watch now! detail...
chapter v in which the hero makes his firstappearance & is at once locked up. with the respect that was due to holy men,sir godfrey removed his helmet, and stood waiting in a decent attitudeof attention to the hymn, although he did not understand a singleword of it. the long deliberate latin words rolled out very grandto his ear, and, to tell you the truth, it is just as well his scholarshipwas faulty, for this is the english of those same words: "it is my intentionto die in a tavern,
with wine in the neighbourhood,close by my thirsty mouth; that angels in chorusmay sing, when they reach me,— 'let bacchus be mercifulunto this wine-bibber.'" but so devoutly did the monks dwell upon thesyllables, so earnestly were the arms of each one folded against hisbreast, that you would never have suspected any unclerical sentimentswere being expressed. the proximity of so many petticoats and kirtlescaused considerable restlessness to hubert; but he felt the burningeye of the grand marshal fixed upon him, and sang away withall his might.
sir godfrey began to grow impatient. "hem!" he said, moving his foot slightly. this proceeding, however, was without result.the pious chant continued to resound, and the monks paid notthe least attention to their visitors, but stood up together in adouble line, vociferating latin with as much zest as ever. "mort d'aieul!" growled sir godfrey, shiftinghis other foot, and not so gingerly this second time. by chance the singing stopped upon the sameinstant, so that the
baron's remark and the noise his foot hadmade sounded all over the room. this disconcerted him; for he felt hisstanding with the church to be weak, and he rolled his eyes from oneside to the other, watching for any effect his disturbance mighthave made. but, with the breeding of a true man of the world, the grandmarshal merely observed, "benedicite, my son!" "good-morning, father," returned sir godfrey. "and what would you with me?" pursued theso-called father anselm. "speak, my son."
"well, the fact is——" the baron began,marching forward; but he encountered the eye of the abbot, where shonea cold surprise at this over-familiar fashion of speech; so he checkedhimself, and, in as restrained a voice as he could command, toldhis story. how his daughter had determined to meet the dragon,and so save wantley; how nothing that a parent could say had influencedher intentions in the least; and now he placed the entire matterin the hands of the church. "which would have been more becoming if youhad done it at the first," said father anselm, reprovingly. then he turnedto miss elaine, who
all this while had been looking out of thewindow with the utmost indifference. "how is this, my daughter?" he said gravely,in his deep voice. "oh, the dear blessed man!" whispered mistletoe,admiringly, to herself. "it is as you hear, father," said miss elaine,keeping her eyes away. "and why do you think that such a peril uponyour part would do away with this dragon?" "says not the legend so?" she replied.
"and what may the legend be, my daughter?" with some surprise that so well informed aperson as father anselm should be ignorant of this prominent topicof the day, sir godfrey here broke in and narrated the legend to himwith many vigourous comments. "ah, yes," said the father, smiling gentlywhen the story was done; "i do now remember that some such child's talewas in the mouths of the common folk once; but methought the nonsensewas dead long since." "the nonsense, father!" exclaimed elaine.
"of a surety, my child. dost suppose thatholy church were so unjust as to visit the sins of thy knightly relativesupon the head of any weak woman, who is not in the order of creationdesigned for personal conflict with men, let alone dragons?" "bravo, dragon!" thought hubert, as he listenedto this wily talk of his chief. but the words "weak woman" had touched thepride of miss elaine. "i know nothing of weak women," she said, verystately; "but i do know that i am strong enough to meet this dragon,and, moreover, firmly
intend to do so this very night." "peace, my daughter," said the monk; "andlisten to the voice of thy mother the church speaking through the humblestof her servants. this legend of thine holds not a single grain oftruth. 'tis a conceit of the common herd, set afoot by some ingeniousfellow who may have thought he was doing a great thing in devisingsuch fantastic mixture. true it is that the monster is a visitationto punish the impiety of certain members of thy family. true it isthat he will not depart till a member of that family perform a certainact. but it is to be a male
descendant." now sir godfrey's boy roland was being instructedin knightly arts and conduct away from home. "who told you that?" inquired the baron, asthe thought of his precious wine-cellar came into his head. "on last christmas eve i had a vision," repliedfather anselm. "thy grandfather, the brave youth who by journeyingto the holy war averted this curse until thine own conduct causedit to descend upon us, appeared to me in shining armour. 'anselm,'he said, and raised his
right arm, 'the dragon is a grievous burdenon the people. i can see that from where i am. now, anselm, when thefitting hour shall come, and my great-grandson's years be mature enoughto have made a man of him, let him go to the next holy war thatis proclaimed, and on the very night of his departure the curse willbe removed and our family forgiven. more than this, anselm, if any maledescendant from me direct shall at any time attend a crusadewhen it is declared, the country will be free forever.' so saying,he dissolved out of my sight in a silver gleaming mist." here father anselmpaused, and from under
his hood watched with a trifle of anxietythe effect of his speech. there was a short silence, and then sir godfreysaid, "am i to understand this thing hangs on the event ofanother crusade?" the abbot bowed. "meanwhile, till that event happen, the dragoncan rage unchecked?" the abbot bowed again. "will there be another crusade along prettysoon?" sir godfrey pursued. "these things lie not in human knowledge,"replied father anselm. he
little dreamed what news the morrow's sunwould see. "oh, my sheep!" groaned many a poor farmer. "oh, my burgundy!" groaned sir godfrey. "in that case," exclaimed elaine, her cheekspink with excitement, "i shall try the virtue of the legend, at anyrate." "most impious, my daughter, most impious willsuch conduct be in the sight of mother church," said father anselm. "hear me, all people!" shouted sir godfrey,foreseeing that before the next crusade came every drop of wine inhis cellar would be
swallowed by the dragon; "hear me proclaimand solemnly promise: legend true or legend false, my daughter shallnot face this risk. but if her heart go with it, her hand shall begiven to that man who by night or light brings me this dragon, aliveor dead!" "a useless promise, sir godfrey!" said fatheranselm, shrugging his shoulders. "we dare not discredit the wordof thy respected grandsire." "my respected grandsire be——" "what?" said the abbot.
