by E. Nesbit
CHAPTER IX
KIDNAPPED
AND now New Cross seemed to go backwards and very far away, its dirtystreets, its sordid shifts, its crowds of anxious, unhappy people, whonever had quite enough of anything, and Dickie's home was in a pleasantcottage from whose windows you could see great green rolling downs, andthe smooth silver and blue of the sea, and from whose door you stepped,not on to filthy pavements, but on to a neat brick path, leading betweenbeds glowing with flowers.
Also, he was near Arden, the goal of seven months' effort. Now he wouldsee Edred and Elfrida again, and help them to find the hidden treasure,as he had once helped them to find their father.
This joyful thought put the crown on his happiness.
But he presently perceived that though he was so close to Arden Castlehe did not seem to be much nearer to the Arden children. It is not aneasy thing to walk into the courtyard of a ruined castle and ring thebell of a strange house and ask for people whom you have only met indreams, or as good as dreams. And I don't know how Dickie would havemanaged if Destiny had not kindly come to his help, and arranged that,turning a corner in the lane which leads to the village, he should comeface to face with Edred and Elfrida Arden. And they looked exactly likethe Edred and Elfrida whom he had played with and quarrelled with in thedream. He halted, leaning on his crutch, for them to come up and speakto him. They came on, looking hard at him--the severe might have calledit staring--looked, came up to him, and passed by without a word! But hesaw them talking eagerly to each other.
Dickie was left in the lane looking after them. It was a miserablemoment. But quite quickly he roused himself. They were talking to eachother eagerly, and once Elfrida half looked round. Perhaps it was hisshabby clothes that made them not so sure whether he was the Dickie theyhad known. If they did not know him it should not be his fault. Hebalanced himself on one foot, beat with his crutch on the ground, andshouted, "Hi!" and "Hullo!" as loud as he could. The other childrenturned, hesitated, and came back.
"What is it?" the little girl called out; "have you hurt yourself?" Andshe came up to him and looked at him with kind eyes.
"No," said Dickie; "but I wanted to ask you something."
The other two looked at him and at each other, and the boy said,"Righto."
"You're from the Castle, aren't you?" he said. "I was wondering whetheryou'd let me go down and have a look at it?"
"Of course," said the girl. "Come on."
"Wait a minute," said Dickie, nerving himself to the test. If theydidn't remember him they'd think he was mad, and never show him theCastle. Never mind! Now for it!
"Did you ever have a tutor called Mr. Parados?" he asked. And again theothers looked at him and at each other. "Parrot-nose for short," Dickiehastened to add; "and did you ever shovel snow on to his head and thenride away in a carriage drawn by swans?"
"It _is_ you!" cried Elfrida, and hugged him. "Edred, it _is_ Dickie! Wewere saying, _could_ it be you? Oh! Dickie darling, how did you hurtyour foot?"
Dickie flushed. "My foot's always been like that," he said, "in Nowadaystime. When we met in the magic times I was like everybody else, wasn'tI?"
Elfrida hugged him again, and said no more about the foot. Instead, shesaid, "Oh, how ripping it is to really and truly find you here! Wethought you couldn't be real because we wrote a letter to you at theaddress it said on that bill you gave us. And the letter came back with'not known' outside."
"What address was it?" Dickie asked.
"Laurie Grove, New Cross," Edred told him.
"Oh, that was just an address Mr. Beale made up to look grand with,"said Dickie. "I remember his telling me about it. He's the man I livewith; I call him father because he's been kind to me. But my own daddy'sdead."
"Let's go up on the downs," said Elfrida, "and sit down, and you tell usall about everything from the very beginning."
So they went up and sat among the furze bushes, and Dickie told them allhis story--just as much of it as I have told to you. And it took a longtime. And then they reminded each other how they had met in the magic ordream world, and how Dickie had helped them to save their father--whichhe did do, only I have not had time to tell you about it; but it is allwritten in "The House of Arden."
