The Merriweather Girls and the Mystery of the Queen's Fan Part 13

"Once on her return trip she saw riders coming and quickly drew her pony to the side of the road and hid behind a clump of bushes. And although her horse was fiery and never stood quietly before, now it was perfectly still. Wasn't that wonderful!"

"I think," said Kit with a slight quiver in her voice, "that horses know everything that is going on."

"That one must have, for it stood motionless. And Lady Betty scarcely breathed. She heard the two riders talking! And she heard her husband's name! And until that minute she thought perhaps they were her friends.

"'Lord Cecil is a traitor! He deserves to be hung!' exclaimed one voice in angry, excited tones. 'And he will be before many days go by.

I've never yet missed a man I've been sent out to get.'

"'And if we capture him alive, we'll get double pay, is that it?' asked the second voice.

"'And not only that but I am to have his estate. I'll be the next Lord of the Manor!'"

"Poor Lady Betty! It's a wonder she didn't scream!" exclaimed Kit.

"She was too wise to do that. Everything depended on her being brave and not losing her head. At this very moment someone might be at old Martha's cabin to take away Lord Cecil. If a price was on his head, he was not safe for a second."

"And then what?" asked Kit excitedly. "What did she do then?"

"She waited until the riders were out of sight again and then went on.

Then at a turn in the road, she came face to face with another man on horseback. Lady Betty was sure now that it was the end. She would be imprisoned or held and not allowed to warn her husband. But her horse whinnied and trotted beside the other horse and she saw the face of the man. It was Denby, her old servant, whom she had left in charge at the Manor."

"And what was he doing there?" exclaimed Kit impatiently. "I thought she told him to guard the Manor."

"No, Denby was true. He noticed after she left that in her excitement she had forgotten her bag of money, and he was on his way to King's Bridge with it. So he turned and rode back with her toward Old Martha's cabin."

"It was good he came, wasn't it?"

"Yes, for a few minutes after that, the old servant touched her sleeve.

'I hear distant riders, it must be soldiers! Let us take to the woods here until they pa.s.s.'

"It seemed almost impossible, they thought, that the soldiers did not see them, for they had not been concealed when the British troop rode by on the way to the attack at King's Bridge. Lady Betty was trembling with fright, as the officer in command called, 'Halt!'"

"O--ooh!" exclaimed Kit. "I would have died of fright, I know I would!"

"But Lady Betty didn't. She held on to the bridle with a firm grasp and hardly breathed. You see she had to save not only her husband but the Manor as well. Everything depended on her. Every moment she expected to see the troops following them and the call to fire, but after a short rest, the order to march was given and Lady Betty drew a sigh of relief.

"They kept to the fields from then on, and in an hour saw the little cabin dark, gloomy and poverty-stricken, in front of them.

"At the first sound of horses stopping, old Martha came to the door, ready to put up a fight if need be, but when she recognized Lady Betty she shouted with joy, 'Sam, brisk up that fire a bit, it's your mistress returned.'"

"I know Lady Betty went straight to her wounded husband," said Kit triumphantly.

"Of course," exclaimed Bet. "She wouldn't wait a second. He was tossing about on the bed, anxious about the safety of his wife. And when he saw her coming into the room, he held out his hands to her, and there were tears in his eyes. After he had held her in his arms to a.s.sure himself that she was safe, he said, 'Betty, the message?' She hastened to reply: 'I delivered it right into General Brock's hands.

Do not worry, the message went through.'

"Lord Cecil didn't get well quickly. The wound in his leg was worse than they thought at first. And he was weak from loss of blood. The little cabin afforded so few of the comforts of life that she decided to get Lord Cecil back to the Manor as soon as possible."

"But wasn't there greater danger there?"

"No, that is Lady Betty didn't think so. At the Manor were stores of food hidden away, and here they were half starved. That's why she got word to the old servant, to come and help her take the master home.

And when they got him home, they hid him away."

"Oh Bet, where did they hide him?" asked Kit.

"In that long tunnel, in the arched room."

"The one you showed me the other day, is that it?"

"Yes, that's the one. Lady Betty moved down all the comfortable things he needed, and she stayed there with him, living in the tunnel."

"And did people guess it, the enemy I mean?"

"No, they had good luck that way. The old servant took charge of the house and cooked the food for them. They were not disturbed often, but they could never be sure when a company of soldiers might come by and stay for the night.

"And once the very men who were looking for Lord Cecil, stayed a day and a half. Old Denby had a hard time keeping his temper, for they ransacked the house. Only the fact that one of the men hoped someday to be in possession of the estate, kept them from destroying the place.

"Lady Betty used to go back and forth through the Manor, always listening for footsteps outside. And one night she got caught. She came face to face with an officer of the British army, Colonel Webb.

The man was an intimate friend of Lord Cecil's and had been entertained in the Manor many times."

"O--oh Bet! What happened?"

"Lady Betty gave a little gasp of dismay. 'Arthur Webb! You here!'

she exclaimed.

"'Yes, Betty, but do not fear, I will not harm you or give away your secret. I thought you were miles from here.' You know, Kit, I always like to think that Colonel Webb was half in love with her, for he came and kissed her hand over and over again. Wasn't that lovely?"

The girls gave themselves up to their dreams for a little while, then Kit said, "And did Colonel Webb find out that Lord Cecil was there, too?"

"He suspected it after a while, for he knew that Lord Cecil had been wounded and was ill. So he begged her to let him see his friend. But it was only after much pleading that she finally allowed him to descend the steps that led to the tunnel. Colonel Webb waited until late in the night to be sure that his men were asleep.

"The three friends spent the rest of the night talking of the happiness they had had together, and the sorrow and tragedy that the war had brought to all of them. Lady Betty must have been glad that she had allowed Colonel Webb to come and spend those hours with them, for later on he was killed in an engagement and they never saw him again."

"How sad they must have felt," whispered Kit.

"Yes. Lady Betty was never as gay again. You couldn't expect her to be: she had seen and heard of so much suffering and disappointments."

"And did Lord Cecil ever go back to the war?"

"He was in the last campaign that meant victory for the Americans. By the time the war was over, Lord Cecil was a poor man. He had the Manor, of course, but there was little money and they had few luxuries."

"But I'm sure Lady Betty didn't care about that! She still had Lord Cecil!"

"You know, Kit, I don't believe people have a chance now-a-days to show so much courage. In those stirring times, one had to do daring things."

"If Lady Betty were alive now, I think she'd do something wonderful.

It was her nature."

"I think she'd be pleased if she knew about our club, don't you? _The Merriweather Girls_! I half fancy her smile is sweeter since we thought of it," smiled Bet. "She's the dearest thing, isn't she?"