"became a credit to his family," said thebaron, quite mildly; "and i slight no word of his. but he did not contradictthis legend in the vision, i think." "no, he did not, papa," miss elaine put in."he only mentioned another way of getting rid of this horribledragon. now, papa, whatever you may say about—about my heartand hand," she continued firmly, "i am going to meet the monster alonemyself, to-night." "that you shall not," said sir godfrey. "a hundred times no!" said a new voice fromthe crowd. "i will meet
him myself!" all turned and saw a knight pushing his waythrough the people. "who are you?" inquired the baron. the stranger bowed haughtily; and elaine watchedhim remove his helmet, and reveal underneath it the countenanceof a young man who turned to her, and—— why, what's this, elaine? why does everythingseem to swim and grow misty as his eye meets yours? and why doeshe look at you so, and deeply flush to the very rim of his curlyhair? and as his glance
grows steadier and more intent upon your eyesthat keep stealing over at him, can you imagine why his hand trembleson the hilt of his sword? don't you remember what the legendsaid? "who are you?" the baron repeated, impatiently. "i am geoffrey, son of bertram of poictiers,"answered the young man. "and what," asked father anselm, with a certainirony in his voice, "does geoffrey, son of bertram of poictiers,so far away from his papa in this inclement weather?" the knight surveyed the monk for a moment,and then said, "as thou art
not my particular father confessor, stickto those matters which concern thee." this reply did not please any man present,for it seemed to savour of disrespect. but elaine lost no chance of watchingthe youth, who now stood alone in the middle of the hall. sirfrancis detected this, and smiled with a sly smile. "will some person inquire of this polite youngman," he said, "what he wishes with us?" "show me where this dragon of wantley comes,"said geoffrey, "for i
intend to slay him to-night." "indeed, sir," fluttered elaine, steppingtowards him a little, "i hope—that is, i beg you'll do no such dangerousthing as that for my sake." "for your sake?" father anselm broke in. "foryour sake? and why so? what should elaine, daughter of sir godfreydisseisin, care for the carcase of geoffrey, son of bertram of poictiers?" but elaine, finding nothing to answer, turnedrosy pink instead. "that rules you out!" exclaimed the father,in triumph. "your legend
demands a maid who never has cared for anyman." "pooh!" said geoffrey, "leave it to me." "seize him!" shouted sir godfrey in a rage."he had ruled out my daughter." consistency had never been oneof the baron's strong points. "seize him!" said father anselm. "he outragesmother church." the vassals closed up behind young geoffrey,who was pinioned in a second. he struggled with them till the veinsstood out in his forehead in blue knots; but, after all, oneyoung man of twenty is not
much among a band of stout yeomen; and theyall fell in a heap on the floor, pulling and tugging at geoffrey, whohad blacked several eyes, and done in a general way as much damage ashe possibly could under the circumstances. but elaine noticed one singular occurrence.not a monk had moved to seize the young man, except one, who rushedforward, and was stopped, as though struck to stone, by father anselm'ssaying to him in a terrible undertone, "hubert!" simply that word, spoken quickly; but notbefore this hubert had
brushed against her so that she was awarethat there was something very hard and metallic underneath his graygown. she betrayed no sign of knowledge or surprise on her face, however,but affected to be absorbed wholly in the fortunes of young geoffrey,whom she saw collared and summarily put into a cage-likeprison whose front was thick iron bars, and whose depth was in thevast outer wall of the monastery, with a little window at the rear,covered with snow. the spring-lock of the gate shut upon him. "and now," said father anselm, as the monasterybell sounded once
more, "if our guests will follow us, the mid-daymeal awaits us below. we will deal with this hot-head later," headded, pointing to the prisoner. so they slowly went out, leaving geoffreyalone with his thoughts. thus ends chapter v chapter vi miss elaine loses her heart & finds somethingof the greatest importance. down stairs the grace was said, and the companywas soon seated and
ready for their mid-day meal. "our fare," said father anselm pleasantlyto sir godfrey, who sat on his right, "is plain, but substantial." "oh—ah, very likely," replied the baron,as he received a wooden basin of black-bean broth. "our drink is——" the baron lifted his eye hopefully. "——remarkably pure water," father anselmcontinued. "clement!" he called to the monk whose turn it was thatday to hand the dishes,
"clement, a goblet of our well-water for sirgodfrey disseisin. one of the large goblets, clement. we are indeedfavoured, baron, in having such a pure spring in the midst of our home." "oh—ah!" observed the baron again, and politelynerved himself for a swallow. but his thoughts were far away inhis own cellar over at wantley, contemplating the casks whose preciousgallons the dragon had consumed. could it be the strength of hisimagination, or else why was it that through the chilling, unwelcome liquidhe was now drinking he seemed to detect a lurking flavour of thevery wine those casks had
contained, his favourite malvoisie? father anselm noticed the same taste in hisown cup, and did not set it down to imagination, but afterwards sentencedbrother clement to bread and water during three days, for carelessnessin not washing the monastery table-service more thoroughly. "this simple food keeps you in beautiful health,father," said mistletoe, ogling the swarthy face of theabbot with an affection that he duly noted. "my daughter," he replied, gravely, "bodilyinfirmity is the reward of
the glutton. i am well, thank you." meanwhile, elaine did not eat much. her thoughtswere busy, and hurrying over recent events. perhaps you thinkshe lost her heart in the last chapter, and cannot lose it in thisone unless it is given back to her. but i do not agree with you;and i am certain that, if you suggested such a notion to her, she wouldbecome quite angry, and tell you not to talk such foolish nonsense.people are so absurd about hearts, and all that sort of thing! no: ido not really think she has lost her heart yet; but as she sits at tablethese are the things she
is feeling: 1. not at all hungry. 2. not at all thirsty. 3. what a hateful person that father anselmis! 4. poor, poor young man! 5. not that she thinks of him in that way,of course. the idea! horrid father anselm! 6. any girl at all—no, not girl, anybodyat all—who had human justice would feel exactly as she did aboutthe whole matter.
