Argosy, Vol. 123, No. 2 — page 86: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

218 jam pans, while we discussed in low voices the queer promotion of Master Jonas Sly- they. What it meant—save as we sus- pected the man was being used as a spy in the guise of a preacher—we knew not, particularly in what way his spying might affect Eveleigh Manor and our angels, one of whom was an openly avowed royalist. We decided to inform Mistress Eveleigh and Ruth of what had taken place, again urge them to tell us frankly if there was any reason which might justify Master Sly- they’s spying upon the house, and at the same time warn them to caution. . And next day, the moment we were tem- porarily relieved from duty, we hied to the kitchen door, carrying the mended pans, which clanked cheerily against our steel armor. We knocked at the door; and my heart, at least, beat high in expectation of the vision reappearing. But it was Ruth Prynne who opened the door, and that only wide enough toe admit the mended vessels. She did not look at us. Her face was pale and perturbed, and her lips set in a thin line which plainly hinted that any speech would be unwelcome. She merely took the vessels, set them on the floor behind her, handed something to Tinker Bunyan, and shut the deer in our faces without uttering a single word. I stared at Bunyan. He was staring at the palm of his hand, where lay a shilling piece. ‘ Truly,” said John, ‘“‘ the ways of God are inscrutable!” We were both very crestfallen after all our happy expectations. But there was nothing we could do. The shut door frowned forbiddingly at us, and all was sitent within, although I was somehow con- scious. that eyes were observing us from the windows. Slowly we turned away and went Pane to camp, for the greater part of the way speechless with astonishment. Occasional- ly John stopped, stared at the shilling, and muttered again about the ay uae ways of Providence. ‘“Inscrutable, indeed,” said I, for the sake of saying something; whereupon Bun- yan contradicted me—and himself—as was door on the pretense of tinkering. THE ARGOSY. ever his way when any one wholly agreed with him, and so left no room for argument, “Nay, Master Innocent! Not so in- scrutable,”’ said he. ‘‘ This is some subtlety of Heaven to offset the machinations of the devi! and his agent, Slythey. Mark yes youth, so ‘twill develop.” I could not fellow his reasoning, but he appeared quite confident that he was right, all things to him being governed by two supernatural agencies involved in an eternal tug o’ war for victory. In this case good was represented—to John Bunyan—by, Ruth Prynne, evil by Jonas Slythey. | I only thought that possibly he was in error about the identity of the celestial Bare CHAPTER VIII. ‘A VISIFOR SURPRISED. (QNCE more the fruitless king-hunt, Charles was still supposed to be in hiding somewhere between Naseby and Chester. While it seemed beyond all effort to rout the fox from his earth, Cromwell was at least seeing to it that he should be cut, off from joining his sympathizers in Wales, Our general lingered in Nottinghamshire —that is, in the vicinity of Naseby—and delayed his ultimate southerly march, which Fairfax. had already made, to assist the commander-in-chief im the subjugation of the counties south and west. In the mean time, when we were not king- hunting, Hobgoblin and I discussed ways and means of again seeing our respective angels, Mistress Joyce Eveleigh and Ruth Prynne. Unfortunately for us we had no excuse for presenting ourselves again at the kitchen Our last reception there had dampened our enterpris- ing with the selder and brand. THere seemed also little chance of encountering the lady and her maid without the walls of the garden, for out of the gateway of Eves leigh Manor neither of them had visibly walked since the affair of the duck-pond, although I have po doubt Ruth or old Henry Falconer made quiet visits to the vile lage for food supplies. NOOK | C@