"But our magic is all over now," said Edred sadly. "We had to give upever having any more magic, so as to get father back. And now we shallnever find the treasure or be able to buy back the old lands and restorethe Castle and bring the water back to the moat, and build nice, dry,warm, cozy cottages for the tenants. But we've got father."
"Well, but look here," said Dickie. "We got _my_ magic all right, andold nurse said I could work it for you, and that's really what I've comefor, so that we can look for the treasure together."
"That's awfully jolly of you," said Elfrida.
"What is your magic?" Edred asked; and Dickie pulled out Tinkler and thewhite seal and the moon-seeds, and laid them on the turf and explained.
And in the middle of the explanation a shadow fell on the children andthe Tinkler and the moon-seeds and the seal, and there was a big,handsome gentleman looking down at them and saying--
"Introduce your friend, Edred."
"Oh, Dickie, this is my father," cried Edred, scrambling up. And Dickieadded very quickly, "My name's Dick Harding." It took longer for Dickieto get up because of the crutch, and Lord Arden reached his hand down tohelp him. He must have been a little surprised when the crippled childin the shabby clothes stood up, and instead of touching his forehead, aspoor children are taught to do, held out his hand and said--
"How do you do, Lord Arden?"
"I am very well, I thank you," said Lord Arden. "And where did youspring from? You are not a native of these parts, I think?"
"No, but my adopted father is," said Dickie, "and I came from Londonwith him, to see his father, who is old Mr. Beale, and we are staying athis cottage."
Lord Arden sat down beside them on the turf and asked Dickie a good manyquestions about where he was born, and who he had lived with, and whathe had seen and done and been.
Dickie answered honestly and straightforwardly. Only of course he didnot tell about the magic, or say that in that magic world he and LordArden's children were friends and cousins. And all the time they weretalking Lord Arden's eyes were fixed on his face, except when theywandered to Tinkler and the white seal. Once he picked these up, andlooked at the crest on them.
"Where did you get these?" he asked.
Dickie told. And then Lord Arden handed the seal and Tinkler to him andwent on with his questions.
At last Elfrida put her arms round her father's neck and whispered. "Iknow it's not manners, but Dickie won't mind," she said before thewhispering began.
"Yes, certainly," said Lord Arden when the whispering was over; "it'stea-time. Dickie, you'll come home to tea with us, won't you?"
"I must tell Mr. Beale," said Dickie; "he'll be anxious if I don't."
"Shall I hurt you if I put you on my back?" Lord Arden asked, and nextminute he was carrying Dickie down the slope towards Arden Castle, whileEdred went back to Beale's cottage to say where Dickie was. When Edredgot back to Arden Castle tea was ready in the parlor, and Dickie wasresting in a comfortable chair.
"Isn't old Beale a funny old man?" said Edred. "He said Arden Castle wasthe right place for Dickie, with a face like that. What could he havemeant? What are you doing that for?" he added in injured tones, forElfrida had kicked his hand under the table.
Before tea was over there was a sound of horses' hoofs and carriagewheels in the courtyard. And the maid-servant opened the parlor door andsaid, "Lady Talbot." Though he remembered well enough how kind she hadbeen to him, Dickie wished he could creep under the table. It was toohard; she must recognize him. And now Edred and Elfrida, and Lord Arden,who was so kind and jolly, they would all know that he had once been aburglar, and that she had wanted to adopt him, and that he had beenungrateful and had run away. He trembled all over. It was too hard.
Lady Talbot shook hand
s with the others, and then turned to him. "Andwho is your little friend?" she asked Edred, and in the same breathcried out--"Why, it's my little runaway!"
Dickie only said: "I wasn't ungrateful, I wasn't--I had to go." But hiseyes implored.
And Lady Talbot--Dickie will always love her for that--understood. Not aword about burglars did she say, only--
"I wanted to adopt Dickie once, Lord Arden, but he would not stay."
"I had to get back to father," said Dickie.