7. he was very good-looking, too. 8. did he have—yes, they were blue. very,very dark blue. 9. and a moustache? well, yes. here she laughed, but no one noticed her idlingwith her spoon. then her eyes filled with tears, and she pretendedto be absorbed with the black-bean broth, though, as a matter of fact,she did not see it in the least. 10. why had he come there at all? 11. it was a perfect shame, treating him so.
12. perhaps they were not blue, after all.but, oh! what a beautiful sparkle was in them! after this, she hated father anselm worsethan ever. and the more she hated him, the more some very restless delicioussomething made her draw long breaths. she positively must goup-stairs and see what he was doing and what he really looked like.this curiosity seized hold of her and set her thinking of some way toslip away unseen. the chance came through all present becoming deeplyabsorbed in what sir godfrey was saying to father anselm.
"such a low, coarse, untaught brute as a dragon,"he explained, "cannot possibly distinguish good wine frombad." "of a surety, no!" responded the monk. "you agree with me upon that point?" saidthe baron. "most certainly. proceed." "well, i'm going to see that he gets nothingbut the cider and small beer after this." "but how will you prevent him, if he visityour cellar again?" father anselm inquired.
"i shall change all the labels, in the firstplace," the baron answered. "ha! vastly well conceived," said father anselm."you will label your burgundy as if it were beer." "and next," continued sir godfrey, "i shallshift the present positions of the hogsheads. that i shall doto-day, after relabelling. in the northern corner of the first wine vaulti shall——" just as he reached this point, it was quitewonderful how strict an attention every monk paid to his words. theyleaned forward,
forgetting their dinner, and listened withall their might. one of them, who had evidently received aneducation, took notes underneath the table. thus it was that elaineescaped observation when she left the refectory. as she came up-stairs into the hall wheregeoffrey was caged, she stepped lightly and kept where she could notbe seen by him. all was quiet when she entered; but suddenly she heardthe iron bars of the cage begin to rattle and shake, and at thesame time geoffrey's voice broke out in rage.
"i'll twist you loose," he said, "you—(rattle,shake)—you—(kick, bang)——" and here the shocking young manused words so violent and wicked that elaine put her hands tight overher ears. "why, he is just as dreadful as papa, just exactly!" she exclaimedto herself. "whoever would have thought that that angelic face—buti suppose they are all like that sometimes." and she took her handsaway again. "yes, i will twist you loose," he was growlinghoarsely, while the kicks and wrenches grew fiercer than ever,"or twist myself stark, staring blind—and——"
"oh, sir!" she said, running out in frontof the cage. he stopped at once, and stood looking at her.his breast-plate and gauntlets were down on the floor, so his musclesmight have more easy play in dealing with the bars. elaine noticedthat the youth's shirt was of very costly eastern silk. "i was thinking of getting out," he said atlength, still standing and looking at her. "i thought i might—that is—you might——"began miss elaine, and stopped. upon which another silence followed.
"lady, who sent you here?" he inquired. "oh, they don't know!" she replied, hastily;and then, seeing how bright his face became, and hearing her ownwords, she looked down, and the crimson went over her cheeks as hewatched her. "oh, if i could get out!" he said, desperately."lady, what is your name, if i might be so bold." "my name, sir, is elaine. perhaps there isa key somewhere," she said. "and i am called geoffrey," he said, in reply. "i think we might find a key," elaine repeated.
she turned towards the other side of the room,and there hung a great bunch of brass keys dangling from the lockof a heavy door. ah, hubert! thou art more careless than brotherclement, i think, to have left those keys in such a place! quickly did elaine cross to that closed door,and laid her hand upon the bunch. the door came open the next moment,and she gave a shriek to see the skin of a huge lizard-beast fallforward at her feet, and also many cups and flagons, that rolled overthe floor, dotting it with little drops of wine.
