
ing so long. We were attracted by the funny marks. We
thought that there might be some sort of cryptogram;
and I suppose I may take it, from the fact of your looking
for them so long, that this is so ? "
He grew suspicious in a moment, and stiffened all over.
Marjory saw, and appreciated the reason. She smiled at
me with her eyes as she drummed on the table:
The Lost Script 267
" The herring is across his path ! " As the awkward
pause was this time with the stranger, we waited with
comparative ease. I saw with a feeling of wonder that
there was, through all her haughtiness, a spice of malice in
Marjory's enjoyment of his discomfiture. I looked at
Mrs. Jack and said : " May I give these papers to Mr.
" She answered promptly :
" Why cert'nly ! If Mr. Barnard wants them." Mar-
jory turned round suddenly and in a surprised voice
said:
"Mr. Barnard?"
" That is the name given in the letter which he brought,
my dear ! " The stranger at once spoke out :
" I am Mr. Barnard here ; but in my own country I am
of an older name. I thank you, sir, and Madam " turn-
ing to Mrs. Jack " for your courteous offer. But it will
be time enough for me to consider the lost pages when
through the unhappiness of your departure from my
house, I am enabled to come hither to live. In the mean-
time, all I shall ask is that the pages be replaced in this
book and that it be put in its place on the shelf where none
shall disturb it." As he spoke in his sweet, deferential
way there was something in his look or manner which
did not accord with his words ; a quick eager shifting of
his eyes, and a breathing hard which were at variance
with his words of patience. I did not pretend, however,
to notice it; I had my own game to play. So without a
word I placed the pages carefully in the book and put
the latter back on the shelf from which he had taken it.
There was an odd look in Marjory's face which 1 did
not quite understand ; and as she gave me no clue to her
thoughts by our sign language, I waited. Looking at
the stranger haughtily, and with a distinctly militant
expression she said:
" The agent told us that the Barnard family owned
268 The Mystery of the Sea
this castle ! " He bowed gravely, but a hot, angry flush
spread over his face as he replied :
" He spoke what truth he knew." Marjory's reply
came quickly :
" But you say you are one of the family, and the very
memorandum you pointed out was signed F. de E."
Again the hot flush swept his face; but passed in an in-
stant, leaving him as pale as the dead. After a pause
of a few moments he spoke in a tone of icy courtesy :
" I have already said, Senora, that in this country our
name my name, is Barnard. A name taken centuries
ago when the freedom of the great land of England was
not as now; when tolerance for the stranger was not.
In my own land, the land of my birth, the cradle of my
race, I am called Don Bernardino Yglesias Palealogue y
Santordo y Castelnuova de Escoban, Count of Minurca
and Marquis of Salvaterra ! " As he rehearsed his titles
he drew himself up to his full height; and pride of race
seemed actually to shine or emanate from him. Marjory,
too, on her side of the table drew herself up proudly as
she said in a voice in which scorn struggled for mastery
with dignity:
" Then you are a Spaniard 1 "
CHAPTER XXXIII
DON BERNARDINO
THE stranger held himself with, if possible, greater
hauteur as he answered:
" I have that great honour."
" And I, sir/' said Marjory, with a pride rivalling his
own, " am an American ! " Issue was joined.
For a period which from its strain seemed very long,
though it was probably but a few seconds, they stood
facing each other; types of the two races whose deadly
contest was then the interest of the world. The time
was at any rate sufficiently long for me to consider the
situation, and to admire the types. It would have been
hard to get a better representative of either, of the Latin
as well as of the Anglo-Saxon. Don Bernardino, with
his high aquiline nose and black eyes of eagle keenness,
his proud bearing and the very swarthiness which told of
Moorish descent, was, despite his modern clothes, just
such a picture as Velasquez would have loved to paint, or
as Fortuny might have made to live again.
And Marjory! She looked like the spirit of her free
race, incarnate. The boldness of her pose; her free
bearing; her manifest courage and self belief; the ab-
sence of either prudery or self-consciousness; her pic-
turesque, noble beauty, as with set white face and flashing
eyes she faced the enemy of her country, made a vision
never to be forgotten. Even her racial enemy had un-
consciously to fall into admiration; and through it the
269
270 The Mystery of the Sea
dominance of his masculine nature spoke. His words
were gracious, and the easy gracefulness of their delivery
was no less marked because the calm was forced :
" Our nations alas ! Senora are at war ; but surely not
even the courtesies of the battlefield need be strained
when individuals, even of the most loyal each to their
own, meet on neutral soil ! " It was evident that even
Marjory's quick wit did not grasp at a suitable reply.
The forgiveness of enemies is not the strong point of any
woman's nature, or of her education. The only remark
she made was to again repeat:
" 1 am an American! " The Spaniard felt the strength
of his position; again his masculinity came out in his
reply :
" And all good women, as well as all men, should be
loyal to their Flag. But oh Senora, before even your na-
tionality comes your sex. The Spanish nation does not
make war on women ! " He seemed really to believe what
he said; for the proud light in his face could not have
been to either a dastard or a liar. I confess it was with
a shock that I heard Marjory's words :
" In the reconcentrados were as many women as men.
More, for the men were fighting elsewhere ! " The pas-
sionate, disdainful sneer on her lips gave emphasis to the
insult ; and blood followed the stab. A red tide rushed to
the Spaniard's swarthy face, over forehead and ears and
neck ; till, in a moment of quick passion of hate, he seemed
as if bathed in red light.
And then in truth I saw the very man of my vision at
Whinnyfold.
Marjory, womanlike, feeling her superiority over the
man's anger, went on mercilessly:
" Women and children herded together like beasts ;
beaten, starved, tortured, mocked at, shamed, murdered!
