Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1908-08-08
Story Of Francis C1udde
A Romance Of Queen Mary's Reign.
BY STANLEY j. WEYMAN
BY STANLEY ]. WEYMAN.
CHAPrER xvIII--Continued.

Master Bertte did not look AT me-
| though needed his encouragement as
much as the hostler, having had better
| proofs of the woman's strange knowl-
edge. But seeing that his exhortation
| had emboldened this ignorant man 1
| was ashamed to seem TO hesitate.
| When the hostler knocked at the door
not of 32, but of 15-and 1t present.
| ly opened, l went in without much
| ado
The room was q bare inn chamber.
A pallet without covering lay In one
| corner. In the middle were a couple
of stools and on one OF them a taper.
The person who had opened TO us
stood eyeing us attentively' pluii,
weather beaten man with thick
beard and the air of sailor. well"
he said, what now?'
These gentlemen want to buy some
lace" the hostler explained.
What lace do they want?" was the
retort.
French lace" I answered.
You have come to the right shop'
then" the man answered priskIy'
Nodding to our conductor to depart,
he carefully let him out. Then, par
ring the door behind him, he as rap
idly strode to the pallet and twltched
1t aside, disclosing a trapdoor. he
lifted this and we saw narrow shaIt
descending into darkness. He brought
the taper and held 1T so as to throw
faint light into 1he opening. There was
no ladder, but blocks of wood nailed
alternately against two OF the SIDES
at intervals of a couple OF feet or So
made the descent pretty easy for an
active man. THE door is on this
side" he said. pointing out the one.
knock loudly once and softly twice.
The word is the same"
We nodded and while he held the
taper above we descended one by one
without much difficulty. though | ad-
nit that half way down the old wom-
ans words, GO on and perish, came
back dsquetingly to my mind. How
ever, my foot struck the bottom be-
fore / had time to digest them, and
streak of light which seemed to issue
from under a door forced my thoughts
the next moment into n new chan
mel Whispering to Master Ber-
tie to pause minute, for
of us to stand at the bottom of the
shaft, l knocked in the fashion pre-
scribed.
The sound of loud voices, which I
had already detected ceased on
sudden, and I heard a shufling on the
other side Of the boards. This was
followed by silence, and then the
door was flung open, and blinded for
the moment by a blaze of light l
walked mechanically forward into
room. | made out as / advanced a
group OF men standing round rude
table. their figures thrown into dark
relief by flares stuck in sconces on
the walls behind them. Some had
weapons in their hands, and others
had partly risen from their seats and
stood in postures of surprise. What
do you seek?" cried a threatening
voice from among them.
Lace" | answered.
What lace?"
French lace"
Then you are welcome-heartily
welcomed" was the answer, given in
tone of relief. But who comes with
you?"
Master Richard BERTHE, of Lincoln
shire" l answered promptly. and at
that moment he emerged from the
shaft.
A still more hearty murmur of well
come hailed his name and appearance,
and we were borne forward to the
table amid a chorus of voices. the
greeting given to Master Bertie being
that of men who joyfully hail un-
looked for help. The room, from its
vaulted ceiling and stone floor and
the trans of casks which lay here and
there or near the table serving for
seats, appeared to be cellar. It's
dark, gloomy recesses, the fiaring
lights and the weapons on the table
seemed meet and fitting surroundings
for the anxious faces which were gath
cred about the board, for there was
something in the air which was not so
much secrecy as thing more unpleas-
ant-suspicion and mistrust. Almost
at the moment of our entrance it
showed itself. One Of the men, before
the door had well closed behind us,
went toward It, as If to go out. The
leader-he who had questioned me
called sharply to him, bidding him
come back. And he came back, but re-
luctantly, as it seemed to me.
barely noticed this, for Master Ber-
tie, who was known personally to
many and by name to ALL was intro
ducing me to two who were apparent
ly the leaders-Sir Thomas Penrud-
docke, a fair man as tall as myself,
loose limbed and untidily dressed with
a reckless eye and loud tongue; and
Master Walter Kingston, a younger
brother, / was told, of that Sir An
thony Kingston who had suffered
death the year before for conspiracy
against the queen-the same in which
Lord Devon had showed the white
feather. Kingston was a young man
of moderate height and slender, of a
brown complexion and delicate, al
most womanish beauty, his sleepy dark
eyes and dainty mustache suggesting
a temper rather amiable than firm.
But the spirit of revenge had entered
into him, and l soon learned that not
even Penruddocke, a Cornish knight of
longer lineage than purse, was so We
hement a plotter or so devoted to the
cause Looking at the others, my
heart sank. 1t needed no greater eX-
perience than mine to discern that eX-
cept three or four whom l identified
as stout professors of religion, they
were men rather of desperate fortunes
than good estate. l learned on the in
stant that conspiracy makes strange
bedfellows, and that 1t Is impossible
to do dirty dork even with the purest
intentions-in good company! Master
Bertie's face indicated to one who
knew him as well as | did something
of the same feeling, and could the clock
have been put back awhile. and we
placed with free hands and uncom-
mitted outside the gatehouse, l think
we should with one accord have turned
our backs on 1t and given up an at
tempt which, in this company, could
scarcely fare any way but i'll. Still for
good or evil the die was cast now, and
retreat was out of the question.
We had confronted too many dan
gers during the hast three years not to
be able to face this one with a good
courage, and presently Master BERTHE,
taking a seat. requested TO be told of
the strength and plans of our asso-
.ciates, his businesslil1e manner intro
ducing at once some degree of order
and method into a conference which
before our arrival had-unless l was
much mistaken-been conspicuously
lacking in both.
Our resources?" Penruddocke re-
piled confidently. They lie every
where. man! We have but to raise
the flag, and the rest will be a tri-
umphal march. The people, sick of
burnings and torturings and heated by
the loss of Calais last January, will
flock to us. Flock to us, do l say?
will answer for 1t they will"
But you have some engagements,
some promises from people of stand
ing?"
"Oh, yes, but the whole nation will
Join us. They are weary of the pres