hearing elaine shriek, and not able to seefrom his prison what had befallen her, geoffrey shouted out in terrorto know if she had come to any hurt. "no," she told him; and stood eyeing firstthe crocodile's hide and then the cups, setting her lips together veryfirmly. "and they were not even dry," she said after a while. forshe began to guess a little of the truth. "not dry? who?" inquired geoffrey. "oh, geoffrey!" she burst out in deep anger,and then stopped,
bewildered. but his heart leaped to hear hercall his name. "are there no keys?" he asked. "keys? yes!" she cried, and, running withthem back to the bars, began trying one after another in trembling hastetill the lock clicked pleasantly, and out marched young geoffrey. now what do you suppose this young man didwhen he found himself free once more, and standing close by the lovelyyoung person to whom he owed his liberty? did he place his heels together,and let his arms hang gracefully, and so bow with respect anda manner at once
dignified and urbane, and say, "miss elaine,permit me to thank you for being so kind as to let me out of prison?"that is what he ought to have done, of course, if he had known howto conduct himself like a well-brought-up young man. but i am sorryto have to tell you that geoffrey did nothing of the sort, but, insteadof that, behaved in a most outrageous manner. he did not thank herat all. he did not say one single word to her. he simply put onearm round her waist and gave her a kiss! "geoffrey!" she murmured, "don't!"
but geoffrey did, with the most astonishingand complacent disobedience. "oh, geoffrey!" she whispered, looking theother way, "how wrong of you! and of me!" she added a little more softlystill, escaping from him suddenly, and facing about. "i don't see that," said geoffrey. "i loveyou, elaine. elaine, darling, i——" "oh, but you mustn't!" answered she, steppingback as he came nearer. this was simply frightful! and so sudden.to think of
her—elaine!—but she couldn't think atall. happy? why, how wicked! how had she ever—— "no, you must not," she repeated, and backedaway still farther. "but i will!" said this lover, quite loudly,and sprang so quickly to where she stood that she was in his arms again,and this time without the faintest chance of getting out of themuntil he should choose to free her. it was no use to struggle now, and she wasstill, like some wild bird. but she knew that she was really his, andwas glad of it. and she
looked up at him and said, very softly, "geoffrey,we are wasting time." "oh, no, not at all," said geoffrey. "but we are." "say that you love me." "but haven't i—ah, geoffrey, please don'tbegin again." she did. then, taking his hand, she led him to thedoor she had opened. he stared at the crocodile, at the wine-cups,and then he picked up a
sheet of iron and a metal torch. "i suppose it is their museum," he said; "don'tyou?" "their museum! geoffrey, think a little." "they seem to keep very good wine," he remarked,after smelling at the demijohn. "don't you see? can't you understand?" shesaid. "no, not a bit. what's that thing, do yousuppose?" he added, giving the crocodile a kick. "oh, me, but men are simple, men are simple!"said elaine, in despair.
"geoffrey, listen! that wine is my father'swine, from his own cellar. there is none like it in all england." "then i don't see why he gave it to a parcelof monks," replied the young man. elaine clasped her hands in hopelessness,gave him a kiss, and became mistress of the situation. "now, geoffrey," she said, "i will tell youwhat you and i have really found out." then she quickly recalled allthe recent events. how her father's cellar had been broken into; howmistletoe had been chained
to a rock for a week and no dragon had comenear her. she bade him remember how just now father anselm had opposedevery plan for meeting the dragon, and at last she pointed to thecrocodile. "ha!" said geoffrey, after thinking for aspace. "then you mean——" "of course i do," she interrupted. "the dragonof wantley is now down-stairs with papa eating dinner, and pretendinghe never drinks anything stronger than water. what do yousay to that, sir?" "this is a foul thing!" cried the knight."here have i been damnably duped. here——" but speech deserted him.he glared at the crocodile
with a bursting countenance, then drove histoe against it with such vigour that it sailed like a foot-ball tothe farther end of the hall. "papa has been duped, and everybody," saidelaine. "papa's french wine——" "they swore to me in flanders i should finda real dragon here," he continued, raging up and down, and givingto the young lady no part of his attention. she began to fear he was notthinking of her. "geoffrey——" she ventured. "they swore it. they had invited me to hunta dragon with them in
flanders,—count faux pas and his walloons.we hunted day and night, and the quest was barren. they then directedme to this island of britain, in which they declared a dragon mightbe found by any man who so desired. they lied in their throats. ihave come leagues for nothing." here he looked viciously at thedistant hide of the crocodile. "but i shall slay the monk," headded. "a masquerading caitiff! lying varlets! and all for nothing!the monk shall die, however." "have you come for nothing, geoffrey?" murmuredelaine.
"three years have i been seeking dragons inall countries, chasing deceit over land and sea. and now once moremy dearest hope falls empty and stale. why, what's this?" a chokingsound beside him stopped the flow of his complaints. "oh, geoffrey,—oh, miserable me!" the younglady was dissolved in tears. "elaine—dearest—don't." "you said you had come for n—nothing, andit was all st—stale." "ha, i am a fool, indeed! but it was the dragon,dearest. i had made
so sure of an honest one in this adventure." "oh, oh!" went miss elaine, with her headagainst his shoulder. "there, there! you're sweeter than all thedragons in the world, my little girl," said he. and although this doesnot appear to be a great compliment, it comforted her wonderfully inthe end; for he said it in her ear several times without taking his lipsaway. "yes," he continued, "i was a fool. by your father'sown word you're mine. i have caught the dragon. come, my girl! we'lldown to the refectory forthwith and denounce him."
with this, he seized elaine's hand and hastilymade for the stairs. "but hold, geoffrey, hold! oh—i am drivento act not as maidens should," sighed elaine. "he it is who oughtto do the thinking. but, dear me! he does not know how. do you notsee we should both be lost, were you to try any such wild plan?" "not at all. your father would give you tome." "oh, no, no, geoffrey; indeed, papa wouldnot. his promise was about a dragon. a live or a dead dragon must be broughtto him. even if he believed you now, even if that dreadful fatheranselm could not invent
some lie to put us in the wrong, you and icould never—that is—papa would not feel bound by his promise simplybecause you did that. there must be a dragon somehow." "how can there be a dragon if there is nota dragon?" asked geoffrey. "wait, wait, geoffrey! oh, how can i thinkof everything all at once?" and elaine pressed her hands to hertemples. "darling," said the knight, with his armsonce more around her, "let us fly now." "now? they would catch us at once."