Oh ! it is a proud thought for a Spaniard, that when the
Don Bernardino 271
men cannot be conquered, even in half a century of furi-
ous oppression, their baffled foes can wreak their ven-
geance on the helpless women and children ! "
The Spaniard's red became white; a deathly pallor
which looked grey in the darkened room. With his
coldness came the force of coldness, self-command. I
had a feeling that in those few moments of change had
come to him some grim purpose of revenge. It was
borne in upon me by flashes of memory and instinct that
the man was of the race and class from which came the
rulers and oppressors of the land, the leaders of the
Inquisition. Eyes like his own, burning in faces of
deathly white, looked on deeds of torture, whose very
memory after centuries can appal the world. But with all
his passion of hate and shame he never lost the instinct
of his dignity, or his grace of manner. One could not
but feel that even when he struck to kill he would strike
with easeful grace. Something of the feeling was in his
speech, perhaps in the manner rather than the words,
when after a pause he said :
" For such foul acts I have nought but indignation and
grief; though in the history of a nation such things
must be. It is the soldier's duty to obey; even though
his heart revolt. I have memory of hearing that even
your own great nation has exercised not so much care as
might be " how he sneered with polished sarcasm as he
turned the phrase " in the dealing with Indians. Nay
more, even in your great war, when to kill was fratricidal,
there were hardships to the conquered, even to the help-
less women and children. Have I not heard that one
of your most honoured generals, being asked what was
to become of the women in a great march of devastation
that he was about to make, replied, "The women? I
would leave them nothing but their eyes to weep with ! "
But, indeed, I grieve that in this our mutual war the
272 The Mystery of the Sea
Senora grieves. Is it that she has suffered in herself,
or through others dear to her? " Marjory's eyes flashed ;
pulling herself to full height she said proudly:
" Sir, I am not one who whines for pain of my own. I
and mine know how to bear our own troubles, as our
ancestors did before us. We do not bend before Spain ;
no more to-day than when my great ancestors swept
the Spaniard from the Western Main, till the seas were
lit with blazing masts and the shores were fringed with
wreckage! We Americans are not the jtuff of which
you make reconcentrados. We can die ! As for me, the
three hundred years that have passed without war, are
as a dream; I look on Spain and the Spaniard with the
eyes, and feel with the heart, of my great uncle Francis
Drake."
Whilst she was speaking Don Bernardino was cooling
down. He was still deadly pale, and his eyes had some-
thing of the hollow glare of phosphorus in the sockets of
a skull. But he was master of himself ; and it seemed to
me that he was straining every nerve to recover, for
some purpose of his own, his lost ground. It may have
been that he was ashamed of his burst of passion, with
and before a woman; but anyhow he was manifestly set
on maintaining calm, or the appearance of it. With the
fullness of his grace and courtesy he said, turning to
Mrs. Jack:
" I thank you for the permission, so graciously granted
to me, to visit again this my house. You will permit
me, however, I hope without any intention of offence, to
withdraw from where my presence has brought so much
of disturbance; the which I deplore, and for which I
crave pardon."
To me he bowed stiffly with a sort of lofty condescen-
sion; and finally, looking towards Marjory, he said:
" The Senora will I trust believe that even a Spaniard
Don Bernardino 273
may have pity to give pain; and that there are duties
which gentlemen must observe because they are gentle-
men, and because they reverence the trust that is reposed
in them more than do common men. She can appreciate
the call of duty I know ; for she can be none other than the
new patriot who restores in the west our glorious memo-
ries of the Maid of Saragossa. I pray that the time
may come when she shall understand these things and
believe ! " Then, with a bow which seemed the em-
bodiment of old-fashioned grace and courtesy, he bent
almost to the ground. Marjory instinctively bowed. Her
training as to good manners, here stood her in good
stead; not even patriotic enthusiasm can at times break
the icy barrier of social decorum.--
When the Spaniard left the room, which he did with
long strides but bearing himself with inconceivable
haughtiness, Mrs. Jack, with a glance at us, went with
him. Instinctively I started to take her place; in the
first instance to relieve her from an awkward duty, and
beyond this with a feeling that I was not quite satisfied
with him. No one could be in antagonism with Marjory,
and acquire or retain my good will. As I moved, Mar-
jory held up her hand and whispered to me to stay. I
did so, and waited for her to explain. She listened in-
tently to the retreating footsteps; when we heard the
echoing sound of the closing the heavy outer door, she
breathed freely and said to me with relief in her voice:
" I know you two would have fought if you had got
alone together just now ! "
I smiled, for I was just beginning to understand that
that was just how I felt. Marjory remained standing at
the table, and I could see that she was buried in thought.
Presently she said:
" I felt it was cruel to say such things to that gentle-
man. Oh! but he is a gentleman; the old idea seems
18
274 The Mystery of the Sea
embodied in him. Such pride, such haughtiness ; such dis-
dain of the commoner kind ; such adherence to ideas ; such
devotion to honour ! Indeed, I felt it very cruel and un-
generous; but I had nothing else to do. I had to make
him angry; and I knew he couldn't quarrel with me.
Nothing else would have taken us all away from the
cipher." Her words gave me quite a shock. " Do you
mean to say Marjory," I asked, " that you were acting
a part all the time ? "
" I don't know " she answered pensively, " I meant
every word I said, even when it hurt him most. I sup-
pose that was the American in me. And yet all the
time 1 had a purpose or a motive of my own which
prompted me. I suppose that was the woman in me."
"And what was the motive or purpose?" I asked
again, for I wondered.
" I don't know ! " she said naively. I felt that she
was concealing something from me; but that it was a
something so tender or so deep in her heart that its very
concealment was a shy compliment. So I smiled happily
as I said:
" And that is the girl in you. The girl that is
American, and European, and Asiatic, and African,
and Polynesian. The girl straight out of the Garden
of Eden, with the fragrance of God's own breath in her
mouth ! "
" Darling ! " she said, looking at me lovingly. That
was all.
During the day, we discussed the visitor of the morn-
ing, Mrs. Jack said very little, but now and again im-
plored Marjory to be cautious ; when she was asked her
reason for the warning her only reply was :
" I don't like a man who can look like that. I don't
know which is worst, when he is hot or cold ! " I gath-
ered that Marjory in the main agreed with her; but did
Don Bernardino 275
not feel the same concern. Marjory would have been con-
cerned if the danger had been to anyone else; but she
was not habituated to be anxious about herself. Besides,
she was young; and the antagonist was a man; and
haughty and handsome, and interesting.
In the afternoon we completed our arrangements for
the visit to the treasure cave. We both felt the necessity
for pressing on this matter, since the existence of the
secret writing was known to Don Bernardino. He had
not hesitated to speak openly, though he did not know
of course the extent of our own knowledge of the sub-
ject, of a grave duty which he had undertaken from
hereditary motives, or of the tragic consequences which
might ensue. It was whilst we were speaking of the
possibility of his being able to decipher the cryptogram,
that Marjory suddenly said:
" Did you understand exactly why I asked you to give
him the paper at once ? "
" Far be it from me " I answered " to profess to un-
derstand exactly the motives of any charming woman."