"Well, at any rate it's pleasant to see each other again," she said. "Ialways hoped we should some day. No sugar, thank you, Elfrida"--and thensat down and had tea and was as jolly as possible. The only thing whichmade Dickie at all uncomfortable was when she turned suddenly to themaster of the house and said, "Doesn't he remind you of any one, LordArden?"
And Lord Arden said, "Perhaps he does," with that sort of look thatpeople have when they mean: "Not before the children! I'd rather talkabout it afterwards if you don't mind."
Then the three were sent out to play, and Dickie was shown the castleruins, while Lord Arden and Lady Talbot walked up and down on thedaisied grass, and talked for a long time. Dickie knew they were talkingabout him, but he did not mind. He had that feeling you sometimes haveabout grown-up people, that they really do understand, and are to betrusted.
"You'll be too fine presently to speak to the likes of us, you nipper,"said Beale, when a smart little pony cart had brought Dickie back to thecottage. "You an' your grand friends. Lord Arden indeed----"
"They was as jolly as jolly," said Dickie; "nobody weren't never kinderto me nor what Lord Arden was an' Lady Talbot too--without it was you,farver."
"Ah," said Beale to the old man, "'e knows how to get round his oldfather, don't 'e?"
"What does he want to talk that way for?" the old man asked. "'E cantalk like a little gentleman all right 'cause we 'eard 'im."
"Oh, that's the way we talks up London way," said Dickie. "I learned totalk fine out o' books."
Mr. Beale said nothing, but that night he actually read for nearly tenminutes in a bound volume of the _Wesleyan Magazine_. And he was asleepover the same entertaining work when Lord Arden came the next afternoon.
You will be able to guess what he came about. And Dickie had a sort offeeling that perhaps Lord Arden might have seen by his face, as oldBeale had, that he was an Arden. So neither he nor you will be muchsurprised. The person to be really surprised was Mr. Beale.
"You might a-knocked me down with a pickaxe," said Beale later, "so helpme three men and a boy you might. It's a rum go. My lord 'e says there'ssome woman been writing letters to 'im this long time saying she'd got'old of 'is long-lost nephew or cousin or something, and a-wanting toget money out of him--though what for, goodness knows. An' 'e saysyou're a Arden by rights, you nipper you, an' 'e wants to take you andbring you up along of his kids--so there's an end of you and me, Dickie,old boy. I didn't understand more than 'arf of wot 'e was saying. But Itumbled to that much. It's all up with you and me and Amelia and thedogs and the little 'ome. You're a-goin' to be a gentleman, you are--an'I'll have to take to the road by meself and be a poor beast of a cadgeragain. That's what it'll come to, I know."
"Don't you put yourself about," said Dickie calmly. "I ain't a-goin' toleave yer. Didn't Lady Talbot ask me to be her boy--and didn't I cutstraight back to you? I'll play along o' them kids if Lord Arden'll letme. But I ain't a-goin' to leave you, not yet I ain't. So don't you gosnivelling afore any one's 'urt yer, farver. See?"
But that was before Lord Arden had his second talk with Mr. Beale. Afterthat it was--
"Look 'ere, you nipper, I ain't a-goin' to stand in your light. You'regoin' up in the world, says you. Well, you ain't the only one. LordArden's bought father's cottage an' 'e's goin' to build on to it, andI'm to 'ave all the dawgs down 'ere, and sell 'em through the paperslike. And you'll come an' 'ave a look at us sometimes."
"And what about Amelia?" said Dickie, "and the little ones?"
"Well, I did think," said Beale, rubbing his nose thoughtfully, "ofasking 'Melia to come down 'ere along o' the dawgs. Seems a pity toseparate 'em somehow. It was Lord Arden put it into my 'ed. 'You oughterbe married you ought,' 'e says to me pleasant like, man to man; 'ain'tthere any young woman I could give a trifle to, to set you and her up inhousekeeping?' So then I casts about, and I thinks of 'Melia. As well'er as anybody, and she's used to the dawgs. And the trifle's an hundredpounds. That's all. _That's all!_ So I'm sending to her by this post,and it's an awful toss up getting married, but 'Melia ain't like astranger, and it couldn't ever be the same with us two and nipper afterall this set out. What you say?"
