I asked him how it was he appeared to such purpose, and in the very nick
of time, that afternoon when lady Cairnedge had come with her servants to
carry John away; for of course I knew now that our champion must have
been uncle Edmund. He answered he had that very morning made up his mind
to present himself at the house, and had walked there for the purpose,
resolved to tell his brother all. He got in by the end of the garden, as
John was in the way of doing, and had reached the little grove of firs by
the house, when he saw a carriage at the door, and drew back. Hearing
then the noises of attack and defence, he came to the window and looked
in, heard lady Cairnedge's shriek, saw her on the floor, and the men
attempting to force an entrance at the other side of the window. Hardly
knowing what he did, he rushed at them and beat them off. Then suddenly
turning faint, for his heart was troublesome, he retired into the grove,
and lay there helpless for a time. He recovered only to hear the carriage
drive away, leaving quiet behind it.
To see that woman in the house of his fathers, was a terrible shock to
him. Could it be that David had married her? He stole from his covert,
and crawled across the moor to the gypsy's hut. There he was consoled by
learning that the mistress of the house was a young girl, whom he rightly
concluded to be the daughter of his brother David.
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