What ruse was this? Did he but attempt to lure me to the shore, so that I would fall into the hands of some of Dunraven's men, who concealed by the trees lay in wait for me?
"Quick!" he shouted, as my canoe lay motionless upon the water. "Quick, Sir Thomas! for I know not what moment Lord Dunraven may appear, and if I fall into his hands, it will all be up with me." And he shuddered in such terror that, half convinced that his fear was genuine, I paddled towards him.
"Let me but come aboard," he said, as my canoe touched land; and he rushed forward in the boat and seated himself in the stern. "Give me a paddle!" he cried, and seizing one, he never rested until we had pulled far out into the current; then he gave a sigh of relief. "If Lord Dunraven overtakes me, it will end the career of John Marsden," he said, with another uneasy look at me.
"What doest thou here?" I asked sternly, "and why flee from Lord Dunraven?—mind thee, the truth."
"'Twas on the day before yesterday at noon that I sat in the hut," he answered. "I was brooding over the failure of my lord to pay me the gold that he had promised, and the scornful way in which he treated me, when I approached him and begged for the reward which he held out to me. I heard a footfall on the floor behind me, and looking up I saw DeNortier."
"'Dost thou wish one thousand pounds sterling, Marsden?' he said in a low voice. 'If so, thou hast but to speak.' What could I do? Here was a vast treasure, sufficient to overthrow the honor of an angel and a way to revenge myself upon Dunraven; so I answered that I would do his bidding for one thousand pounds.
"'Then listen to me,' he said, glancing around cautiously. 'The Lady Margaret Carroll is imprisoned here, and languishes as the captive of Lord Dunraven. I would rescue and restore her to her lover, Sir Thomas Winchester, but it is not to be, for last night as I lay upon my bed I dreamed a dream. As I looked, lo! there stood beside me the dead Herrick, even as I had seen him often in life. I thought a look of sorrow was upon his face, and as I looked at him his lips opened and he spoke:
"'Thy time has come, my captain,' he said. 'Long have I waited in this far land for thee, but now thy end draws nigh, and I am sent to warn thee. Three days, and thou shalt join the shadowy throng of thy men; but do this before thou goest. Send a messenger to Sir Thomas Winchester to guide him to Lady Margaret Carroll, whom he loves, and perchance it will avail thee much in the end." As he said this he vanished.
"'I lay there in the silent room; I am not a person to fear either man or devil, but I feel within me this shade spoke truth, and it shall be as he has said. It matters little now, since I know that I cannot win the Lady Margaret Carroll, for death is better than a weary existence without her. Dost thou, therefore, Marsden, go to Sir Thomas Winchester and guide him here, while I stay and guard the lady until his arrival. Hasten back when thou dost give the message.'