"catch us! not they! with my sword——" "now, geoffrey, of course you are brave. butdo be sensible. you are only one. no! i won't even argue such nonsense.they must never know about what we have been doing up here; andyou must go back into that cage at once." "what, and be locked up, and perhaps murderedto-night, and never see your face again?" "but you shall see me again, and soon. thatis what i am thinking about."
"how can you come in here, elaine?" "you must come to me. i have it! to-night,at half-past eleven, come to the cellar-door at the manor, and i willbe there to let you in. then we can talk over everything quietly.i have no time to think now." "the cellar! at the manor! and how, pray,shall i get out of that cage?" "cannot you jump from the little window atthe back?" geoffrey ran in to see. "no," he said, returning;"it is many spans
from the earth." elaine had hurried into the closet, whenceshe returned with a dusty coil of rope. "here, geoffrey; quickly! putit about your waist. wind it so. but how clumsy you are!" he stood smiling down at her, and she verydeftly wound the cord up and down, over and over his body, until itswhole length lay comfortably upon him. "now, your breast-plate, quick!" she helped him put his armour on again; and,as they were engaged at
that, singing voices came up the stairs fromthe distant dining-hall. "the grace," she exclaimed; "they will behere in a moment." geoffrey took a last kiss, and bolted intohis cage. she, with the keys, made great haste to push the crocodileand other objects once more into their hiding-place. cups and flagonsand all rattled back without regard to order, as they had alreadybeen flung not two hours before. the closet-door shut, and elaine hungthe keys from the lock as she had found them. "half-past eleven," she said to geoffrey,as she ran by his cage
towards the stairs. "one more, darling,—please, one! throughthe bars!" he besought her, in a voice so tender, that for my part i donot see how she had the heart to refuse him. but she continued herway, and swiftly descending the stairs was found by the company, as theycame from the hall, busily engaged in making passes with sir godfrey'ssword, which he had left leaning near the door. "a warlike daughter, sir godfrey!" said fatheranselm. "ah, if i were a man to go on a crusade!"sighed miss elaine.
"hast thou, my daughter," said father anselm,"thought better of thy rash intentions concerning this dragon?" "i am travelling towards better thoughts,father," she answered. but sir francis did not wholly believe theyoung lady; and was not at rest until sir godfrey assured him her goodconduct should be no matter of her own choosing. "you see," insinuated the abbot, "so sweeta maid as yours would be a treat for the unholy beast. a meal like thatwould incline him to remain in a neighbourhood where such daintieswere to be found."
"i'll have no legends and fool's tricks,"exclaimed the baron. "she shall be locked in her room to-night." "not if she can help it," thought miss elaine.her father had imprudently spoken too loud. "'twere a wise precaution," murmured fatheranselm. "what are all the vintages of this earth by the side of a lovingdaughter?" "quite so, quite so!" sir godfrey assented."don't you think," he added, wistfully, "that another crusade maycome along soon?" "ah, my son, who can say? tribulation is ourmeted heritage. were thy
thoughts more high, the going of thy liquorswould not cause thee such sorrow. learn to enjoy the pure cold water." "good-afternoon," said the baron. when all the guests had departed and the doorwas shut safe behind them, the father and his holy companions brokeinto loud mirth. "the malvoisie is drunk up," said they; "to-nightwe'll pay his lordship's cellars another visit." thus ends chapter vi chapter vii
shows what curious things you may see,if you don't go to bed when you are sent to have steered a sudden course among dangerousrocks and rapids and come safe through, puts in the breast of thehelmsman a calm content with himself, for which no man will blamehim. what in this world is there so lifts one into complacency as thedoing of a bold and cool-headed thing? let the helmsman sleepsound when he has got to land! but if his content overtake him stillon the water, so that he grows blind to the treacherous currents thateddy where all looks placid to the careless eye, let him beware!
sir francis came in front of the cage wheresat young geoffrey inside, on the floor. the knight had put his headdown between his knees, and seemed doleful enough. "aha!" thought sir francis, giving the motionlessfigure a dark look, "my hawk is moulting. we need scarcely puta hood on such a tersel." next he looked at the shut door of the closet,and a shaft of alarm shot through him to see the keys hanging foranybody to make use of them that pleased. he thought of elaine, andher leaving the table without his seeing her go. what if she hadpaid this room a visit?
"perhaps that bird with head under wing inthere," he mused, looking once more at geoffrey, "is not the simple-wittednestling he looks. my son!" he called. but the youth did not care to talk, and soshowed no sign. "my son, peace be with you!" repeated fatheranselm, coming to the bars and wearing a benevolent mien. geoffrey remained quite still. "if repentance for thy presumption hath visitedthee——" went on the father.