I don't know what Dickie said; what he felt was something like this:--
"I _have_ tried to stick to Beale, and help him along, and I did comeback from the other old long-ago world to help him, and I have beensticking to things I didn't like so as to help him and get him settled.He was my bit of work, and now some one else comes along and takes mywork out of my hands, and finishes it. And here's Beale provided for andsettled. And I meant to provide for him myself. And I don't like it!"
That was what he felt at first. But afterwards he had to own that it was"a jolly lucky thing for Beale." And for himself too. He found that tobe at Arden Castle with Edred and Elfrida all day, at play and atlessons, was almost as good as being with them in the beautiful olddream-life. All the things that he had hated in this modern life, whenhe was Dickie of Deptford, ceased to trouble him now that he was RichardArden. For the difference between being rich and poor is as great as thedifference between being warm and cold.
After that first day a sort of shyness came over the three children, andthey spoke no more of the strange adventures they had had together, butjust played at all the ordinary every-day games, till they almost forgotthat there was any magic, had ever been any. The fact was, the life theywere leading was so happy in itself that they needed no magic to makethem contented. It was not till after the wedding of 'Melia and Mr.Beale that Dickie remembered that to find the Arden Treasure for hiscousins had been one of his reasons for coming back to this, theNowadays world.
I wish I had time to tell you about the wedding. I could write a wholebook about it. How Amelia came down from London and was married in ArdenChurch. How she wore a white dress and a large hat with a wreath oforange blossoms, a filmy veil, and real kid gloves--all gifts of MissEdith Arden, Lord Arden's sister. How Lord Arden presented an enormouswedding cake and a glorious wedding breakfast, and gave away the bride,and made a speech saying he owed a great debt to Mr. Beale for hiskindness to his nephew Richard Arden, and how surprised every one was tohear Dickie's new name. How all the dogs wore white favors and had eacha crumb of wedding cake; and how when the wedding feast was over and theguests gone, the bride tucked up her white dress under a big apron andset about arranging in the new rooms the "sticks" of furniture whichDickie and Beale had brought together from the little home in Deptford,and which had come in a van by road all the way to Arden.
The Ardens had gone back to the Castle, and Dickie with them, and oldBeale was smoking in his usual chair by his front door--so there was noone to hear Beale's compliment to his bride. He came behind her and puthis arm round her as she was dusting the mantelpiece. "Go on with you,"said the new Mrs. Beale; "any one 'ud think we was courting."
"So we be," said Beale, and kissed 'Melia for the first time. "We gotall our courtin' to do now. See? I might a-picked an' choosed," he addedreflectively, "but there--I dare say I might a-done worse."
'Melia blushed with pleasure at the compliment, and went on with thedusting.
* * * * *
It was as the Ardens walked home over the short turf that Lord Ardensaid to his sister, "I wish all the cottages about here were likeBeale's. It didn't cost so very much. If I could only buy back the restof the land, I'd show some people what a model village is like. Only Ican't buy it back. He wants far more than we can think of managing."
A
nd Dickie heard what he said. That was why, when next he was alone withhis cousins, he began--
"Look here--you aren't allowed to use your magic any more, to go andlook for the treasure. But _I_ am. And I vote we go and look for it. Andthen your father can buy back the old lands, and build the new cottagesand mend up Arden Castle, and make it like it used to be."
"Oh, let's," said Elfrida, with enthusiasm. But Edred unexpectedlyanswered, "I don't know." The three children were sitting in the windowof the gate-tower looking down on the green turf of the Castle yard.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Elfrida asked briskly.
