The Mystery of Cloomber Page 8

  CHAPTER VIII. STATEMENT OF ISRAEL STAKES

  (Copied and authenticated by the Reverend Mathew Clark, PresbyterianMinister of Stoneykirk, in Wigtownshire)

  Maister Fothergill West and the meenister say that I maun tell all I canaboot General Heatherstone and his hoose, but that I maunna say muckleaboot mysel' because the readers wouldna care to hear aboot me or myaffairs. I am na sae sure o' that, for the Stakes is a family weelkenned and respecked on baith sides o' the Border, and there's mony inNithsdale and Annandale as would be gey pleased to hear news o' the sono' Archie Stakes, o' Ecclefechan.

  I maun e'en do as I'm tauld, however, for Mr. West's sake, hoping he'llno forget me when I chance to hae a favour tae ask.(1) I'm no able taewrite mysel' because my feyther sent me oot to scare craws instead o'sendin' me tae school, but on the ither hond he brought me up in thepreenciples and practice o' the real kirk o' the Covenant, for which maythe Lord be praised!

  It way last May twel'month that the factor body, Maister McNeil, camower tae me in the street and speered whether I was in want o' a placeas a coachman and gairdner. As it fell oot I chanced tae be on the lookoot for something o' the sort mysel' at the time, but I wasna ower quickto let him see that I wanted it.

  "Ye can tak it or leave it," says he sharp like. "It's a guid place,and there's mony would be glad o't. If ye want it ye can come up tae myoffice at twa the morn and put your ain questions tae the gentleman."

  That was a' I could get frae him, for he's a close man and a hard one ata bargain--which shall profit him leetle in the next life, though he layby a store o' siller in this. When the day comes there'll be a hantle o'factors on the left hand o' the throne, and I shouldna be surprised ifMaister McNeil found himsel' amang them.

  Weel, on the morn I gaed up to the office and there I foond the factorand a lang, thin, dour man wi' grey hair and a face as brown andcrinkled as a walnut. He looked hard at me wi' a pair o' een that glowedlike twa spunks, and then he says, says he:

  "You've been born in these pairts, I understan'?"

  "Aye," says I, "and never left them neither."

  "Never been oot o' Scotland?" he speers.

  "Twice to Carlisle fair," says I, for I am a man wha loves the truth;and besides I kenned that the factor would mind my gaeing there, for Ibargained fur twa steers and a stirk that he wanted for the stockin' o'the Drumleugh Fairm.

  "I learn frae Maister McNeil," says General Heatherstone--for him it wasand nane ither--"that ye canna write."

  "Na," says I.

  "Nor read?"

  "Na," says I.

  "It seems tae me," says he, turnin' tae the factor, "that this is thevera man I want. Servants is spoilt noo-a-days," says he, "by owermuckle eddication. I hae nae doobt, Stakes, that ye will suit me wellenough. Ye'll hae three pund a month and a' foond, but I shall resairvethe right o' givin' ye twenty-four hoors' notice at any time. How willthat suit ye?"

  "It's vera different frae my last place," says I, discontented-like.

  And the words were true enough, for auld Fairmer Scott only gave me apund a month and parritch twice a day.

  "Weel, weel," says he, "maybe we'll gie ye a rise if ye suit. Meanwhilehere's the han'sel shillin' that Maister McNeil tells me it's the customtae give, and I shall expec' tae see ye at Cloomber on Monday."

  When the Monday cam roond I walked oot tae Cloomber, and a great mucklehoose it is, wi' a hunderd windows or mair, and space enough tae hideawa' half the parish.

  As tae gairdening, there was no gairden for me tae work at, and thehorse was never taken oot o' the stables frae week's end tae week's end.I was busy enough for a' that, for there was a deal o' fencing taebe put up, and one thing or anither, forbye cleanin' the knives andbrushin' the boots and such-like jobs as is mair fit for an auld wifethan for a grown man.

  There was twa besides mysel' in the kitchen, the cook Eliza, and Marythe hoosemaid, puir, benighted beings baith o' them, wha had wasted a'their lives in London, and kenned leetle aboot the warld or the ways o'the flesh.

  I hadna muckle tae say to them, for they were simple folk who couldscarce understand English, and had hardly mair regard for their ainsouls than the tods on the moor. When the cook said she didna thinkmuckle o' John Knox, and the ither that she wouldna give saxpence taehear the discourse o' Maister Donald McSnaw o' the true kirk, I kennedit was time for me tae leave them tae a higher Judge.

  There was four in family, the general, my leddy, Maister Mordaunt,and Miss Gabriel, and it wasna long before I found that a' wasna justexactly as it should be. My leddy was as thin and as white as a ghaist,and many's the time as I've come on her and found her yammerin' andgreetin' all by hersel'. I've watched her walkin' up and doon in thewood where she thought nane could see her and wringin' her honds likeone demented.