"Not even when she tells you herself?"
" Ah ! then the real mystery only begins ! " I said bow-
ing. She smiled as she replied:
" You and I are both fond of mysteries. So I had
better tell you at once. That man doesn't know the secret.
I am sure of it. He knows there is a secret ; and he knows
a part, but only a part. That eager look wouldn't have
been in his eye if he had known already. I daresay there
is, somewhere, some duplicate of what the original Don
Bernardino put down in his story. And of course there
must be some allusion to the treasure in the secret records
at Simancas or the Quirinal or the Vatican. Neither
the kings of Spain nor the Popes would let such a treas-
ure pass out of mind. Indeed it is possible that there
is some key or clue to it which he holds. Did you notice
276 The Mystery of the Sea
how he referred at once to the secret meaning of the
memorandum in the beginning of the law book? If we
had not given it up at once, he would have forced on
the question and wished to take the paper away ; and we
could not have refused without letting him know some-
thing by our very refusal. Do you understand any more
of my meaning now ? And can you forgive me any more
for my ill-mannered outbreak? That is what I am most
sorry for, of all that has been in the interview to-day.
Is that also any more light to you on the mystery of a
woman's mind ? "
"It is, you dear! it is!" I said as I took her for a
moment in my arms. She came easily and lovingly to me,
and I could not but be assured that the yielding even
momentarily to tenderness helped to ease the strain which
had been bearing upon her for so long. For my Marjory,
though a strong and brave one, was but a woman after all.
At six o'clock I took my way back to Whinnyfold ; for
I wanted to have all ready for our enterprise, and take full
advantage of the ebb tide. We arranged that on this
occasion Marjory should come alone to join me at the
house our house
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE ACCOLADE
WHEN Marjory arrived, I had all ready for our
exploration. There were several packages
waiting for her, and when she emerged from
the room where she had gone to change, their purpose
was manifest. She appeared in a flannel tennis frock,
short enough to show that she had put on her sand shoes
on her bare feet. She saw that I noticed and said with
a little blush :
" You see I am dressed for the part ; you came back
so wet the last time that I thought I had better prepare
for it too."
" Quite right, my dear," I said. " That pretty head
of yours is level." We went to the cellar at once where
I had lamps and candles prepared and ready to light. I
showed Marjory how to get up and down by herself, in
case anything should happen to me. This made the
gravity of our enterprise apparent. Her face grew a trifle
anxious, though she did not change colour; I could see
that all her anxiety was for me and none for herself.
We took care to bring a plentiful supply of matches and
candles, as well as an extra lamp and an oil can, and some
torches and red and white lights. All these were in a tin
box to insure their being kept dry. I had a meal of bread
and meat packed ready ; also a bottle of water and a flask
of brandy, for the exploration might take a long time.
The tide was not quite out, and there was still in places a
277
278 The Mystery of the Sea
couple of feet of water ; but we decided to go on at once as
it would give us more time if we started on a falling tide.
I took Marjory first up the passage inland, so that she
might understand something of the lines of the cave sys-
tem. There was, however, too much tide just then to
show her where I surmised there might be some deep
opening, perhaps permanently under water, into some of
the other caves. Then we retraced our steps and gained
the pile of debris of the explosion at the cave's mouth. I
could not but notice how much Marjory was impressed by
the stillness of the place. Here, the tide, filtering in by
innumerable crevices and rifts between the vast pile of
stones, showed no sign of the force of waves without.
There was not time for the rise and fall of waves to be
apparent; but the water maintained its level silently,
except for that ceaseless gurgle which comes with the
piling in of water anywhere, and is so constant that it does
not strike one as a sound. It was borne in upon us that
the wildest storm without, would make no impress upon
us here in this cavern deep ; and with it, as an inevitable
corollary, came the depressing thought of our helplessness
should aught go wrong in the fastnesses of this natural
prison.
Marjory bounded over the slippery stones like a young
deer, and when we passed through the natural archway
into the cave beyond, her delight was manifest. She was
hurrying on so quickly that I found it necessary to tell
her she must go slow so as to be able to take stock of all
around her as she went. It was needful to look back as
well as forward, so that she might recognise the places
when coming the other way. I reminded her of caution
by holding up the great ball of stout cord which I carried,
the end of which was attached to the rope of the windlass
in the cellar. " Remember, dear," I said, " that you have
to be prepared for all eventualities ; if necessary to go back
The Accolade 279
alone and in the dark." She shuddered a little and drew
closer to me ; I felt that the movement was one of protec-
tion rather than of fear.
When we went along the passage, where on the first
occasion I had found the water rise neatly to the roof, we
had to wait; a little way ahead of us, where the cave
dipped to its lowest, the water was still touching the
top. We possessed our souls with what patience we
could, and in about half an hour's time we were able to
pass. ,We were quite wet, however, for only our faces
and our lamps were above water; with the exception, of
course, of the tin box with the candles and matches and
our provisions, which I took care to keep dry.
Marjory's delight at the sight of the huge red cave was
unspeakable. When I lit one of the red lights the blind-
ing glow filled the place, exposing every nook and corner,
and throwing shadows of velvet blackness. The natural
red of the granite suited the red light, the effect being
intensely rich. Whilst the light lasted it was all like a
dream of fairyland; and Marjory hung on to me in an ec-
stasy of delight. 'Then, when the light died down and
the last sparks fell into the natural darkness, it seemed as
if we and all around us were steeped in gloom. The little
patches of faint light from our lamps seemed to our
dazzled eyes to openly emphasise the surrounding black-
ness.
Marjory suggested that we should explore the great
cavern before we did anything else. I acquiesced, for
it was just as well that we should be thoroughly ac-
quainted with the various ramifications of the cave. I
was not by any means sure as yet that we should be able
to get to the cave of the treasure. Here, all around us, was
red ; we were entirely within the sienite formation. When
1 had been first in the cave I had not seen it lit up. Only
where the comparatively feeble light of my bicycle lantern
280 The Mystery of the Sea
had fallen had I seen anything at all. Of course it may
have been that the red light which I had burned had misled
me by overwhelming everything in its lurid glow. So
this time I got a white light out of the box and lit it.