"I _mean_ I don't know," said Edred stolidly; "we're all right as weare, _I_ think. I used to think I liked magic and things. But if youcome to think of it something horrid happened to us every single time wewent into the past with our magic. We were always being chased or put inprison or bothered somehow or other. The only really nice thing was whenwe saw the treasure being hidden, because that looked like a picture andwe hadn't to do anything. And we don't know where the treasure is,anyhow. And I don't like adventures nearly so much as I used to think Idid. We're all right and jolly as we are. What I say is, 'Don't let's.'"
This cold water damped the spirit of the others only for a few minutes.
"You know," Elfrida explained to Dickie, "our magic took us to look fortreasure in the past. And once a film of a photograph that we'd stuck upbehaved like a cinematograph, and then we saw the treasure being hiddenaway."
"Then let's just go where that was--mark the spot, come home and thendig it up."
"It wasn't buried," Elfrida explained; "it was put into a sort ofcellar, with doors, and we've looked all over what's left of the Castle,and there isn't so much as a teeny silver ring to be found."
"I see," said Dickie. "But suppose I just worked the magic and wished tobe where the treasure is?"
"I won't," cried Edred, and in his extreme dislike to the idea he kickedwith his boots quite violently against the stones of the tower; "notmuch I won't. I expect the treasure's bricked up. We should look nicebricked up in a vault like a wicked nun, and perhaps forgotten the wayto get out. Not much."
"You needn't make such a fuss about it," said Elfrida, "nobody's goingto get bricked up in vaults." And Dickie added, "You're quite right, oldchap. I didn't think about that."
"We must do _something_," Elfrida said impatiently.
"How would it be," Dickie spoke slowly, "if I tried to see theMouldierwarp? He is stronger than the Mouldiwarp. He might advise us.Suppose we work the magic and just ask to see him?"
"I don't want to go away from here," said Edred firmly.
"You needn't. I'll lay out the moon-seeds and things on the floorhere--you'll see."
So Dickie made the crossed triangles of moon-seeds and he and hiscousins stood in it and Dickie said, "Please can we see theMouldierwarp?" just as you say, "Please can I see Mr. So-and-so?" whenyou have knocked at the door of Mr. So-and-so's house and some one hasopened the door.
Immediately everything became dark, but before the children had time towish that it was light again a disc of light appeared on the curtain ofdarkness, and there was the Mouldierwarp, just as Dickie had seen himonce before.
He bowed in a courtly manner, and said--
"What can I do for you to-day, Richard Lord Arden?"
"He's not Lord Arden," said Edred. "_I_ used to be. But even _I'm_ notLord Arden now. My father is."
"Indeed?" said the Mouldierwarp with an air of polite interest. "Youinterest me greatly. But my question remains unanswered."
"I want," said Dickie, "to find the lost treasure of Arden, so that theold Castle can be built up again, and the old lands bought back, and theold cottages made pretty and good to live in. Will you please adviseme?"
The Mouldierwarp in the magic-lantern picture seemed to scratch his nosethoughtfully with his fore paw.
"It can be done," he said, "but it will be hard. It is almostimpossible to find the treasure without waking the Mouldiestwarp, whosits on the green-and-white checkered field of Ardens' shield of arms.And he can only be awakened by some noble deed. Yet noble deeds maychance at any time. And if you go to seek treasure of one kind you mayfind treasure of another. I have spoken."
It began to fade away, but Elfrida cried, "Oh, _don't_ go. You're justlike the Greek oracles. Won't you tell us something plain andstraightforward?"
"I will," said the Mouldierwarp, rather shortly.
"Great Arden's Lord no treasure shall regain Till Arden's Lord is lost and found again."
"And father _was_ lost and found again," said Edred, "so that's allright."
"Set forth to seek it with courageous face. And seek it in the most unlikely place."
And with that it vanished altogether, and the darkness with it; andthere were the three children and Tinkler and the white seal and themoon-seeds and the sunshine on the floor of the room in the tower.
