A Strange Compact

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9035, 18 March 1891, Page 4

A Strange Compact

It was a dreary night in the winter of 17 — . Outside, a heavy fog tilled tho narrow, unsavoury streets of the Metropolis, and the lungs and eyes of such unfortunates as chanced to be abroad. It even invaded the small wooden sanctums of the night watchmen, interfering with slumbers to which the inmates were both by age and office entitled. Across the river, in the dingy, ill-paved lanes of the borough, the fog seemed at its worst, a light warmish haze being the only indication of the presence of those shops which still remained open, and round, which small ill-clad urchins with the most unmistakable intentions persistently hovered. " A sweet night for footpads," muttered young Dr. Mostyn, as he disengaged himself from a chance rencontre with a post, and felt his way along by tapping with his Btout stick at the house walls, a proceeding by which he had already severely damaged the legs of three of his suffering fellow-creatures, and poked a large hole in the kitchen window of a fourth. "And now," he continued, talking to himself for the sake of company, "for home and supper and a fire — ah, and a patient or two perhaps. Who knows 1" At this cheering prospect his spirits rose, and he banged mightily at the wall with his stick in consequence, until at length, coming to a small street on his right, he turned smartly down, and having made sure of his own door, knocked briskly at it. " Who's there V cried a shrill female voice in response. "It's I, Bet," said her ma&ter. " Open the door, my good girl," "Not if I know it," was the cheeriug reply. " You take yourself off, young man, whoever you are. There's two buildogs and three men with loaded guns standing by me, to say nothing " "Open the door, Bet !" roared her master through the keyhole. " Don't you know me ?" "It is nine o'clock, or is it eleven ?'" propounded the damsel, " because, if it's eleven o'clock, my eyes deceive mo ; ami if it's nine o'clock, your voice deceives me ; for the doctor said he'd be home at eleven, and not before, and considering the fojj, I should s.ay a good deal arter." " Open the door !" said the surgeon, sharply. " I'm back already because my patient's dead. Come, open at once." There was a cracking and shooting of bolts as he finished speaking ; and the door being cautiously opened, discovered an angular woman of some five-and-thirty years, whose nervous face cleared directly she saw her master. "I'm asking your pardon for keeping you so long, sir" said she ; " but one never knows who's who ; and judging by the noises and runnings, there's been rare doings round the corner to-night." " Anybody been, Bet V asked the surgeon, as, ten minutes later, he sat down to a carefully-grilled chop. " Not a soul," replied his handmaiden. "And a nice person you would be to open the door if an accident had arrived." " Oh, I should have opened it at once," said Bet, with decision. " Directly they used the word ' accident,' I should have opened it aud chanced it." Her master, smiling at her devotion, drew his chair to the fire, and having carefully filled a long clay pipe, fell to smoking with an air of great enjoyment and content. Then, thinkiug it extremely unlikely that he would be disturbed at that late hour, he dismissed his retainer to her quarters in a neighbouring house, and being left to himself, lapsed into a brown study. It might have been the fog, or it might have been the unexpected death of his patient ; whatever the cause, his thoughts took a very gloomy direction indeed, and he shook his head despondingly as he thought of his future prospects. His mood was not made more cheerful by the room, which was large and dark, and panelled with oak, and ornamented with battered oil portraits of dead-and-gone worthies, with whom he claimed some kinship more' or less remote, who seemed to stare at him to-night in a particularly ghostly, not to say wooden, manner. Besides all this, he was in love ; and he had do sooner built a magnificent castle — in the air — and placed her in it, than an anything but airy landlord called for the rent, and the dream was spoiled. Ho had been sitting thus for some time, nursing his woes and sipping a glass of hot cognac which he had prepared, when ho was disturbed by aloud, imperative knocking at the front door ; whereat he snatched up one of the guttering caudles and marched down the narrow stairs to open it. The feeble light of the candle, when he had done so, showed him a tall, strongly -built man of middle age, whose naturally fine proportions were increased by the fog, which clung to them and exaggerated them. The surgeon noted that he was richly clad, and also that the embossed hilt of a swoi'd protruded from the skirts of his coat, while his face, from some powerful emotion, was palo and drawn. "Are you the surgeon if" asked the newcomiT, abruptly. "At your service," was the reply. "Come in." The stranger oboyed, and waiting until the surgeon had secured the door, followed him up stairs (To be continutd to-morrow )