The effect was more ghastly and less pleasant. In the
revealing glare, the edges of everything stood out hard
and cold, and so far repulsive that instinctively Marjory
drew closer to me. While the light remained, however, I
was able to satisfy myself of one thing; all around was
only the red granite. Colour and form and texture all
told the same thing; we had passed the stratification of
gneiss and entered on that of the sienite. I began to
wonder and to think, though I did not at once mention the
matter to Marjory. The one guiding light as to locality
in the Don's narrative was the description of the cave
" the black stone on one hand and the red on the other."
Now at Broad Haven the gneiss and the red sienite join,
and the strata in places seem as if welded together or
fused by fire. Here and there can be found patches in
the cliff where it is hard to say where one class of rock
ends and the other begins. In the centre bay, however,
to the north of my house, there is a sort of dip in the
cliff covered deep with clay, and bright with grass and
wild flowers. Through this a tiny stream rushes in wet
weather, or in dry trickles down the steep incline. This
is the natural or main division between the geological
formations ; for on either side of it is a different kind of
rock it was here that I expected to find that the treasure
cave was situated. It had been of course impossible for me,
though I had had a compass with me, to fix exactly the
windings of the cave. I knew, however, that the general
trend was to the right; we must, therefore, have passed
behind the treasure cave and come into the region of red
granite. I began to have an idea, or rather the rudiment
of one, that later on we should have to go back on our
The Accolade 281
tracks. Inasmuch as my own house stood on the gneiss
formation, we should have to find whereabout in the cave
windings the red and the black rocks joined. From this
point we might be able to make new and successful prog-
ress towards discovery of the treasure itself. In the
meantime I was content to linger a few minutes in the
great cavern. It was evident that Marjory was in love
with it, and was at present in a whirl of delight. And,
after all, she was my world, and her happiness my sun-
shine. I fully realised in the delightful passages of our
companionship the truth of the lover's prayer in Herrick's
pretty poem.
" Give me but what this Ribbon bound, *
Take all the rest the sun goes round."
Every day, every hour, seemed to me to be revealing
new beauties of my wife's character and nature. She was
herself becoming reconciled to our new relationship; and
in the confidence of her own happiness, and in her trust
of her husband, the playful and sweet sides of her nature
were gaining a new development. I could not help feeling
at times that all was going on for the best ; that the very
restraint of the opening of our married life was formative
of influence for good on us both. If all young husbands
and wives could but understand the true use of the old-
fashioned honeymoon, the minute knowledge of character
coming in moments of unconscious self-revelation, there
might be more answers in the negative to the all important
nineteenth century philosophical query, " Is marriage a
failure ? " It was evident that Marjory was reluctant to
leave the cave. She lingered and lingered; at last in
obedience to a command of hers, conveyed for she said
nothing in some of those subtle feminine ways, which,
though I did not understand their methods, I was begin-
ning to learn to obey, I lit a torch. Holding it aloft, and
282 The Mystery of the Sea
noticing with delight how the light danced in my wife's
beautiful eyes as she clapped her hands joyously with the
overt pleasure of a child, I said:
" Her Majesty wishes to inspect her new kingdom.
Her slave awaits her pleasure ! "
" Lead on ! " she said. " Her Majesty is pleased with
the ready understanding of her Royal Consort, and with
his swift obedience to her wishes; and oh! Archie isn't
this simply too lovely for anything ! " The quick change
into the vernacular made us both laugh ; and taking hands
like two children we walked round the cavern. At the
upper end of it, almost at the furthest point from where
we entered, we came across a place where, under an over-
hanging red wall which spread out overhead like a canopy,
a great rock rose from the level floor. It was some nodule
of especial hardness which in the general trituration had
not been worn away by the wash of the water and the roll-
ing of pebbles which at one time undoubtedly helped to
smooth the floor. In the blinking light of the torch, the
strength of which was dimmed in the vastness of the
cavern, the isolated rock, standing as it did under the
rocky canopy whose glistening surface sent down a
patchy reflex of the glare, seemed like a throne. The idea
occurred simultaneously to both of us ; even as I spoke I
could see that she was prepared to take her seat :
" Will not Her Majesty graciously take her seat upon
the throne which the great Over-Lord, Nature, has him-
self prepared for her? "
She took the stick which she carried to steady her in
the wading, and holding it like a sceptre, said, and oh,
but her sweet voice sounded like far music stealing
through the vastness of the cavern:
" Her Majesty, now that she has ascended her throne,
and so, formally taken possession of her Kingdom, hereby
decrees that her first act of power shall be to confer the
The Accolade 283
honour of Knighthood on her first and dearest subject.
Kneel therefore at the feet of your Queen. Answer me
by your love and loyalty. Do you hereby promise and
vow obedience to the wishes of your Queen? Shall you
love her faithfully and truly and purely ? Shall you hold
her in your heart of hearts, yielding obedience to all true
wishes of hers, and keeping the same steadfastly to the
end ? Do you love me ? "
Here she paused; the rising emotion was choking her
words. The tears welled into her eyes and her mouth
quivered. I was all at once in a fire of devotion. I could
then, and indeed when I think of it I can now, realise
how of old, in the days when loyalty was a passion, a
young knight's heart flowered and blossomed in the mo-
ment of his permitted devotion. It was with all the truth
of my soul and my nature that I answered :
" I do love you, oh, my gracious Queen. I hereby take
all the vows you have meted to me. I shall hold you ever,
as I do now, in my very heart of hearts. I shall worship
and cherish you till death parts us. I shall reverence and
obey your every true wish ; even as I have already prom-
ised beside the sea and at the altar. And whithersoever
my feet may go in obedience to your will, my Queen and
my Love, they shall go on steadfast, to the end." Here
I stopped, for I feared to try to say more ; I was trembling
myself and the words were choked in my throat. Marjory
bent over as 1 knelt, laid her wand on my shoulder and
said:
" Rise up, Sir Archibald, my own True Knight and
Loyal Lover ! " Before I rose I wanted to kiss her hand,
but as I bent, her foot was temptingly near. I stooped
lower to kiss it. She saw my intention and saying impul-
sively : " Oh, Archie dear, not that wet, dirty shoe,"
kicked it off. I stooped still lower and kissed her bare
foot.
