Nurse Heatherdale's Story Page 13

  CHAPTER XIII

  'OLD SIR DAVID'S' SECRET

  At first he thought the queer-looking things he saw must be odd-shapedpieces of stone, or petrifactions, such as you see in old-fashionedrockeries in gardens sometimes. But when he went close up to them andtouched one, he found that the covering was soft, though whatever wasinside it was hard. He pulled the cloth off it, and saw to his surprisethat it was a heavy silver tea-urn, though so black and discoloured thatit looked more like copper or iron. He examined two or three otherthings, standing by near it; they also proved to be large pieces ofplate--great heavy dinner-table centres, candelabra, and suchthings,--and, child though he was, Master Francis could see they must beof considerable value. But this was not what struck him the most. Like aflash of lightning it darted into his mind that there must be stillmore valuable things in this queer store-room.

  'I do believe,' he said to himself, 'that this is old Sir David'streasure!'

  He was right. It would take too long to describe how he went onexamining into all these strange objects. Several, that looked likewell-stuffed sacks, were tied up so tightly that he couldn't undo thecord. He made a little hole in one of them with his pocket-knife, andout rolled, to his delight, ever so many gold pieces!

  'Then,' said Master Francis to us, 'I really felt as if I could havejumped with joy; but I thought I'd better fetch Uncle Hulbert before Ipoked about any more, and I went up the short ladder again, meaning togo back the way I'd come. I had never thought till that minute that Icouldn't manage it, but the long ladder was broken away so high above myhead that I couldn't possibly reach up to it, and the bits of it thathad fallen on to the floor were quite rotten. And the trap-door seemedso close shut, that I was afraid no one would hear me however Ishouted.'

  He did shout though, poor boy; it was the only thing he could do. Theshort ladder was a fixture and he couldn't move it from its place, evenif it had been long enough to be of any use. After a while he got sotired of calling out, that he seemed to have no voice left, and I thinkhe must have fallen into a sort of doze, for the next thing heremembered was waking up to find that it was quite dark. Then he beganto feel terribly frightened, and to think that perhaps he would be leftthere to die of hunger.

  'And the worst of it was,' he said in his simple way, 'that nobody wouldever have known of the treasure.'

  He called out again from time to time, and then a new idea struck him.He felt about for a bit of wood on the floor and set to work, knockingas hard as he could. Most likely he fell asleep by fits and starts,waking up every now and then to knock and call out again, and when thehouse was all shut up and silent for the night, of course the sound hemade seemed much louder, only unluckily we were all asleep and mightnever have heard it except for dear little Miss Lally.

  It was not till after Master Francis caught the sound of our knockingback in reply that it came into his head to make his way close up to thewindows--luckily it was not a very dark night--and call through them,for there was no glass in them, as I have said. If he had done thatbefore it is just possible we might have heard him sooner, as in oursearching we had been in and out of his room, above where he was,several times.

  There is not much more for me to tell. Master Francis was ill enough tohave to stay in bed for a day or two, and at first we were a littleafraid that the cold and the terror, and the strange excitementaltogether, might bring on another illness. But it was not so. I thinkhe was really too happy to fall ill again!

  In a day or two Sir Hulbert was able to tell him all about thediscovery. It was kept quite secret till the family lawyer could be sentfor, and then he and my lady and Sir Hulbert all went down through thetrap-door again with Mr. Crooks, the butler, to help them, andeverything was opened out and examined. It was a real miser's hoard.

  Besides the plate, which was really the least valuable, for it was soclumsy and heavy that a good deal of it was only fit to be melted down,there were five or six sacks filled with gold and some with silver coin.Of course something was lost upon it with its being so old, but takingit all in all, a very large sum was realised, for a great many of thePenrose diamonds had been hidden away also, _some_ of which--the mostvaluable, though not the most beautiful--were sold.

  Altogether, though it didn't make Sir Hulbert into a millionaire, itmade him a rich man, as rich, I think, as he cared to be. And, strangelyenough, as the old proverb has it, 'it never rains but it pours,' onlytwo or three years after, money came to my lady which she had neverexpected. So that to any one visiting Treluan, as it now is, and seeingall that has been done by the family, not only for themselves, but forthose about them,--the church, the schools, the cottages on the estatebeing perfect models of their kind--it would be difficult to believethere had ever been want of money to be wisely and generously spent.

