parchment. As he severed the string he muttered to himself: 'Praises he that my instinct was right. By to-morrow morning I'll have earned me more than two year's income from this.'
Roger was still only half conscious and incapable of movement. As the man left him he strove to collect his wits, but only one coherent thought flickered in his bemused mind. In some utterly inexplicable manner he had been beaten at the post, and that with the loss of the document his best hopes of saving his country had been shattered.
CHAPTER XXV
THE MYSTERIOUS FRENCHMAN
ROGER'S head felt as though it was splitting. Both its back, and the side on which he had received the first blow, hurt intolerably. He heard the clopping of a horse's hoofs as his attacker led one of the animals out of the stable and a faint light filtered in through the doorway. Then the door was closed, the darkness became pitch again; there came the faint clink of the horse's shoes on the cobbles of the yard and, after a moment, silence.
Making an effort he jerked at his bonds; but each time he did so a spasm of pain shot through his head; so that he was forced to give up and lie quite still for a while, until the throbbing of his temples gradually eased. At length the stabs became less insistent and gave way to a dull ache.
Wriggling up into a sitting position he tried again to free first his hands, then his feet; but both seemed to have been tied by an expert. The thin, tough cord bit into his wrists and ankles and all his efforts failed to loosen its painful grip.
Forced to give up he relaxed and fell to wondering who it could conceivably have been that had attacked him. The expert knotting of the cords that bound him made him suspect one of the sailors from the barque. He could not imagine how any of them had managed to get ashore and trace him to his home, yet that seemed the only possible explanation.
One thing was plain; for the best part of two hours that evening, since his landing at Lymington, he had held a trump card for preventing disaster to his country firmly in his hand. He could have taken it straight to the Mayor, or one of the local justices, for safe keeping and had a sworn copy made; and now he had lost it. Yet he could not feel himself to blame, since, having once stepped ashore, he had had not the remotest reason to suppose there was any risk of having the document taken from him.
Its loss was all the more infuriating in that he had, after all, made good time in reaching England. The journey from Paris had taken him just under six days. It was still only the 3rd of September, and the Dutch Republicans were not due to rise until the xoth, so had he been able to get the letter to Whitehall by the following morning the Government would have had ample time to act. Whereas now, without the letter to verify his statement, it was a hundred to one that they would lose their opportunity while seeking confirmation from other sources of his seemingly incredible story.
He wondered how long he had been lying there, and thought that it must be at least an hour, although it seemed much longer. Then he heard the ring of iron horseshoes on the cobbles again. The stable door was pushed open, the starlight filtered in, and he saw two shadowy forms come through the opening.
At first they did not see him and, since he was tightly gagged, he could not cry out. One of them groped for the lantern and swore at not finding it in its accustomed place. After a moment the flint was struck and a dim glow from the tinder revealed the lantern lying smashed upon the floor.
The figure swore again, picked it up and lit the candle. As he did so the light flickered on Roger's bound feet.
'Hell's bells!' exclaimed his father's voice. 'Jim! There's a man here and he's trussed like a fowl. What in thunder's been going on here in our absence! 'Tis as well we met at the gate. Hitch the horses' bridles to the door latch, and take this lantern while I cut the fellow free.'
As the Admiral got out his pocket knife Jim Button raised the lantern so that it shone on Roger's face.
'Swelp me, Bobl' he cried suddenly. 'I believe he be Master Roger!'
'Shiver my timbers!' bellowed the Admiral, 'so it is!'
With swift, sure strokes he severed the cords that bound Roger, then undid the knot of the handkerchief that gagged him. Roger lurched to his feet but his mouth was so sore that he could not speak for a moment. His father caught his arm and said:
'Steady, boyl Take it easy! Yours is the strangest home-coming that ever was. But, by God, your dear mother will be mightily pleased to see you. Let's to the house.'
It was true enough that, however either of them might have envisaged a reunion, neither had ever dreamed that it would occur in such extraordinary circumstances, and one which made it so natural that the Admiral should accept his errant son's return without loss of dignity.
Roger ran his tongue round his sore mouth and muttered: 'I've already seen her, Sir. I was about to saddle a horse and set out for London when I was attacked, an hour or so ago.'
'What!' boomed the Admiral. 'Dost mean to say that having returned after all these years you meant to shear off again without seeing me?'
'I'd intended to return as soon as possible,' said Roger warmly, giving his father's arm a quick squeeze. 'But I landed from France only at six o'clock, and must get with all speed to London on Mr. Gilbert Maxwell's business.'
His father gave him a sharp glance. 'Ah! That's different; and 'tis good to hear that you put nothing before your duty, lad. But come to the house and tell me how it is I came to find you in such dire straits.'
Jim Button suddenly broke in. 'The last time I seed 'e, Master Roger, was the day the Admiral come home from the wars. 'Tis good to see 'e ag'in, an' here's hopin' 'e'll be with us for as long a spell as he.'
'Thanks, Jim,' Roger took the groom's hand and shook it. 'I'll be back by mid-week, I trust; and we 11 have some great rides together. When you've watered the horses and rugged them up, would you saddle my mare and bring her round to the front, so that I can get off without delay?'
'That I will, Master Roger,' came the cheerful response, and, with linked arms, father and son left the stable yard.
Lady Marie's distress at Roger's unexpected return in such a battered state was almost instantly overcome by her joy at seeing her two loved ones arm-in-arm like two long-lost brothers. Having quickly examined Roger's head, she pronounced his injuries only superficial, but hurried off to fetch warm water, lint and bandages.
The Admiral was in a high good humour. He had dined well at Pylewell and his face was ruddy with port and good cheer. As the door closed behind his wife, he said, jokingly, to Roger: 'Well, boy; hast fortune favoured thee on thy travels? Are thy pockets bursting with good golden
Roger laughed. ' Twould ill become me to complain against the dame; since for a year past I've enjoyed an income of two hundred and forty
'Think not a thing of that,' smiled the Admiral, with a wave of his hand. 'You did monstrous well to achieve such a position unaided. But you have no call to seek another. I'm a rich man now, my lad, and can well afford to support an only son. I can give you an income of three hundred and not miss the money.'
'Have you come into a fortune, then?' exclaimed Roger in amazement.
'Nay,' the Admiral grinned. ' 'Tis prize money, accruing from the sale of all the ships that I captured during the long years of war. Their Lordships were plaguey slow in paying it out; but what with Frenchmen, Spaniards, Dutchmen, and the rest, I've netted thousands; as have most other British Captains. You'll not have noticed in the dark, maybe, but I'm building two more rooms on to the house; a fine, lofty dining-room, and an equally spacious bedroom above it for yourself.'
'For me!' Roger gasped. 'That will be the meaning of the scaffolding I saw, then, as I entered the house with my mother. But how could you know that I'd return, Sir?'
'I knew you'd come back sooner or later,' averred the Admiral. 'Ill not deny that your refusing to enter the Navy was a bitter blow to me. But since you had the spirit to go your own way, 'twas as good as certain that you'd not haul down your flag, and one day come sailing into port like a good mariner. I'd not encourage your mother to hope on that, but I've been waiting to splice the mainbrace with you this many a long day.'
Like King Charles II before him Roger could only marvel that he had been fool enough to remain away from home so long.