284 The Mystery of the Sea
As I looked up at her face adoringly, a blush swept over
it and left her pale ; but she did not flinch. Then I stood
up and she stepped down from her throne, and into my
arms. She laid her head against my shoulder, and for a
few moments of ecstasy our hearts beat together.
CHAPTER XXXV
THE POPE'S TREASURE
U 1^ TOW," said Marjory, at last disengaging herself
r^J from me, "let us get down to business.
We've got to find the treasure, you know ! "
So we set ourselves down to a systematic search.
We explored one after another all the caves leading out
of the main cavern. Some of them were narrow and
tortuous; some were wide and low with roof dropping
down, down, until it was impossible for anything in the
shape of humanity to pass. All these, however, with one
exception, ended in those fissure-like clefts, running
somewhere to a point, which characterise cavern forma-
tions. The exception was at the north west side of the
cavern where a high, fairly wide passage extended, with
an even floor as though it too had been levelled by rolling
pebbles. It kept on straight for a good length, and then
curved round gently to the right, all the while fairly
maintaining its proportions. Presently it grew so high
that it was like a narrow way between tall houses. I
lit a white light, and in the searching glare noticed that far
overhead the rocky walls leaned together till they
touched. This spot, just above us, was evidently the
highest point; the roof thence fell rapidly till at last it
was only some ten feet high. A little further on it came to
a sudden end.
Here there was a great piled-up mass of huge, sharp-
edged rocks, at the base of which were stones of all
285
286 The Mystery of the Sea
sizes, some round and some jagged. Scattered near and
isolated were many stones rounded by constant friction.
As I looked, the whole circumstances seemed to come
to me. " See," I cried to Marjory, " this was evidently
another entrance to the cave. The tides, ebbing or flow-
ing, drove in through one way and out at the other ; and
the floor was worn level in process of countless years by
rolling pebbles like these. Then came some upheaval or
wearing away by water drift of supporting walls of rock ;
and this mouth of the cave fell in. We must be by now
somewhere at the Cruden side of .Whinnyfold; we are
facing almost due north."
As there was manifestly nothing to be done here, we
took our way back to the main cavern. When we began
to look around us for a new place to explore, Marjory
said:
" There doesn't seem to be any treasure cave at all
here. We have now tried everywhere." Then it was that
my mind went back again to the Don's description " Black
on the one hand and red on the other." " Come," I said,
" let us go back till we find the joining of the gneiss and
granite." As we went back the floor was almost dry;
only a few pools of water here and there, lying in the
depressions, called attention to the fact that we were
under tidal influence. As we went we kept a careful look-
out for the fusion of the rocks; and found it where the
passage with the descending roof debouched into that
which led from the blocked up entrance of the cave.
There was here, however, no sign of another passage,
and the main one outside was like that under my own
house, entirely through the gneiss.
I could not help feeling a little disappointed. For
many weeks my mind had been set on finding the Pope's
treasure; and though I believe it was not greed which
controlled me even to any great extent, I was deeply
The Pope's Treasure 287
chagrined. I had a sort of unworthy fear that it might
lower me in the eyes of Marjory. This feeling, however,
was only momentary ; and when it went, it went for good.
Drawing in my note-book a rough outline of Whinnyfold,
I dotted lines where I took the various branches of the
cave to lie and then marked in the line of fusion of the
gneiss and the granite as it was manifest on the cliffs and
on the shore beyond. Marjory was at once convinced;
indeed when I saw my surmise put down in black and
white it seemed to me quite apparent that it must be
correct. The treasure cave must be within that space
which lay between the dismantled entrance on the side
of the Skares, and that which had fallen in on the north
side. The logical inference was that if there was an
entrance to be found at all it would be close to the debris
from the Don's explosion. So we took in silence, our way
back to that point and began at once to examine the debris
for any sign of an opening in the rock to the north side.
Marjory scrambled up to the top of the pile whilst I
explored the base. Turning my lantern on the rocky wall
1 began to examine it foot by foot and inch by inch.
Suddenly Marjory cried out. I raised my head and
looked at her. Her face, lit by the rays of my own lamp
which, with the habit of searching now familiar to me
I had turned as my eyes turned, was radiant with joy
and excitement.
" Look ! look ! " she cried. " Oh, Archie, there is the
top of an opening here. The stones fill it up." As she
spoke she pushed at a stone on the top of the pile ; under
her hand it moved and disappeared with a hollow rattle.
By this time I had scrambled up the slippery pile and
was beside her. The disappearance of the stone had en-
larged the opening, and something like a foot square was
discovered.
So we began to work at the heap of stones, only we
288 The Mystery of the Sea
pulled and threw them into the cave where we were so
as not to block the place we aimed at. The top layer of
stones was easy to move, as they were comparatively
small, and were not interlocked, but below them we found
a much more difficult task. Here the rocks were larger
and more irregular in shape, and their points and edges
interlocked. We did not mind, however, but toiled on.
I could not but notice as we did so, a trait of Marjory's
coolness of head in the midst of all her excitement, when
she took from her pocket a pair of heavy gloves and put
them on.
In some fifteen or twenty minutes we had unmasked a
hole sufficiently large to pass through comfortably. I
found that the oil of my lamp was running low; so I
refilled it and Marjory's also. Then holding my own lamp
carefully, whilst Marjory turned hers in the direction I
was going, I passed over the top of the miniature moraine,
and in a few seconds was on the floor of the other cave.
Marjory threw me the ball of string and scrambling down
joined me at once. We went along carefully, for the roof
of the cave dipped very low and we had in more than one
place to bend considerably ; even then we were walking in
a couple of feet of water as the floor dipped as well as the
roof. When we had gone some distance, however, the
roof rose as the cave turned sharp to the left, round a
corner of very broken and jagged rock in which I could
see signs of the fusion of the two geological formations.
Our hearts beat high and we took hands instinctively;
we were now confident that we were in the treasure house
at last.
As we went up the cave, here running, so far as I could
ascertain by the compass, straight in and from the sea,
we could note, as we turned our lamps now and again to
either side, that on our left was all black rock whilst on
the right was all red. The cave was not a long one;
The Pope's Treasure 289
nothing to compare with those we had left. It was not
very many seconds, though we had to go slow as we did
not know for certain as to the floor level, before the cave
began to expand.
