Gilpin observer., 1905-05-18

quaint my man with my destination :
The fellows knowing they had me
would consent to nothing. 1 was
hustled into a coach, carried to Lud-
low, and there locked in putrid cell
"a cell such as was used for GRIM
inals OF the worst type.
An ignominious ending to a most
delightful day! An ending altogether
unaccountable to me. "A warrant
signed by the King!" the constable
said and that was all he would say.
Put not your faith in Princes, for
when they promise most they do
least
wondered how long 1t would take
Gil to find out where I was hidden.
wondered for four days. The first
day paced my cell in varying moods
I damned that linkman up and down
the length and breadth Of England,
that he had not waited long enough
to learn where they were taking me
so as to acquaint Gil with the fact.
| tried in every way possible to
bribe my jailor to send word to him,
instrumental in my arrest, and what
| had been arrested for. 1t was of no
avail. He would only say that he
had his orders; would soon know.
The old hypocrite!
But what fretted me most was that
I could not keep my word in three
instances: to my lady, who would
look for me, and conjecture as to
what kept me from her; to the men
who would await my coming back
of Montague House-how they would
jeer at my seeming cowardice; and to
myself, whom l had promised an in
terview with Lady Dwight. was
burning to be rid of my news. My
plans had been, after seeing Lady
Dwight to send Gil on to Long Haut
with the information to Lord Waters
of another son.
When the day in which I was to
see Rosemary and the others passed,
l Gained down. The following days
passed quite TRANQUILITY awaiting de-
velopments. losing myself in dreams
of Rosemary, quite the most profitable
thing I could do, although it seemed
sacrilege to bring my lady even in
thought into so vile a place as this
cell wherein l was confined. 1t was
dank and humid, while loathsome in
sects with legs as many as centipedes
crawled about. In a corner a window
grated and barred hung. and through
this the light of day filtered. I looked
toward its faint beams, on this the
fourth day Ga beam however small
and lean was preferable to the dark
corners of this hole) and saw glid-
ing in like a fairy elfin a butterfly.
Poor wanton thing! Life must indeed
have been monotonous that it should
forsake light and joy, for darkness
and pain. AS l watched it, too high
for me to reach, a stone was hurled
through the crates in the window, and
hit the luckless flying insect, that
twisted like leaf in autumn down.
down. while the stone rebounded from
the wall of the cell to my feet.
1t had paper tied about it, and
hastened to pick it up, fearing my
jailor might have heard the noise and
come to see what 1t meant. I hid
the paper and listened. All was still.
held it up to the light and read,
Tonight" At last: Gil was en- evil
dence.
Now my brain kept tacking to
pleasanter things; how would Gil ac-
complish his task? How wreck these
prison bars?
pushed the three-legged stool be-
meath the window and stood upon it.
could just reach the window sill
with my finger tips. l drew myself
up and looked out, as I had done
many times before. I saw tops of
trees and far of a winding stream;
now all was hazy like picture seen
through smoked glass. could see
a light bobbing here and there. and
imagine heard the measured cadence
of the boatsmen's oars, as they fer
ried their fares across. l was not
high up in that old prison, else that
frail butterfly had not fluttered to
its death, or the stone been thrown.