"hypocrite!" was the word that jumped to theyouth's lips; but fortunately he stopped in time, and only movedhis legs with some impatience. "i perceive with pain, my son," said fatheranselm, "that repentance hath not yet visited thee. well, 'twill come.and that's a blessing too," he added, sighing very piously. "he plays a part pretty well," thought geoffreyas he listened. "so will i." then he raised his head. "how long am i to stay in this place?" heinquired, taking a tone of
sullen humour, such as he thought would fita prisoner. "certainly until thy present unbridled stateof sin is purged out of thee," replied the father. "under such a dose as thou art," geoffreyremarked, "that will be soon." "this is vain talk, my son," said the abbot."were i of the children of this world, my righteous indignation——" "pooh!" said geoffrey. "——would light on thee heavily. but wewho have renounced the world
and its rottenness" (here his voice fell intoa manner of chanting) "make a holiday of forgiving injuries, andfind a pleasure even in pain." "open this door then," geoffrey answered,"and i'll provide thee with a whole week of joy." "nay," said father anselm, "i had never gatheredfrom thy face that thou wert such a knave." "at least in the matter of countenances ihave the advantage of thee," the youth observed.
"i perceive," continued the father, "thati must instruct thy spirit in many things,—submission, among others.therefore thou shalt bide with us for a month or two." "that i'll not!" shouted geoffrey, forgettinghis rã´le of prisoner. "she cannot unlock thee," father anselm said,with much art slipping elaine into the discourse. geoffrey glared at the abbot, who now hopedto lay a trap for him by means of his temper. so he went further inthe same direction. "her words are vainer than most women's," he said;"though a lover would
trust in them, of course." the knight swelled in his rage, and mighthave made i know not what unsafe rejoinder; but the cords that elainehad wound about him naturally tightened as he puffed out, andseemed by their pressure to check his speech and bid him be wary. so hechanged his note, and said haughtily, "because thy cowl and thy gownshield thee, presume not to speak of one whose cause i took up in thypresence, and who is as high above thee in truth as she is in every otherquality and virtue." "this callow talk, my son," said the abbotquietly, "wearies me much.
lay thee down and sleep thy sulks off, ifthou art able." upon this, he turned away to the closet where hung thebrass keys, and opened the door a-crack. he saw the hide of the crocodileleaning against it, and the overturned cups. "just as that boy hubertpacked them," he thought to himself in satisfaction; "no one has beenprying here. i flatter myself upon a skilful morning's work. i haveknocked the legend out of the baron's head. he'll see to it the girlkeeps away. and as for yon impudent witling in the cage, we shall transporthim beyond the seas, if convenient; if not, a knife in his gulletwill make him forget the
dragon of wantley. truly, i am master of thesituation!" and as his self-esteem grew, the grand marshal rubbedhis hands, and went out of the hall, too much pleased with himself tonotice certain little drops of wine dotted here and there close by thecloset, and not yet quite dry, which, had his eye fallen upon them,might have set him a-thinking. so geoffrey was left in his prison to whatevercomfort meditation might bring him; and the monks of oyster-le-maintook off their gowns, and made themselves ready for another visitto the wine-cellars of
wantley manor. the day before christmas came bleakly to itsend over dingle and fen, and the last gray light died away. yet stillyou could hear the hissing snow beat down through the bramble-thornand the dry leaves. after evening was altogether set in, hubertbrought the knight a supper that was not a meal a hungry man mightbe over joyful at seeing; yet had hubert (in a sort of fellowshiptowards one who seemed scarcely longer seasoned in manhood than himself,and whom he had seen blacken eyes in a very valiant manner) secretlyprepared much better
food than had been directed by his worshipthe abbot. the prisoner feigned sleep, and started upat the rattle which the plate made as it was set down under his bars. "is it morning?" he asked. "morning, forsooth!" hubert answered. "threemore hours, and we reach only midnight." and both young men (for differentreasons) wished in their hearts it were later. "thou speakest somewhat curtly for a friar,"said geoffrey. "alas, i am but a novice, brother," whinedthe minstrel, "and fall
easily back into my ancient and godless syntax.there is food. pax vobiscum, son of the flesh." then hubert wentover to the closet, and very quietly unlocking the door removed thecrocodile and the various other implements that were necessary in bringinginto being the dread dragon of wantley. he carried them away toa remote quarter of the monastery, where the guild began preparationsthat should terrify any superstitious witness of their journey toget the baron's wine. geoffrey, solitary and watchful in his chillycage, knew what work must be going on, and waited his time in patience.
at supper over at wantley there was but slightinclination to polite banter. only the family chaplain, mindfulthat this was christmas eve, attempted to make a little small talk withsir godfrey. "christmas," he observed to the baron, "isundoubtedly coming." as the baron did not appear to have any rejoinderto this, the young divine continued, pleasantly. "though indeed," he said, "we might make thisassertion upon any day of the three hundred and sixty-five, and (ithink) remain accurate." "the celery," growled the baron, looking intohis plate.