When, however, it widened and became more lofty,
the floor rose in all some three feet and we went up a
sharp incline though not of very great magnitude. This
dipped a little again forming a pool which spread ahead
of us so far as we could see by the dim light of our bicycle
lamps. As we did not know the depth I waded in,
Marjory enjoining me anxiously to be careful. I found
it deepened very slowly ; so she joined me and we went on
together. By my advice, Marjory kept a few feet in the
rear, so that in case I should stumble or meet with a
deep hole and so lose my light, hers would still be safe.
I was so intent on my feet, for I feared lest Marjory fol-
lowing so close might get into some trouble, that I hardly
looked ahead, but kept cautiously on my way. Marjory,
who was flashing her lamp all around as she went, sud-
denly called out :
" Look ! look ! There to the right, the figure of the
San Cristobal with the golden Christ on his shoulder."
I turned my lantern to the angles of the cave to the
right co which we were now close. The two lamps gave
us light enough to see well.
There, rising from the water under the shelf of rock,
was the figure that Benvenuto had wrought, as Don
Bernardino had left it three centuries ago.
As I moved forwards I stumbled; in trying to save
myself the lamp was shaken from my hand and fell hiss-
ing in the dark water. As it fell I saw by the flash of
light the white bones of a skeleton under the San Cristo-
bal. Instinctively I called out to Marjory:
" Stand still and take care of your lamp ; I've dropped
mine!"
19
290 The Mystery of the Sea
" All right ! " came back her answer coolly ; she had
quite command of herself. She turned the lamp down-
wards, so that we could see into the water, and I found I
had stumbled against an iron box, beside which, in about
two feet of water, lay my lamp. I picked this up first and
shook the water from it and laid it on the shelf of rock.
" Wait here a moment," I said, " I shall run back and get
a torch." For I had left the tin box on the top of the
heap of debris when we had scrambled through the hole.
I was starting back at once when she said after me, and
in that cave the voice came after me " monotonous and
hollow like a ghost's : "
" Take my lamp with you dear. How can you find the
box, or even the way to it, in the dark ? "
" But I can't leave you alone here ; all in the dark, too."
" Oh, I'm all right," she answered gaily, " I don't mind
a bit! And besides it will be a new sensation to be here
alone with Olgaref and the treasure. You won't be
long, will you, dear ? " I felt that her query almost belied
her brave words ; but I knew that behind the latter lay her
pride which I must not offend; so I took the lamp she
was holding out to me and hurried on. In a few min-
utes I had found the box and brought it back ; but I could
see that even those minutes had been a trying time to
Marjory, who was deathly white. When I came close,
she clung to me; after a second or two she said, as she
drew herself away, looking at me diffidently as though to
excuse herself, or rather to account for her perturbation :
" The moment you had gone and I was alone in the dark
with the treasure, all the weird prophecying of Gormala
came back to me. The very darkness itself made light
patches, and I saw shrouds floating everywhere. But it's
all right now that you are here. Light a torch, and we
shall look at the Pope's treasure." I took a torch out of
the box and lit it; she laid it so that the lighted end
The Pope's Treasure 291
projected well beyond the shelf of rock and gave a fine
if fitful, light to all around. We found water about three
feet deep at its worst; in the glare of the torch and be-
cause of its crystal purity, it did not look even so much.
We stooped down to examine the box, which was only one
of several lying in front of a great heap of something,
all dark with rust and age, which filled up a whole corner
of the cave.
The hasp was eaten through with rust, as well it might
be after three centuries in the water, and only retained its
form. This was doubtless due to the stillness of the water,
for even the shock of my striking the box with my boot
had broken it across. When I pulled at it, it crumbled to
pieces in my fingers. In the same way the iron of the box
itself was rusted right through ; and as I tried to lift
the lid which was annealed by corrosion to the sides of
the box, it broke in my hands. I was able to tear it
away like matchwood. The contents were not corroded,
but were blackened by the sea. It was all money, but
whether silver or gold we could not tell, and did not stop
to see. Then we opened box after box in the same way,
and in all but one found coins. This took a considerable
time; but we did not in our excitement note its flying.
The heap in the corner was composed of great ingots, to
lift any of which took a distinct effort of strength. The
one box unfilled with coins contained smaller boxes or
caskets which were uncorroded and were, we presumed,
of some superior metal, silver or gold. They were all
locked ; I lifted one of them and laid it on the shelf of
rock whilst I searched for a key. It was a difficult
matter to find any definite thing whilst stooping in the
water, so I took my knife and tried with its point to
prise open the casket. The lock must have been of iron
and corroded ; it gave way instantly under pressure, dis-
closing a glittering heap of stones which, even through
The Mystery of the Sea
all the cloudiness of the saline deposit of centuries, flashed
red lights everywhere.
" Rubies ! " cried Marjory who stood close to me, clap-
ping her hands. " Oh ! how lovely. Darling ! " she added
kissing me, for her expression of delight had to find a vent
on something.
" Next ! " I said as I bent to the iron chest to lift out
another of the caskets.
I drew back with a shudder; Marjory looking anxiously
at my face divined the cause and cried in genuine alarm :
" The tide ! The tide is rising ; and is shutting us in ! "
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE RISING TIDE
I THINK there must be some provision of nature
which in times of real danger keeps men's minds
away from personal fears. I can honestly say that
not a thought of danger for myself crossed my mind;
though I was harrowed up and appalled by fears for
Marjory. My mental excitement, however, took a prac-
tical shape, and thought after thought flashed through my
brain as to how I could best serve my wife. The situa-
tion with its woeful possibilities came first; and after-
wards, in quick succession, the efforts which might be
made. But first I must see how we really stood. I did
not know this cave and the lengths and levels of it well
enough to be sure whether the tide could block us com-
pletely in. If there were but head-room the actual dis-
tance was not far to swim. This I could soon settle ; tak-
ing Marjory's lamp which stood on the ledge of rock I
ran down the cave calling out as I went :
" Stay here a minute, dear, I want to see how far the
tide is in." The double winding of the cave made it hard
for me to judge at a glance; it was only when I came to
the piece of straight passage leading up from the sea that
I could judge. From the time 1 left the treasure chamber
of the- cave the water got deeper and deeper as I went, but
the difficulty was not in this way; I knew that so long
as there was headway I could swim for it and take Mar-
jory with me. But when I came down the straight, my
293
294 The Mystery of the Sea
hopes were altogether dashed. As the floor dipped
towards the sea so did the roof in much greater degree.