  Dear, dear, how many years ago it all is now! There's not many living,if any, to remember the ins and outs as I do, which is indeed my excusefor having put it down in my own way.

  Miss Bess,--Miss Penrose, as I should say,--Miss Lalage, and even MissAugusta have been married this many a day; and Lady Helen, Miss Bess'seldest daughter, is sixteen past, and it is she that has promised tolook over my writing and correct it.

  Master Bevil, Sir Bevil now, for Sir Hulbert did not live to be an oldman, has two fine boys of his own, whom I took care of from theirbabyhood, as I did their father, and I'm feeling quite lost since MasterRamsey has gone to school.

  And of dear Master Francis. What words can I say that would be enough?He is the only one of the flock that has not married, and yet who couldbe happier than he is? He never thinks of himself, his whole life hasbeen given to the noblest work. His writings, I am told, though they'retoo learned for my old head, have made him a name far and wide. And allthis he has done in spite of delicate health and frequent suffering. Heseems older than his years, and Sir Bevil is in hopes that before longhe may persuade his cousin to give up his hard London parish and makehis regular home where he is so longed for, in Treluan itself, as ourvicar, and indeed I pray that it may be so while I am still here to seeit.

  Above all, for my dear lady's sake, I scarcely like to own to myselfthat she is beginning to fail, for though I speak of myself as an oldwoman and feel it is true, yet I can't bear to think that her years arerunning near to the appointed threescore and ten, for she is nine yearsolder than I. She has certainly never been the same, and no wonder,since Sir Hulbert's death, but she has had many comforts, and almost thegreatest of them has been, as I think I have said before, MasterFrancis.

  * * * * *

  Mother and my aunts want me to add on a few words of my own to dear oldnurse's story. She gave it me to read and correct here and there, morethan a year ago, and I meant to have done so at once. But for somemonths past I hardly felt as if I had the heart to undertake it,especially as I didn't like bringing back the remembrance of their oldchildish days to mother and my aunts, or to Uncle Bevil and UncleFrancis, as we always call him, just in the first freshness of theirgrief at dear grandmamma's death. And I needed to ask them a few thingsto make the narrative quite clear for any who may ever care to read it.

  But now that the spring has come back again, making us all feel brightand hopeful (we have all been at Treluan together for Uncle Bevil'sbirthday), I have enjoyed doing it, and they all tell me that they haveenjoyed hearing about the story and answering my questions.

  Dear grandmamma loved the spring so! She was so gentle and sweet,though she never lost her quick eager way either. And though she diedlast year, just before the daffodils and primroses were coming out,somehow this spring the sight of them again has not made us feel sadabout her, but _happy_ in the best way of all.

  Perhaps I should have said before that I am 'Nelly,' 'Miss Bess's'eldest daughter. Aunt Lalage has only one daughter, who is named aftermother, and _I_ think very like what mother must have been at her age.

  There are five of _us_, and Aunt Augusta has two boys, like Uncle Bevil.

  What use
d to be 'the secret room,' where our miser ancestor kept thehoard so strangely discovered, has been joined, by taking down theceiling, to what in the old days was Uncle Francis's room, and entersfrom a door lower down the tower stair, and Uncle Bevil's boys have madeit into what they call their 'Museum.' We are all very fond of showingit to visitors, and explaining how it used to be, and telling the wholestory. Uncle Francis always maintains that Aunt Lally saved his life,and though she gets very red when he says so, I do think it is true. Shereally was very brave for such a little girl. If I heard knockings inthe night, I am afraid I should hide my head under the clothes, and putmy fingers in my ears.

  Uncle Francis and Aunt Lally always do seem almost more brother andsister to each other than any of the rest; and her husband, UncleGeoffrey, whom next to Uncle Francis I think I like best of all myuncles, was one of _his_--I mean Uncle Francis's; what a confusion I'mgetting into--best friends at college.

  When I began this, after correcting nurse's manuscript, I thoughtnothing would be easier than to write a story in the most beautifullanguage, but I find it so much harder than I expected that I am notsorry to think that there is really nothing more of importance to tell.And I must say my admiration for the way in which nurse has performed_her_ task has increased exceedingly!

  THE END