"quite so," cried the chaplain, cheerily.he had failed to catch the remark. "though of course everything doesdepend on one's point of view, after all." "that celery, whelpdale!" roared sir godfrey. the terrified buttons immediately droppeda large venison pasty into mrs. mistletoe's lap. she, having been somewhattried of late, began screeching. whelpdale caught up the celery,and blindly rushed towards sir godfrey, while popham, foreseeing trouble,rapidly ascended the sideboard. the baron stepped out of whelpdale'spath, and as he passed
by administered so much additional speed thatlittle buttons flew under the curtained archway and down manypainful steps into the scullery, and was not seen again during thatevening. when sir godfrey had reseated himself, itseemed to the rev. hucbald (such was the chaplain's name) that the lateinterruption might be well smoothed over by conversation. so heagain addressed the baron. "to be sure," said he, taking a manner ofsleek clerical pleasantry, "though we can so often say 'christmas iscoming,' i suppose that if at some suitable hour to-morrow afternooni said to you, 'christmas
is going,' you would grant it to be a notinaccurate remark?" the baron ate his dinner. "i think so," pursued the rev. hucbald. "yes.and by the way, i notice with pleasure that this snow, which fallsso continually, makes the event of a green christmas most improbable.indeed,—of course the proverb is familiar to you?—the graveyardsshould certainly not be fat this season. i like a lean graveyard,"smiled the rev. hucbald. "i hate a —— fool!" exclaimed sir godfrey,angrily. after this the family fell into silence. sirgodfrey munched his food,
brooding gloomily over his plundered wine-cellar;mrs. mistletoe allowed fancy to picture herself wedded tofather anselm, if only he had not been a religious person; and elaine'sthoughts were hovering over the young man who sat in a cage tilltime came for him to steal out and come to her. but the young lady waswonderfully wise, nevertheless. "papa," she said, as they left the banquet-hall,"if it is about me you're thinking, do not be anxious any moreat all." "well, well; what's the matter now?" saidthe baron.
"papa, dear," began elaine, winsomely pullingat a tassel on his dining-coat, "do you know, i've been thinking." "think some more, then," he replied. "it willcome easier when you're less new at it." "now, papa! just when i've come to say—wheni want—when you—it's very hard——" and here the artful minxcould proceed no further, but turned a pair of shining eyes at him, andthen looked the other way, blinking rapidly. "oh, good lord!" muttered sir godfrey, staringhard at the wall.
"papa—it's about the dragon—and i've beenwrong. very wrong. yes; i know i have. i was foolish." she was silentagain. was she going to cry, after all? the baron shot a nervous glanceat her from the corner of his eye. then he said, "hum!" he hopedvery fervently there were to be no tears. he desired to remain in a rage,and lock his daughter up, and not put anything into her stockingthis christmas eve; and here she was, threatening to be sorry forthe past, and good for the future, and everything a parent could wish.never mind. you can't expect to get off as easily as all that. shehad been very outrageous.
now he would be dignified and firm. "of course i should obey father anselm," shecontinued. "you should obey me," said sir godfrey. "and i do hope another crusade will come soon.don't you think they might have one, papa? how happy i shall bewhen your wine is safe from that horrid dragon!" "don't speak of that monster!" shouted thebaron, forgetting all about firmness and dignity. "don't dare to alludeto the reptile in my presence. look here!" he seized up a greatjug labelled "chã¢teau
lafitte," and turned it upside down. "why, it's empty!" said elaine. "ha!" snorted the baron; "empty indeed." thenhe set the jug down wrong side up, and remained glaring at itfixedly, while his chest rose and fell in deep heavings. "don't mind it so much, papa," said elaine,coming up to him. "this very next season will mistletoe and i brewa double quantity of cowslip wine." "brrrrooo!" went sir godfrey, with a shiver.
"and i'm sure they'll have another crusadesoon; and then my brother roland can go, and the drag— and the cursewill be removed. of course, i know that is the only way to getrid of it, if father anselm said so. i was very foolish and wrong. indeedi was," said she, and looked up in his face with eyes where shonesuch dear, good, sweet, innocent, daughterly affection, that nobodyin the wide world could have suspected she was thinking as hard asshe could think, "if only he won't lock me up! if only he won't! but,oh, it's dreadful in me to be deceiving him so!"
"there, there!" said the baron, and clearedhis throat. then he kissed her. where were firmness and dignity now? he let her push him into the chimney-corner,and down into a seat; and then what did this sly, shocking girl do butsit on his knee and tell him nobody ever had such a papa before, andshe could never possibly love any one half so much as she loved him,and weren't he and she going to have a merry christmas to-morrow? "how about that pretty young man? hey? what?"said sir godfrey, in high good-humour.
"who?" snapped elaine. "i think this girl knows," he answered, adoptinga roguish countenance. "oh, i suppose you mean that little fellowthis morning. pooh!" "ho! ho!" said her father. "ho! ho! littlefellow! he was a pretty large fellow in somebody's eyes, i thought.what are you so red about? ho! ho!" and the baron popped his own eyesat her with vast relish. "really, papa," said miss elaine, rising fromhis knee, with much coldness, "i hardly understand you, i think.if you find it amusing
(and you seem to) to pretend that i——"she said no more, but gave a slight and admirable toss of the head. "andnow i am very sleepy," she added. "what hour is it?" sir godfrey took out his grandfather's sun-dial,and held it to the lamp. "bless my soul," he exclaimed; "it'stwenty-two o'clock." (that's ten at night nowadays, young people,and much too late for you to be down-stairs, any of you.) "get to your bed at once," continued sir godfrey,"or you'll never be dressed in time for chapel on christmas morning."