  There was the young gentleman, tae, and his sister--they baith seemedto hae some trouble on their minds, and the general maist of a', for theithers were up ane day and down anither; but he was aye the same, wi' aface as dour and sad as a felon when he feels the tow roond his neck.

  I speered o' the hussies in the kitchen whether they kenned what wasamiss wi' the family, but the cook she answered me back that it wasnafor her tae inquire into the affairs o' her superiors, and that it wasnaething to her as long as she did her work and had her wages. They werepuir, feckless bodies, the twa o' them, and would scarce gie an answertae a ceevil question, though they could clack lood eneugh when they hada mind.

  Weel, weeks passed into months and a' things grew waur instead o'better in the Hall. The general he got mair nairvous, and his leddymair melancholy every day, and yet there wasna any quarrel or bickeringbetween them, for when they've been togither in the breakfast roomI used often tae gang round and prune the rose-tree alongside o'the window, so that I couldna help hearin' a great pairt o' theirconversation, though sair against the grain.

  When the young folk were wi' them they would speak little, but when theyhad gone they would aye talk as if some waefu' trial ere aboot to fa'upon them, though I could never gather from their words what it was thatthey were afeared o'.

  I've heard the general say mair than ance that he wasna frighted o'death, or any danger that he could face and have done wi', but that itwas the lang, weary waitin' and the uncertainty that had taken a' thestrength and the mettle oot o' him. Then my leddy would console him andtell him that maybe it wasna as bad as he thocht, and that a' would comericht in the end--but a' her cheery words were clean throwed away uponhim.

  As tae the young folks, I kenned weel that they didna bide in thegroonds, and that they were awa' whenever they got a chance wi' MaisterFothergill West tae Branksome, but the general was too fu' o' his aintroubles tae ken aboot it, and it didna seem tae me that it was pairto' my duties either as coachman or as gairdner tae mind the bairns.He should have lairnt that if ye forbid a lassie and a laddie to daeanything it's just the surest way o' bringin' it aboot. The Lord foondthat oot in the gairden o' Paradise, and there's no muckle changebetween the folk in Eden and the folk in Wigtown.

  There's ane thing that I havena spoke aboot yet, but that should be setdoon.

  The general didna share his room wi' his wife, but slept a' alane in achamber at the far end o' the hoose, as distant as possible frae everyone else. This room was aye lockit when he wasna in it, and naebody wasever allowed tae gang into it. He would mak' his ain bed, and red it upand dust it a' by himsel', but he wouldna so much as allow one o' us toset fut on the passage that led tae it.

  At nicht he would walk a' ower the hoose, and he had lamps hung in everyroom and corner, so that no pairt should be dark.

  Many's the time frae my room in the garret I've heard his futstepscomin' and gangin', comin' and gangin' doon one passage and up anitherfrae midnight till cockcraw. It was weary wark to lie listenin' tae hisclatter and wonderin' whether he was clean daft, or whether maybe he'dlairnt pagan and idolatrous tricks oot in India, and that his consciencenoo was like the worm which gnaweth and dieth not. I'd ha' speered fraehim whether it w
ouldna ease him to speak wi' the holy Donald McSnaw, butit might ha' been a mistake, and the general wasna a man that you'd caretae mak' a mistake wi'.

  Ane day I was workin' at the grass border when he comes up and he says,says he:

  "Did ye ever have occasion tae fire a pistol, Israel?"

  "Godsakes!" says I, "I never had siccan a thing in my honds in my life."

  "Then you'd best not begin noo," says he. "Every man tae his ainweepon," he says. "Now I warrant ye could do something wi' a guidcrab-tree cudgel!"

  "Aye, could I," I answered blithely, "as well as ony lad on the Border."

  "This is a lonely hoose," says he, "and we might be molested by somerascals. It's weel tae be ready for whatever may come. Me and you and myson Mordaunt and Mr. Fothergill West of Branksome, who would come if hewas required, ought tae be able tae show a bauld face--what think ye?"

  "'Deed, sir," I says, "feastin' is aye better than fechtin'--but ifye'll raise me a pund a month, I'll no' shirk my share o' either."

  "We won't quarrel ower that," says he, and agreed tae the extra twal'pund a year as easy as though it were as many bawbees. Far be it frae metae think evil, but I couldna help surmisin' at the time that money thatwas so lightly pairted wi' was maybe no' so very honestly cam by.

  I'm no' a curious or a pryin' mun by nature, but I was sair puzzled inmy ain mind tae tell why it was that the general walked aboot at nichtand what kept him frae his sleep.