I knew that there was one place where at low water there
was only barely headway even when we stooped low ;
but I was not prepared for what I saw. The water had
already risen so far that this place was, from where I
stood waist high in water, obliterated; the rocky roof
sank into the still, level water. For a moment I con-
sidered whether it would not be best to dive through it.
I had the cord to guide me, and I knew that towards its
mouth the cave roof rose again. But then there was
Marjory. She was not like myself an accomplished diver.
It might be possible if the worst should come to the worst
to draw her through the water-choked piece of tunnel by
the guiding cord. But if the cord should break or any-
thing go wrong. . v -. The thought was too dread-
ful! I hurried back to Marjory to see how far it might
be advisable to make the attempt, however dangerous,
rather than be drowned in the deepening water of the
cave, or asphyxiated if the space left were too small to
allow us breathing till the falling of the tide.
I found Marjory standing on the shelf of rock, to which
she had climbed by the aid of the San Cristobal figurehead.
She was holding up the torch and examining carefully the
walls and roof of the cave. When she heard the splash of
my coming through the water, she turned; I could see
that though her face was pale she was very calm and self-
possessed. She said quietly:
" I have been looking for high-water mark, but I can
hardly see any sign of it. I suppose in this dark cave,
where neither seaweed nor zoophyte exists, there is no
such thing. Unless of course it be that the whole cave is
under the water line ; in which case we must be ready for
the worst." As she spoke she was raising the torch till
its light illuminated, so far as was possible, the extreme
The Rising Tide 295
angle of the cavern where it ran up to a sort of point. I
scrambled up beside her, and making use of my greater
height, took the torch and keeping it away at arm's
length put my hand into the narrowing angle. I had a
sort of secret hope that there might be some long crack or
rift which, though it might be impossible for our bodies,
might still give us air. Any such half-formed hope was
soon shattered ; the angle of the cave was in the solid rock,
and there was no fissure or even crack beyond.
As there was no clue to the level reached by the tide,
I tried back on the possibility of gauging it by measuring
from low water, so far as my memory of the tides might
serve. Judging by the depth of the water, so far as I had
gone, the fall of the floor level must here have been some
three feet. The floor level of the cave was almost that of
low water, except where it dipped under the overhanging
roof, or where was the ascending grade up to the pool in
which the treasure boxes lay. As here on the border of
the North Sea, with no estuary to increase tidage, the
normal rise of the tide is between eleven and twelve feet,
we had to account for another eight or nine feet for the
rise of the tide. The ledge was about a foot above the
surface of the water. If my calculations were correct
there was head room and breathing space, for as I stood
on the ledge the top of my head was still about two feet
from the highest point of roof over us. I could not,
however, be certain of my calculations, within a couple
of feet. If, therefore, we could keep our place on the
shelf of rock and endure the cold we might yet win
through. The cold was a serious matter. At Cru-
den where the full sweep of the icy current from the
North Sea runs in shore, the water is grievously cold,
even in the hottest summer time. Already we were
feeling the effects of our wet clothes, even in this silent
cavern where the heat seemed to be much more than out-
296 The Mystery of the Sea
side. When we had been looking at the jewels, I had
myself felt the chill, and could feel Marjory shiver now
and again. Indeed, I had been about to suggest our re-
turning when I made the discovery of the rising tide.
It was no use regretting, however. We were caged in
the cavern ; and our only chance was to hold on somehow,
till the tide should fall again. The practical side of Mar-
jory's mind was all awake. It was she who quietly refilled
the two lamps, and, with much spluttering of the wick at
first, lighted again the one which I had let fall into the
water. When both lamps were ready, she put out the
torch and placed it in the tin box which she handed to me,
saying :
" We may need all the air we can get for our breathing,
and the torches would burn it up. We must have two
lamps lest one should fail. Shove the box as far as it will
go into the corner of the cave; it will be safe there as
safe as us at any rate, for it will be over our heads."
As she spoke a new idea occurred to me. I might raise
the level of the ledge by piling the ingots on it ! I did not
lose any time, but jumping down began at once to lift
them one by one on the ledge. It was heavy work, and no
one but a very strong man could have lifted them from off
the ground, much less have placed them on a ledge over
where he stood. Moreover I had to bend into the water
to reach them, and in the years which they had lain there
in juxtaposition some deposit of salt or sea lime of some
kind had glued them together. After the separation of the
first, however, this difficulty grew less. Marjory aided
me in placing the bars in position; when they were once
fixed their great weight kept them in place.
It was odd how little in these moments the treasure
counted for. The little heap of rubies lay on the shelf of
rock unnoticed, and when in the strain of placing the
ingots some of them were brushed off into the water,
The Rising Tide 297
neither Marjory nor I took the trouble even to sweep them
with a brush of the hand into a safer place. One of the
metal caskets was tumbled bodily into the water without
a thought.
When the ingots were all in place, and shaken into
steady position, we got on the ledge together and began to
test the security of our platform ; it would be too late to
find out any flaw of construction when the tide should
have risen. We had made a foothold nearly two feet
above the surface of the ledge, and this might give us at
the last an additional chance. At any rate, even if we
should not be so hard pressed as to have to raise our heads
so high, it would give us a longer period of comparative
dryness. We were already beginning to feel the chill of
the tide. In those caves the air is all right, and we had
not felt chilled, although we were more or less wet
through ; but I dreaded lest it might numb either of us so
much as to prevent our taking every chance. When we
stood together on the pile of gold and silver, our heads
were so close to the roof that I felt safe so far as actually
drowning or asphyxiation were concerned if the tide did
not rise higher than I had computed. If we could only
hold out till the tide had fallen sufficiently, we might get
back.
And then we began the long, dreary wait for the rising
tide. The time seemed endless, for our apprehension and
suspense multiplied the real danger whatever it might be.
We stood on the cave floor till the water had reached our
waists, and all this time tried to keep moving, to dance
up and down, to throw about arms and leg's so as to
maintain the circulation of the blood. Then we climbed
up and sat on the platform of bullion till the water rose
round our knees again. Then we stood on the ledge and
took what exercise we could till the water climbed up
over our feet and knees. It was a terrible trial to feel the
298 ; . The Mystery of the Sea
icy, still water creep up, and up, and up. There was not
a sound, no drip or ripple of water anywhere ; only silence
as deadly as death itself. Then came the time when we
had to stand together on the pile of bullion which we had
built up. We stood close, for there was merely foothold ;
I held Marjory up as well as I could, so as to lessen for
her the strain of standing still. Our hearts beat together.