"That's useful," said Edred scornfully. "As if it wasn't just asdifficult to know the unlikely places as the likely ones."
"I'll tell you what," said Dickie. And then the dinner bell rang, andthey had to go without Dickie's telling them what, and to eat roastmutton and plum-pie, and behave as though they were just ordinarychildren to whom no magic had ever happened. There was little chance ofmore talk that day.
Edred and Elfrida were to be taken to Cliffville immediately afterdinner to be measured for new shoes, and Dickie was to go up to spendthe afternoon with Beale and 'Melia and the dogs. Still, in the fewmoments when they were all dressed and waiting for the dog-cart to comeround, Dickie found a chance to whisper to Elfrida--
"Let's all think of unlikely places as hard as ever we can. Andto-morrow we'll decide on the unlikeliest and go there. Edred needn't bein it if he doesn't want to. _You're_ keen, aren't you?"
"Rather!" was all there was time for Elfrida to say.
The welcome that awaited Dickie at Beale's cottage from Beale, Amelia,and, not least, the dogs, was enough to drive all thoughts of unlikelyplaces out of anybody's head. And besides, there were always so manyinteresting things to do at the cottage. He helped to wash True, cleanedthe knives, and rinsed lettuce for tea; helped to dry the tea-things,and to fold the washing when Mrs. Beale brought it in out of the yardin dry, sweet armfuls of white folds.
It was dusk when he bade them good-night, embracing each dog in turn,and set out to walk the little way to the crossroads, where the dog-cartreturning from Cliffville would pick him up. But the dog-cart was alittle late, because the pony had dropped a shoe and had had to be takento the blacksmith's.
So when Dickie had waited a little while he began to think, as onealways does when people don't keep their appointments, that perhaps hehad mistaken the time, or that the clock at the cottage was slow. Andwhen he had waited a little longer, it seemed simply silly to be waitingat all. So he picked up his crutch and got up from the milestone wherehe had been sitting and set off to walk down to the Castle.
As he went he thought many things, and one of the things he thought wasthat the memories of King James's time had grown dim and distant--helooked down on Arden Castle and loved it, and felt that he asked nobetter than to live there all his life with his cousins and theirfather, and that, after all, the magic of a dream-life was not needed,when life itself was so good and happy.
And just as he was thinking this a twig cracked sharply in the hedge.Then a dozen twigs rustled and broke, and something like a great blackbird seemed to fly out at him and fold him in its wings.
It was not a bird--he knew that the next moment--but a big, dark cloak,that some one had thrown over his head and shoulders, and through itstrong hands were holding him.
"Hold yer noise!" said a voice; "if you so much as squeak it'll be theworse for you."
"Help!" shouted Dickie instantly.
He was thrown on to the ground. Hands fumbled, his face was cleared ofthe cloak, and a handkerchief with a round pebble in it was stuffed intohis m
outh so that he could not speak. Then he was dragged behind a hedgeand held there, while two voices whispered above him. The cloak was overhis head again now, and he could see nothing, but he could hear. Heheard one of the voices say, "Hush! they're coming." And then he heardthe sound of hoofs and wheels, and Lord Arden's jolly voice saying, "Hemust have walked on; we shall catch him up all right." Then the sound ofwheels and hoofs died away, and hard hands pulled him to his feet andthrust the crutch under his arm.
"Step out!" said one of the voices, "and step out sharp--see?--or I'lll'arn you! There's a carriage awaiting for you."
He stepped out; there was nothing else to be done. They had taken thecloak from his eyes now, and he saw presently that they were nearing acoster's barrow.
They laid him in the barrow, covered him with the cloak, and putvegetable marrows and cabbages on that. They only left him a little roomto breathe.
"Now lie still for your life!" said the second voice. "If you stir ainch I'll lick you till you can't stand! And now you know."
So he lay still, rigid with misery and despair. For neither of thesevoices was strange to him. He knew them both only too well.