so elaine went to her room, and took off herclothes, and hung up her stocking at the foot of the bed. did she goto sleep? not she. she laid with eyes and ears wide open. and nowalone here in the dark, where she had nothing to do but wait, shefound her heart beating in answer to her anxious and expectant thoughts.she heard the wind come blustering from far off across the silentcountry. then a snore from mistletoe in the next room made her jump.twice a bar of moonlight fell along the floor, wavering and weak, thensank out, and the pat of the snow-flakes began again. after a whilecame a step through the
halls to her door, and stopped. she couldscarcely listen, so hard she was breathing. was her father going to turnthe key in her door, after all? no such thought was any longerin his mind. she shut her eyes quickly as he entered. his candle shoneupon her quiet head, that was nearly buried out of sight; then laughtershook him to see the stocking, and he went softly out. he had puton his bed-room slippers; but, as he intended to make a visit to thecellar before retiring, it seemed a prudent thing to wear his steel breast-plate;and over this he had slipped his quilted red silk dressing-gown,for it was a very
cold night. was there a sound away off somewhere out-of-doors?no. he descended heavily through the sleeping house. when thecandle burned upright and clear yellow, his gait was steady; but hestarted many times at corners where its flame bobbed and flattenedand shrunk to a blue, sickly rag half torn from the wick. "ouf!mort d'aieul!" he would mutter. "but i must count my wine to-night."and so he came down into the wide cellars, and trod tiptoe among thebig round tuns. with a wooden mallet he tapped them, and shook hishead to hear the hollow
humming that their emptiness gave forth. nooath came from him at all, for the matter was too grievous. the darknessthat filled everywhere save just next to the candle, pressed harderand harder upon him. he looked at the door which led from inside hereout into the night, and it was comfortable to know how thick werethe panels and how stout the bolts and hinges. "i can hold my own against any man, and havejousted fairly in my time," he thought to himself, and touchedhis sword. "but—um!" the notion of meeting a fiery dragon in combatspoke loudly to the better
part of his valour. suddenly a great rat crossedhis foot. ice and fire went from his stomach all through him,and he sprang on a wooden stool, and then found he was shaking. soonhe got down, with sweaty hands. "am i getting a coward?" he asked aloud. heseized the mallet that had fallen, and struck a good knock against thenearest hogshead. ah—ha! this one, at least, was full. he twisted thewooden stop and drank what came, from the hollow of his hand. itwas cowslip wine. ragingly he spluttered and gulped, and then kickedthe bins with all his might.
while he was stooping to rub his toe, whoshould march in but miss elaine, dressed and ready for young geoffrey.but she caught sight of her father in time, and stepped back intothe passage in a flutter. good heavens! this would never do. geoffreymight be knocking at the cellar-door at any moment. her papa must begot away at once. "papa! papa!" she cried, running in. sir godfrey sprang into the air, throwingmallet and candle against the wine-butts. then he saw it was only hisdaughter. "wretched girl! you—you—if you don't wantto become an orphan, never
tamper like that with my nerves again in yourlife. what are you come here for? how dare you leave your bed at suchan hour?" "oh, mercy forgive us!" whimpered a new voice. there was mistletoe at the door of the passage,a candle lifted high above her head and wobbling, so that it shookthe grease all over her night-cap. with the other hand she clutchedher camisole, while beneath a yellow flannel petticoat her fatfeet were rocking in the raw-wool foot-mittens she wore. "oh, dear: oh, sir godfrey! oh, me!" saidshe.
"saint charity! what do you want? holy ragbag,what's the matter? is everybody in my house going stark mad?" herethe baron fell over the stool in the dark. "give me my candle!" heroared. "light my candle! what business have either of you to come here?" "please, sir, it's miss elaine i came for.oh, me! i'll catch my death of cold. her door shutting waked me up-stairs.oh, dear! where are we coming to?" "you old mattrass!" said sir godfrey. thenhe turned to his daughter. but this young lady had had a little timeto gather her thoughts in.
so she cut short all awkward questioningswith excellent promptness. "papa!" she began, breathlessly. "there! iheard it again!" "heard it? what?" cried the baron, his eyesstarting. "it waked me up-stairs, and i ran to get youin your room, and you——" "it—it? what's it? what waked you?" brokein sir godfrey, his voice rising to a shriek. "there it is again!" exclaimed elaine, claspingher hands. "he's coming! i hear him. the dragon! oh!"
with this, she pretended to rush for the passage,where the squeaks of mistletoe could be heard already growing distantin the house. away bolted sir godfrey after her, shouting toelaine in terror undisguised, "lock your door! lock your door!"as he fled up-stairs. so there stood miss elaine alone, with thecoast clear, and no danger from these two courageous guardians. thencame a knock from outside, and her heart bounded as she ran through thecellar and undid the door. "you darling!" said geoffrey, jumping in withlegs all covered with
snow. he left the door open wide, and hadtaken four or five kisses at the least before she could stop him. "themoon was out for a while," he continued, "and the snow stopped. so icame a long way round-about, that my tracks should not be seen. that'sgood strategy." but this strange young lady said no word,and looked at him as if she were going to cry. "why, what's the matter, dear?" he asked. "oh, geoffrey! i have been deceiving papaso." "pooh! it's not to be thought of."
"but i can't help thinking. i never supposedi could do so. and it comes so terribly easy. and i'm not a bitclever when i'm good. and—oh!" she covered her face and turnedaway from him. "stuff and nonsense!" geoffrey broke out."do be reasonable. here is a dragon. isn't there?" "yes." "and everybody wants to get rid of him?" "and he's robbing your father?" "so you're acting for your father's good?"
"y—yes." "then——" "now, geoffrey, all your talking doesn't hidethe badness in the least bit." she was silent again; then suddenly seemedgreatly relieved. "i don't care," she declared. "papa locked me up fora whole week, when all i wanted was to help him and everybody get ridof the dragon. and i am too old to be treated so. and now i am justgoing to pretend there's a dragon when there's not. oh, what's that?"
this time it was no sham. faint and far fromthe direction of oyster-le-main came the roar of the dragonof wantley over fields and farms. thus ends chapter vii�
