A SHORT STORY

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1372, 13 August 1895, Page 7

A SHORT STORY

imprisoned With a Corpse

Bx EoEEm Lotus JjciyEnsos.

■ <*►*• — ■— My tour in Western England had been one fuil of pleasure and instruction, livery place that was worth visiting I had visited ; every crag of Devonshire mountain that wad | wortn ohuibing i had climbed, and witn trie ■ quaint villages and quaint people of tne Cornish coast I had becume quite lamiliar. 1 It waß m the afternoon when I arrived at Brecon. A glorious August afternoon, and Brecon and Hd moated castle, its immature harbor, jetty and esplanade lay basking beneath a genial sun. 1 had neard much of Biecon Castle, and with tne curiosity insepatuble from Enghsu nature 1 had determined to visitit. its history during the middle ages had been an eventful one, and the romance that enshrouded its I orumbliug gray walla neid an espeoiul charm for my rnoruid mind. My few travelling trunks had been sent on to tue hotel, bud witu tue orumed adage, "Procrastination is tne tnief of time," hitting ever and anon tbrougn my brain, fortnwnn ptoeeeded, with the occasional a.yaißtanoe of a fresh-faoed fisher boy or a surly seaman, towards the eminence wnereon stood the famous Brecon Castle. One night at Exeter a legend had been related to me of this historioal pile. 1 will not go into detail, but will endeavor in a few words to summarise the story : In tbe year 1429, when the third Baron Launce ruled over Brecon Castle, there came one day a squire from Hie ueigbboring county upon a political mission. As hud always been the case with the family of Launce, tne squire was treated rigtil royally, and during his Btay at the castle—as a means of showing his 2*atHude, no doubt—fell in love with tno baron's dauguter, a proceeding, by the way, the maiden cordially reciprocated. Tne baron, however; did not take kindly to this, and puoked oil the squire at a minute's notice, tie was, notwithstanding, nothing daunted at this, and obtained clandestine meetings with his lady-love, and furious indeed was tue baron wnon ho found it out. He had the squire arrested and imprisoned in a ceil in the round lower. A peculiarity about the cell was the tact of its having, right across its centre, a network of iron bats —funning a sort of cage, hi wuieh tne unfoi lunate young man was imprisoned, A continental war breaking out, tuo baron went to fight for his country and left his duugmer to reign over the castle. With her heart still burning with love for her cavalier, tne maiden discovered hia ■ dungeon, and managed, without the knowledge oi tbe guards, to visit ner lover periodically. A 8 umuck would have it, the oarou one day unexpectedly turned up from the wars, and on inanity for his daughter found fane was not toitucoiuiug. A (search was made, and the girl was at Itjugcb found in the cell in the touud tower wun her lover, separated from him, however, by the bars of tne cage. Maddened at the wgnt, tbe baron struck ins daughter with his mailed fist, and sue fell hlehieb at his feet, Tne gate of tue cage was opened, and a blow from tne L'iuuoe's heavy sword'clove' the prisoner's uoau to the cuir. It is *aid the body of the uulortunate uaughter was thrown into the cage witn fier lover's coipjße, and that there then blood minuted ana uned ; that they moulaertd away to dust togethtr, and their bleached bones wtie ijut removed until the I beginning of tbe present ctrntury. I wanted very wuuu to see mis dungeon, j and on near ttisyiuat.ii to me cattle gazsd j with not a little ciuiooiiy on the turreted i tound iov,er in whwu i ununited the cell j would be situated. 1 was directed by a lad to a white-fronted little cottage where lived tbe old man "who was known as "the keeper of the castle," "'. Ho was a shrivelled up little fellow with a noosed ncsd and piercing grayejes.- He had ooviously littMod-wiree. pem-i ana wn yeaic?, ; ,»nd his louKs wab scant aud hoary. " Ye warns to veesit t' carsie, muster ?" he j mumbled in a tremulous voioe, while he fin- j gered a huge bunch of keys that dangled at i his waist belt. \ I explained to him my object, or rather my sight-seeing curiosity, and after some considerable delay we proceeded up the narrow pathway to tue castle gates. My guide was very ricketty on his legs and moved along at a pace that brought all sorts of funeral thoughts to my brain. 1 began to think how a modernized funeral, oonuueted on modern principles, would have got on in tha dark ages, and 1 coupled in the baron's murdered daughter and her lover as the necessary corpses. Moreover my guide wa3 very ohurlish, and I had great dillkulty in drawing him out. I ventured once on tne original remark that the sea looked very pretty in the setting bun, and he said : " Prutty, muster, ptutty," and Kept repeating tne sentence over and over again until I begun to get mad. The walk was not very long, and at length we reached the drawbridge, wnica we crowed and passed through the wicket in the ponderous gate beyond. Gloomy aud black the courtyard looked before us. To my fanciful mind visions of mail-clad warriors occupied tne greensward, and, when gazing up at one of the loop-holes that served for windows in the wall of tbe keep, I thought once 1 saw a girlish face surmounted by the tall, hideous Headgear common during the days of our forefathers. I explained that 1 wanted to see the cell in the round tower, and with mauy growls and groans from my guide we commenced to ascend the round flight of stone steps that led to the object of my quest. Again impelled with a desire to come upon speaking terms with my companion, I suggested that the damp walls around us could not be very beneficial for rheumatism. ••Noa, noa, muster," said he, halting by a recess in the wall; "noa for me. I havna noa rheumatis. Toime was when l could run a moile wi' t' beßt lad in t* village, but that toime be past, muster, past—hut noa rheumatiß fur me." I suggested gout, but was wrong again. On our long journey up the staircase, however, I learned that my guide's failing strength came from the possession in an abnormal degree of that curse of athletic manhood—varicose veins. At length we reached the cell which I had wanted to see. A small loop-hole high up in the wall was the only means of light obtaining ingress. The cell was divided in two by strong iron bars that stretched from wall to wall and descended from ceiling to floor. It was a dismal, gloomy-looking place indeed. "And this, then, is the place where tbe baron murdered hia daughter and her lover," eaid I, musingly. "Ye hev heered the legend, then ?" said the old man, lighting a sputtering candle stuck in a bottle. " The chain ye see beyond the bars is the ono that held t' young man to the wall," «I suppose I oan get inside this csge ?" eaid I, noticing a heavy gate was fixed in the bars. "Ye may, but ye must help met' open 4* gate. The lock is old and sticks, and the bars be worn and rusty." The guttering candle was placed upon the floor. The lock —a heavy spring one—undone, and after some exertion the gate opened and I got inside. I examined the ohain with some little curiosity, eaten away with rust as it was. " What an awful place to be imprisoned in," I thought. In one of the oornera J saw some strange marks on the wall, made, evidently, by a blunt instrument. I called to the old man to bring me the candle so that j could examine them more closely. A moment afterward I heard a ory, a thud and a crash, and, turning hastily, I saw the heavy gate had swung to and knocked my guide sprawling. I almost burst into a fit o! laughter, but managed to eheck myself in time. The old fellow rose painfully to his feet and I saw that the blow iicom the iron doo» had hurt him far more than I had at first imagined, for 1 saw a little pool of blood gathering upon the rough stone floor. I hastened to his assistance, but found the Joek had sprung to and I wan imprisoned *tlj» ■•