  Weel, ane day I was cleanin' doon the passages when my e'e fell on agreat muckle heap o' curtains and auld cairpets and sic' like thingsthat were piled away in a corner, no vera far frae the door o' thegeneral's room. A' o' a sudden a thocht came intae my heid and I saystae mysel':

  "Israel, laddie," says I, "what's tae stop ye frae hidin' behind thatthis vera nicht and seein' the auld mun when he doesna ken human e'e ison him?"

  The mair I thocht o't the mair seemple it appeared, and I made up mymind tae put the idea intae instant execution.

  When the nicht cam roond I tauld the women-folk that I was bad wi' thejawache, and would gang airly tae my room. I kenned fine when ance I gotthere that there was na chance o' ony ane disturbin' me, so I waited awee while, and then when a' was quiet, I slippit aff my boots and randoon the ither stair until I cam tae the heap o' auld clothes, and thereI lay doon wi' ane e'e peepin' through a kink and a' the rest covered upwi' a great, ragged cairpet.

  There I bided as quiet as a mouse until the general passed me on hisroad tae bed, and a' was still in the hoose.

  My certie! I wouldna gang through wi' it again for a' the siller at theUnion Bank of Dumfries, I canna think o't noo withoot feelin' cauld a'the way doon my back.

  It was just awfu' lyin' there in the deid silence, waitin' and waitin'wi' never a soond tae break the monotony, except the heavy tickin' o' anauld clock somewhere doon the passage.

  First I would look doon the corridor in the one way, and syne I'd lookdoon in t'ither, but it aye seemed to me as though there was somethingcoming up frae the side that I wasna lookin' at. I had a cauld sweat onmy broo, and my hairt was beatin' twice tae ilka tick o' the clock, andwhat feared me most of a' was that the dust frae the curtains and thingswas aye gettin' doon intae my lungs, and it was a' I could dae tae keepmysel' frae coughin'.

  Godsakes! I wonder my hair wasna grey wi' a' that I went through. Iwouldna dae it again to be made Lord Provost o' Glasgie.

  Weel, it may have been twa o'clock in the mornin' or maybe a littlemair, and I was just thinkin' that I wasna tae see onything aftera'--and I wasna very sorry neither--when all o' a sudden a soond cam taemy ears clear and distinct through the stillness o' the nicht.

  I've been asked afore noo tae describe that soond, but I've aye foondthat it's no' vera easy tae gie a clear idea o't, though it was unlikeany other soond that ever I hearkened tae. It was a shairp, ringin'clang, like what could be caused by flippin' the rim o' a wineglass, butit was far higher and thinner than that, and had in it, tae, a kind o'splash, like the tinkle o' a rain-drop intae a water-butt.

  In my fear I sat up amang my cairpets, like a puddock amonggowan-leaves, and I listened wi' a' my ears. A' was still again noo,except for the dull tickin' o' the distant clock.

  Suddenly the soond cam again, as clear, as shrill, as shairp as ever,and this time the general heard it, for I heard him gie a kind o' groan,as a tired man might wha has been roosed oot o' his sleep.

  He got up frae his bed, and I could make oot a rustling noise, as thoughhe were dressin' himsel', and presently his footfa' as he began tae walkup and doon in his room.

  Mysakes! it didna tak lang for me tae drap doon amang the cairpets againand cover mysel' ower. There I lay tremblin' in every limb, and sayin'as mony prayers as I could mind, wi' my e'e still peepin' through thekeek-hole, and fixed upon the door o' the general's room.

  I heard the rattle o' the handle presently, and the door swung slowlyopen. There was a licht burnin' in the room beyond, an' I could justcatch a glimpse o' what seemed tae me like a row o' swords stuck alangthe side o' the wa', when the general stepped oot and shut the doorbehind him. He was dressed in a dressin' goon, wi' a red smokin'-capon his heid, and a pair o' slippers wi' the heels cut off and the taesturned up.

  For a moment it cam into my held that maybe he was walkin' in his sleep,but as he cam towards me I could see the glint o' the licht in his e'en,and his face was a' twistin', like a man that's in sair distress o'mind. On my conscience, it gies me the shakes noo when I think o' histall figure and his yelley face comin' sae solemn and silent doon thelang, lone passage.

  I haud my breath and lay close watchin' him, but just as he cam taewhere I was my vera hairt stood still in my breast, for "ting!"--loudand clear, within a yaird o' me cam the ringin', clangin' soond that Ihad a'ready hairkened tae.

  Where it cam frae is mair than I can tell or what was the cause o't. Itmight ha' been that the general made it, but I was sair puzzled tae tellhoo, for his honds were baith doon by his side as he passed me. It camfrae his direction, certainly, but it appeared tae me tae come frae owerhis heid, but it was siccan a thin, eerie, high-pitched, uncanny kind o'soond that it wasna easy tae say just exactly where it did come frae.

  The general tuk nae heed o't, but walked on and was soon oot o' sicht,and I didna lose a minute in creepin' oot frae my hidin' place andscamperin' awa' back tae my room, and if a' the bogies in the Red Seawere trapesin' up and doon the hale nicht through, I wud never put myheid oot again tae hae a glimpse o' them.

  I didna say a word tae anybody aboot what I'd seen, but I made up mymind that I wudna stay muckle langer at Cloomber Ha'. Four pund a monthis a good wage, but it isna enough tae pay a man for the loss o' hispeace o' mind, and maybe the loss o' his soul as weel, for when the deilis aboot ye canna tell what sort o' a trap he may lay for ye, and thoughthey say that Providence is stronger than him, it's maybe as weel no' torisk it.

  It was clear tae me that the general and his hoose were baith under somecurse, and it was fit that that curse should fa' on them that had earnedit, and no' on a righteous Presbyterian, wha had ever trod the narrowpath.

  My hairt was sair for young Miss Gabriel--for she was a bonnie andwinsome lassie--but for a' that, I felt that my duty was tae mysel' andthat I should gang forth, even as Lot ganged oot o' the wicked cities o'the plain.

  That awfu' cling-clang was aye dingin' in my lugs, and I couldna bearto be alane in the passages for fear o' hearin' it ance again. I onlywanted a chance or an excuse tae gie the general notice, and tae gangback to some place where I could see Christian folk, and have the kirkwithin a stone-cast tae fa' back upon.

  But it proved tae be ordained that, instead o' my saying the word, itshould come frae the general himsel'.

  It was ane day aboot the beginning of October, I was comin' oot o' thestable, after giein' its oats tae the horse, when I seed a great muckleloon come hoppin' on ane leg up the drive, mair like a big, ill-fauredcraw than a man.

  When I clapped my een on him I thocht that maybe this was
ane of therascals that the maister had been speakin' aboot, so withoot mair adoI fetched oot my bit stick with the intention o' tryin' it upon thelimmer's heid. He seed me comin' towards him, and readin' my intentionfrae my look maybe, or frae the stick in my hand, he pu'ed oot a langknife frae his pocket and swore wi' the most awfu' oaths that if I didnastan' back he'd be the death o' me.

  Ma conscience! the words the chiel used was eneugh tae mak' the hairstand straight on your heid. I wonder he wasna struck deid where hestood.

  We were still standin' opposite each ither--he wi' his knife and me wi'the stick--when the general he cam up the drive and foond us. Tae mysurprise he began tae talk tae the stranger as if he'd kenned him a' hisdays.

  "Put your knife in your pocket, Corporal," says he. "Your fears haveturned your brain."

  "Blood an' wounds!" says the other. "He'd ha' turned my brain tae somepurpose wi' that muckle stick o' his if I hadna drawn my snickersnee.You shouldna keep siccan an auld savage on your premises."

  The maister he frooned and looked black at him, as though he didnarelish advice comin' frae such a source. Then turnin' tae me--"You won'tbe wanted after to-day, Israel," he says; "you have been a guid servant,and I ha' naething tae complain of wi' ye, but circumstances have arisenwhich will cause me tae change my arrangements."

  "Vera guid, sir," says I.

  "You can go this evening," says he, "and you shall have an extra month'spay tae mak up t'ye for this short notice."

  Wi' that he went intae the hoose, followed by the man that he ca'ed thecorporal, and frae that day tae this I have never clapped een either onthe ane or the ither. My money was sent oot tae me in an envelope,and havin' said a few pairtin' words tae the cook and the wench wi'reference tae the wrath tae come and the treasure that is richer thanrubies, I shook the dust o' Cloomber frae my feet for ever.

  Maister Fothergill West says I maunna express an opeenion as tae whatcam aboot afterwards, but maun confine mysel' tae what I saw mysel'. Naedoubt he has his reasons for this--and far be it frae me tae hint thatthey are no' guid anes--but I maun say this, that what happened didnasurprise me. It was just as I expeckit, and so I said tae Maister DonaldMcSnaw.

  I've tauld ye a' aboot it noo, and I havena a word tae add or taewithdraw. I'm muckle obleeged tae Maister Mathew Clairk for puttin'it a' doon in writin' for me, and if there's ony would wish tae speeronything mair o' me I'm well kenned and respeckit in Ecclefechan, andMaister McNeil, the factor o' Wigtown, can aye tell where I am tae befoond.

  (1) The old rascal was well paid for his trouble, so he need not havemade such a favour of it.--J.F.W.