We felt it, and we knew it ; it was only the expression of
both our thoughts when Marjory said:
" Thank God ! dear, at the worst we can die together."
In turn we held the lamp well over the water, and as we
looked in aching suspense we saw the dark flood rise up to
the sloping roof of the cave and steal towards us with
such slow, relentless precision that for my own part I felt
I must scream. I felt Marjory tremble ; the little morsel
of hysterics which goes to make up the sum total of every
woman was beginning to assert itself. Indeed there was
something hypnotic in that silent line of death creeping
slowly towards us. At this time, too, the air began to
feel less fresh. Our own breaths and the exhalations of
the lamp was vitiating our breathing space. I whispered
to Marjory:
" We must put out the light ! " She shuddered, but
said with as brave a voice as she could :
" All right ! I suppose it is necessary. But, darling,
hold me tight and do not let me away from you, or I shall
die!"
I let the lantern fall into the water; its hissing for a
moment drowned my own murmur of grief and Marjory's
suppressed groan.
And now, in the darkness, the terror of the rising flood
grew worse and worse. The chill water crept up, and up,
and up ; till at last it was only by raising her head that
Marjory could breathe. I leaned back against the rock
and bending my legs outward lifted her so that she rested
The Rising Tide 299
her feet upon my knees. Up and up rose the chill water
till it reached my chin, and I feared that the last moments
had come.
There was one chance more for Marjory : and though it
cut me to the soul to speak it, for I knew it would tear at
her very heartstrings, I had to try it :
" Marjory, my wife, the end is close ! I fear we may
not both live. In a few minutes more, at most, the water
will be over my mouth. When that time comes I shall
sink over the pile of treasure on which "we rest. You
must then stand on me; it will raise you sufficiently to
let you hold out longer." A dreadful groan broke from
her.
<( Oh, my God ! " was all she said, but every nerve in
her body seemed to quiver. Then without a word she
seemed to become limp and was sliding out of my arms. I
held her up strongly, for I feared she had swooned: she
groaned out :
" Let me go, let me go ! Either of us can rest on the
other's body. I shall never leave this if you die."
" Dear one " I said " do as I wish, and I shall feel that
even death will be a happy thing, since it can help you."
She said nothing but clung to me and our mouths met. I
knew what she meant ; if die we must, we should die to-
gether in a kiss.
In that lover's kiss our very souls seemed to meet. We
felt that the Gates of the Unknown World were being
unbarred to us, and all its glorious mysteries were about
to be unveiled. In the impassive stillness of that rising
tide, where never a wave or ripple broke the dreadful,
silent, calm, there was no accidental fall or rise which
might give added uneasiness or sudden hope. We had by
this time become so far accustomed to its deadly perfec-
tion as to accept its conditions. This recognition of in-
evitable force made for resignation; and I think that in
300 The Mystery of the Sea
those moments both Marjory and I realised the last limi-
tations of humanity. When one has accepted the inevi-
table, the mere act of dying is easy of accomplishment.
But there is a contra to everything in the great ledgers
of the Books of Life and Death, and it is only a final
balance which counts for gain or loss. The very resig-
nation which makes the thought of death easy to bear,
is but a balance of power which may not be gainsayed.
In the struggle of hope and despair the Winged One
submits, and that is all. His wings are immortal ; out of
fire or water, or pestilence, or famine, or the red mist of
battle they ever rise again, when once there is light of
any kind to animate them.
Even when Marjory's mouth was bent to mine in a
fond kiss of love and death, the wings of Hope fluttered
around her head. For an instant or two she paused, as
if listening or waiting, and then with a glad cry, which
in that narrow space seemed to ring exultingly, she said :
" You are saved ! You are saved ! The water is fall-
ing; it has sunk below your lips." Even in that dread
moment of life and death, I could not but be touched by
her way of rejoicing in the possibility of our common
safety. Her only thought was for me.
But her words were true. The tide had reached its full ;
the waters were falling. Minute by minute we waited,
waited in breathless suspense; clinging to each other in
an ecstasy of hope and love. The chill which had been
upon us for so long, numbing every sense and seeming to
make any idea of effort impossible, seemed to have lost
its power. In the new quickening of hope, our hearts
seemed to beat more warmly, till the blood tingled in our
veins. Oh ! but the time was long, there in the dark, with
the silent waters receding inch by inch with a slowness
which was inconceivable. The strain of waiting became
after a while almost unbearable ; I felt that I must speak
The Rising Tide 301
to Marjory, and make her speak and keep speaking, lest
we should both break down, even at the very last. In the
time of our waiting for death we had held on to our
determination, blindly resolute to struggle to the last;
even though we had accepted the inevitable. But now
there was impatience added to our apprehension. We did
not know the measure of our own endurance ; and Terror
seemed to brood over us with flapping wings.
Truly, the moments of coming Life are longer than
hours of coming Death.
CHAPTER XXXVII
ROUND THE CLOCK
WHEN the water had fallen so far that we could
sit on the ledge, we rested for a few minutes
to relieve the long and terrible strain of stand-
ing, cramped and chilled as we were. But we soon felt
the chill of the water and stood again till the rocky ledge
was quite free. Then we enjoyed a rest, if the word " en-
joyment " could be applied to our wearied, teeth-chatter-
ing, exhausted condition. I made Marjory sit on my lap,
so that we could get some warmth together, and that she
might be saved from the benumbing coldness of the rock.
We wrung out our clothes as well as we could, and with
braver hearts set ourselves down to the second spell of
our dark captivity. Well we knew that the tide had risen
higher than the tin box in the corner of the cave, and
tacitly put off the moment of assured knowledge. Pres-
ently when the chill had somewhat passed from her and
she shivered less, she stood up and tried to get down the
box. She could not reach it, so I rose and took it down.
Then we resumed our places on the ledge, and, with
the box beside us, began to investigate.
It was a sadly helpless performance. In the dark
everything seemed strange, with regard to size as well
as to shape. Our wet hands could not of themselves
discriminate as to whether anything was wet or dry. It
was only when we found that the box was quite full of
water that we realised that there was no hope of light
302
Round the Clock 303
in this quarter, and that we must have patien