A gruau lioui sua olu iouu startled me, iuu I ;mw hitn aiuk upou his kneea. The little pool of blood had increased in dimensions. "I saw thai it flowed from his left leg, and then I realised all. My guide had said he suffered from vanooae veius. The heavy door had evidently struck him on the leg, broken one of the veins, and the poor fellow was now bleeding to death. I could render him no assistance, for the strong iron burs separated me from him. A uold perspiration broke out all over my body, for, unless I could get him to unlock tbe gate, I wuh u veritable prisoner. " For heaven'B sake try Bnd open the doom!" I cried, and I frantically Bhook the bars. The old man endeavored to rise ; his effort was feeble and abortives, for ho sank back in a stupor, and I saw he was dying. '•Open the door 1 open the door!" I Bhouied almost madly, as tho horrible position I was in began to break upon my mind. I received no response. My guide lay Renseless upon tho tloor, his right hand waving tremulously to and fro like tho fin at a rieh ; his head doubled upon his ohest; his hoary looks mingling witn the blood that now trickled iu httlo streumlcta in all directions. Overcome by the terrible thoughts that orowded themselves upou my mind, I sank almost fainting by tho iron gate. I was a prisoner, imprisoned with a corpse 1 Majbo I should be left here and bo tho victim of a horrible, & lingering death. No wonder my hair roso on end and my teeth chattered like castanets. It was some little time before I could think clearly from amid the chaos of confused and jumbled thoughts that orowded upon me. Even then I oould scarcely realise my positiou. I noticed the candle was still binning, and oast a feeble light around, and as I became calmer I saw that the little pencil of I light that ht.il gained ingress to the cell by \ the embran.uro high up in the wall had now very nearly gone. 1 lined to comfort myself with tho hope that someone would surely lind me in an hour or two. But it was vain, thus forcing myself to believe what I knew was hardly possible. Days might elapse ere 1 should be found—perhaps then a drivelling idiot or a corpse. Tho horrors of coming thirst and hunger I had yet to contemplate. My position was desperate I 1 should at leaot make an effort for Bell-preservation. | hut, alas I 1 could see no means whereby ' I could break the prison in which I was imt mured. The thick grated bars of my cage j were strong enough to bold back a forest J kin;,/, aod, tired at my fruitless endeavors to ; escape, 1 sank down oy the rusty chain with 1 something Ike despair gnawing at my heart, ! 1 had fallen asleep, and wnen 1 awoke darkness, grim, black, impenetrable darkness, i (surrounded me on every aide. No sound, ! scarcely a rustle of air, broke the awlui ; quietude of my prison. My own heart beats, ! and my regular deep breathing allayed but hctle me (stillness that matched so completely the darkness around. My mind could scarcely grasp tbe situation, but gradually the iigot of reason dawned upon my brain, and gave way to thoughts i that made me nearly frantic. | J had giveD little or no thought to the dead ' body of the old man, which I Knew lay within a few feet of me. At times now I fancied I could see his rugged features and little gray, piercing eyes shining at me in tbe darkj nets. My mind surely could not be wander- ! iug ? 1 shook myself together and paoed the | narrow confines of the cage. i Struck with a thought I consulted my ;' chronometer by the light of a wax vesta, and ] found the hands pointed to 2 o'clock. As | toe light of the match died out I caught one ■ glimpse of the corpse outside the bars, and | me sight filled me with a horror 1 shall never ! forget. The body lay doubled up, the chin I resting en tbe stone floor amongst the clotted blood that had run ail about in Utile streams. . Tne gray eyes that had been ao pieroiug in j bis wire w'de open, and though covered with : a perespUbie him, seemed to gaze right into | mine with a look that filled my heart with an j icy cold fear. Oveiconie by these emotions, I again sank down, and covering my face, endeavored to shut the awful image out. It was useless—the face, surrounded by a halo of blood-red light, came to my eyes between my fingers. Wnen 1 removed my hand the faoe soared aloft and floated serenely, tranquilly in the thick air. I lay with my cheek to the cold floor and the face came with a rush through the stone and seemed to grin in mookery or triumph at me. Was I going mad ? I feared so, and could with difficulty repress a shriek that rose to my ips- In this frame of mind I passed a fearful lour, when I sank into a blissful, dreamless sleep, from which 1 awoke to find tho brilliant sun. shining through the loophole in the wall. My tongue was parched and dry, and I realised that tbeborruis of thirst I had now to txptneDce, However, the light of day comtortud me, and I struggled to think of a means of escaping from my present dilemma. Ouoe I tried to cry for help, but I found my voice was harsh and cracked, and I gave ;fi up in despair. Slowly tne day wore on.but all too quickly for me. 1 feared a repetition of the previous night's experience, in the light of day tho coipse on the floor lost half its horror, and at times all thoughts of it were absent from my mind. Tho day waned, and as the night approached my previous night's fear returned—intensified oy the thirst that seemed to con. sumo mo and the hunger that gnawed at my vitals. Slowly the gloriouß light died away, and soon my prison was again wrapped in darkness. With the darkness, too, all my horror came back with redoubled intensity. The pale, blood-stained face of the old man was ever before my vision, and, do what I could, I oould net banish it, How wearily the hours dragged—hoars of horror and despair to me, in which at timet I paced the cage with ogonised feelings, or lay in gloom and depression upon the stone floor. Three or four hours must have elapsed since the last ray of sunshine had glimmered in tho embrasure of the wall, and while lying in a semi-sensible condition against the damp wall I became conscious of a strange metamorphosis that was coming over the character of my prison. I could scarcely define it, but in a dreamy stupor perceived the inky blackness give place to a pale light that suffused a golden splendor around. Instead of the bare, gray walls of the oell, I saw a delicately carved panelling and wainscoting, draperies hung at intervals from ceiling to floor, and upon the walls were hung ancient weapons of war, and trophies of the chase. Everything bespoke a mediaeval apartment, and what startled me was the fact that the strong iron bars still remained and separated the apartment, forming one half a sort of cage. I seemed to realisemy presence in the cage, and aroseand walked about. I found I was not alone; the golden light that east a mellow halo around revealed to me the beauteous form of a woman, clad in the quaint costume and head dress of anoient days, seated in one of the oorners outside the oage. Was it possible that I oould be dreaming? I walked to the iron bars and shook them vigorously. The woman heard roe, for she looked up quickly. " 011 > Ronald, my love 1" she exclaimed with a sob, "I cannot release you—would that I tould." She advanced to the bars and put her little hand through. .. It da wned upon me that the hand was put there for me to kisß, and 1 pressed the taper fingers to my lips. "Alas 1 my Ronald," cried the fair woman tearfully « a n hdpe Beemß i os t-but, ah ! what is this ?" and her eyes dilated and her bosom heaved convulsively. '«Look, look at •ae gate. Bruce has left his keys in the look. You are free, my Ronald-free, my i 8b» lwgt&a bjiwriQilly, ftucl tuggea dei-

