The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-19


 No smile came to her lips. and it was evident that her thoughts were away.
 A tall, dark man was looking at her indignantly and seemed to know of what she was dreaming. The great bunch of big keys at his belt proclaim ed him for what he was-the chief jan itor of the Tower. This man, Lawrence Nightgall by name slipped to her side with a sinister smile Your sprig of a lover has left you forever" said he. Tt was mad in you to dream that one so noble as the Squire Cholmondeley would wed you.' He seized her arm and swore that she must be his. Cicely screamed; and Magog, stretched forth his hand, shook him like rat and, wrestling from him his drawn poniard, used 1t for a tooth pick. The jailer slunk away amid loud laughter. Cicely. frightened by his hint about her lover, followed in stantly.
 Her pursuit led CT to part of-tAe wall near the Devils Tower, where he unlocked a tiny door. He sped down low passage leading deep under ground with Cicely close behind him. After winding in and out through maze of similar passages he came to a heavy door. He unlocked it, and his torch fell on Cuth bert Cholmondeley, fastened to the stone floor with 8 hea- wy chain.
 The young squire scowled at the jailer. Having been aware for some time of Nightgalrs jealousy, he felt sure that he divined the reason for his Imprisonment. He was not surprised when Nightgall promised him freedom if he would renounce Cicely.. Angrily he refused. The next instant Cicely appeared before them and offered her self as the sacrifice. Unh eeding Chol- mondeley's remonstrances, she told Nightgall that she would be his if he would take the squire beyond the tow CT walls and bring her back a token to prove that he had done so.
 Under pretense of telling her what the token was to be, Cholmondeley managed to get few words with Cice- ly. He gave her a ring and charged her to carry 1t at once to Lord Dud- ley.
 Night gall, suspecting something of the kind, hurried Cicely away and took her home, where he charged Dame Trusbut not to let her go out that night. In this predicament she slipped the ring to Kit the dwarf; but Night gall had been on his guard and soon managed to take 1t from the little fel- low.
 The young esquire, left alone decided to feign death. When the jailer re- turned next day he found the food un- touched and the prisoner stretched on the floor. Quite deceived at first, he unlocked the massive letter ~-enout stopping to think. The next moment Cholmondeley had him down and chain ed to the floor in his turn.
 Wrapping himself in the jailer's cloak he snatched the keys and set forth. But before he made good his escape, he darted down the passage to solve riddle that had puzzled him during his imprisonment He had heard the fearful screams of a woman at inter- vals and once he had seen her-a crea- ture looking like tenant of the gray. :. Yet, despite her condition, there was something in her face that told that she had once been beautiful and dis tnguished He had spoken only few words to her-only enough to learn from her rawlings that she was called Alexia and that she wanted her child Angela, who had been taken from her
 The squires search was vain. He was forced at last to desist. For a long time he wandered through passage af- ter passage, often passing cells whence came terrible groans. At last he found spiral staircase and at its end he saw small stone door that appeared to have neither bolt nor lock. After some search he discovered small iron plate. He pressed it. The stone turn ed and he emerged into what he rec ognized at once at St. Johns chapel
 At that moment footsteps were heard. He extinguished his torch.
 The men who approached were Simon Renard and the Earl of Pembroke. The squire still muffled in Nightgal1s cloak, followed them. They paused behind. an arras. Peering over their shoulders, he saw Queen Jane, and kneeling before her an old woman wh om he recognized as Gunnora Bra ose, foster mother of the Duke of Somerset. whom North umberland had 1 sent to the scaffold She was begging the queen to abdicate. Weeping, she | confessed that she had been bribed by 1 Northumberland to poison her prede- cessor, young Edward VI. and that the l ambitious Duke had hired her to do | the same for Jane herself so that his | son Dudley should become King of | England
 At this moment Renard and Penn | broke pressed forward and told the | queen that the standard of Mary had l been raised and that her army was | pressing toward London, carrying all 1 before it.
 You are no longer queen," said Re- | nard Your father-in-l law. the Duke | of Northumberland, has been defeated. | He has disbanded his own forces and l proclaimed Mary this day.
 The Spanish plotter spoke the truth | for once. Within few days Mary | entered London, acclaimed by the peo- ple, whose hatred for the Duke of | Northumberland was so great that they | preferred Mary, even though they | knew that with her there would come | reascendance of the Church of Rome. |
 The pageantry that surrounded her entry was greater even than that which l marked the accession of poor Lady | Jane. The splendid train that accom- | panied her on steeds trapped with bur nished silver and covered with cloth | of gold rode through streets tumul- | tuous with joy. where wine ran out l of great fountains for all to drink. | The Tower, radiant in the sun, had | hung out all it's banners once more, l and once more was wreathed in tho | smoke of it's cannon-a heartless rake l that had cast off one mistress to take | on another.
 Mary's first act was to order the im- prisonment of the Duke of Northum- | berland Lord Guilford Dudley and LA | dy Jane. Soon every dungeon in the | Tower was filled with tn cir friends l and partisans, who took the places va | cated by prisoners freed by Mary when | she entered the fortress.
 Among those thus set free was a re- l markably handsome young man with nopIs features and commanding fig ure. This was Edward Courtenay, son |
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