, pctateiy at tne wuh ner little wrntp hands. •' Help mo, Ronald, help me," she cried 1 tremulously, " 1 cannot undo the lock." I was myetiued.and yet I seemed to under- . stand her. i I put my hand through tho bars, and i grasped a ponderous key in the lock. A . desperate wrench, and I felt it spring back, and the gate, giving way to my weight.rolled j open. " Oh, Ronald, Ronald, you are free 1 W« will fly from here, far away. But hark I , What is that?" The sound of measured tramp of feet oama ; stealing to my ears, j " Too late," cried the maiden with a great cob ; " tho gaoler oomas—but no I—run with i inc., wo may yet escape." i I seized her hand as she started forward—caught my foot in her dress and fell sprawl- [ ing. My head struck tho floor with a thud and ' —1 awoke. Inky blackness surrounded me, and it • dawned upon my brain that I had been ; dream ing. ; 1 was evidently still in the cage, and 1 ' groaned aloud. ' But what was this I was lying onf My feverish hand groped about in the dark- ! uess and—horror 1 I touohed a oold.clammy ; faco with my fingers. ; I sprang back with a yell, my hair on end, the sweat oozing in streams from every pore I in my body, my heart thumping against my i ribs like a hammer. What did it all mean? I gasped for ' breath and crouched in fear and trembling against the wall. 1 grasped a door and a rush of air cooled i my brow. I tried to think rationally, but it was a vain effort; my brain whirled with tu- ■ multuous thoughts. 1 was in a ohaos of , mental dlstraotion. In a few minutes I became calmer Grid t thought of my vesta bos. 1 struck a ligbv ' and glanced around. ' There were the bars of tbe cape with the gate closed faßt. But J uas outsidt. ) The vesta burned my linger. I strook i another, and a closer inspection showed me ; all. ' A ponderous bunch of keys dangled from i the look of tbe gate—tbe keys belonging to i my guide—left there by him when the gate 1 was opened in the first instance. Heaven, then, had directed me in a dream i to a means of escape, 1 bowed my head in thankfulness, my heart filled with joyous gratitude to my Maker, Another vesta showed tne the cold, still form of the dead man. Poor fellow, he was rigid and oold. The blood that had ran around Mm in little stream* had dried »n large black clots upon tho cell floor. I found tbe door, and w : «;h limbs that tottered with the reaction, groped my way down the winding staircase. Tne cool air somewhat revised 1 me, and pie-ently I emerged into the courtyard, lay bathed in the silver splendor of the harvest moon, 1 was free 1 My heart thumbed with mad excitement; 1 waved my arms aloft in an endeavor to clatcb the pure air of heaven, oblivion crowded upon my sensibility, and then 1 fainted. . . * ; In tbe early morning I was found and taken in an insensible condition to the cottage of the keeper of the eafttie. A great Borrowing followed the discovery of the body of my guide. Poor fellow ! On a reoent visit to Brecon 1 was taken to the village ohurohyard and shown his grave —a simple grass mound with a modest headstone. ._. . . .__„ ,