within less than a week of the young man’s arrival at the “ring o’ bells,” minnie was heartily grieved that she had commissioned mrs. trout to hint a hope in elias bassett’s ear. she and the gamekeeper had indeed been close friends before her uncle’s death, and it troubled her that after the change in her fortunes elias avoided the old intimacy and feared to be with her alone. yet she admired him still, and more than ever, contrasted him with those who hummed about her like hungry wasps, since her prosperity. now, however, to her secret shame, minnie merle began to see that she had dropped the handkerchief too soon. upon the very day—within the actual hour—that bassett received his polite hint, a greater than bassett burst upon the vision of minnie, and soon she hung on her cousin’s words, quite dazzled by the dashing manners of him, reduced to daily blushes by his gallant address and courtly fashion of love-making.
these things, however, elias did not perceive; nor did the newcomer dazzle him. when the coach from exeter to plymouth left a box for mr. merle, and he blossomed forth next sunday in russet and p. 145plum-colour, bassett called him a popin-jay; and the keeper killed minnie’s old friendship at a breath by telling her in round terms, with the forceful periods of that time, that her cousin was either less than he proclaimed himself, or more.
“not a plain-dealer, an’ you’ll live to know it. ban’t natural to bring chapter an’ verse to everything a man speaks, same as he does. no honest man wants a cloud of witnesses to his least act or word. he goes in fear for all his noise.”
“his way may not be ours, mr. bassett, but we’re a good deal behind the times, and it does not become you or any other man to call my cousin in question. he is very superior and genteel, i’m sure, and as for honesty, i never met a more honest man.”
“ess fay, an’ you have; an’ you’ll find it out after you’m married to un, if not afore,” said elias, bluntly.
minnie flamed and frowned angrily upon the speaker.
“that’s a very rude speech, and i never expected to hear you say such a thing.”
“wish to god i could say different. i’d tell a lot more against your cousin if i didn’t love you wi’ all my heart an’ soul; but, being so set upon you, i can’t speak with a free mind, so i’ll speak nought. doan’t ’e be vexed wi’ me, my dear woman. you know right well as i’d go ’pon my naked knees from p. 146here to lunnon town to do your pleasure. awnly i ban’t blind, an’ i see how this dashing chap’s bold front have cowed us all round about. love of you would keep a man true an’ honest if ’twas in the nature of un so to be, an’ i doan’t say but nicholas merle be right at root; but i mislike un, ’cause i’m very jealous for you, minnie merle, an’ i pray you’ll take your time an’ not jump into his arms fust moment he axes you to marry him, as he surely means to do come presently.”
the girl grew a little soothed before this soft answer.
“i’m sure you mean very well, elias bassett, an’ i’ll remember what you say, for it’s a foolish softness toward me that makes you say it. we’m auld friends ever since i came to two bridges, an’ i doan’t think no worse of you for speaking your mind. but you’m quite out o’ bias. such a dashing man as my cousin do carry himself civil an’ polite to all, because he can’t help it. ’tis his smooth custom. he wouldn’t think of me as a wife. why should he—a maiden so rough of speech an’ manner? an’ li’l enough to look at, i’m sure, to an eye as have often been filled by town-bred girls. doan’t ’e fret, theer’s a gude man. he’m awnly biding along wi’ us because he likes the strong air an’ the devonshire cream an’ honey. he’ll be off as he came—all of a sudden some fine day, no doubt.”
p. 147but bassett shook his head, and, indeed, facts presently proved that he was right, the girl mistaken. nicholas made no haste to depart from the moor. he took mighty rides over it upon his brimstone-coloured horse; he endeavoured to win the friendship of all men, and nearly succeeded, for he was generous and a good sportsman—sure credentials to the regard of the folk. only bassett and another here and there maintained a stubborn and doglike mistrust. nor were the sceptics free of reasons for their attitude. elias was laughed at as a man ousted from hope by a better-equipped rival, and the fact that his undue bitterness was naturally set to the account of defeated love, chastened his tongue; but in truth mr. bassett’s regard for minnie had little to do with his emotion. he was an honest man, and not prejudiced overmuch against young merle by their relations. nevertheless he had a lodged loathing against him, read craft into his apparent candour, secret policy into his open-handedness, simulation into his great affectation of being fellow-well-met with all. a lad of no imagination, bassett none the less went heavily in this matter, and was oppressed with the sense of evil at hand. a dull premonition, to which he lent himself reluctantly, spread events in their sequence before him ere they fell out.
then accident presented him with a solid fact, p. 148and that fact, as is the nature of such things, opened the door to many problems. but some weeks before the day that his acquired knowledge set young bassett’s brains upon the whirl, there had happened the foreseen, and minnie was engaged to be married to her cousin. liquor ran free on the evening of the great news, and few were those who left the “ring o’ bells” in silence and sobriety. elias at least was not among them, for, faced with the engagement, he abandoned his antagonism in a sort of despair, told himself that it was idle to fight fate, single-handed, and so drank minnie’s health far into the night and went home to his mother’s cottage as drunk as any man need desire or deplore to be.
the time was then late summer, and the wedding was fixed to take place at widecombe in november. this matter determined, life pursued its level way, and nicholas merle, who appeared to have no business or affairs that called him elsewhere, dwelt on at the “ring o’ bells,” enjoyed the best that the inn could furnish him, and spent his time between courting his cousin, in a manner much to her taste, and riding far afield over the land. sometimes she accompanied him on her dartmoor pony, sometimes he went alone.
there came a day in the bar when gammer trout was able to furnish the company with a morsel of news.
p. 149“master merle got a packet by the mail essterday,” she said. “fust as ever he’ve had since he comed; an’ not to his taste neither. ’twill call him off, for he set his teeth and frowned when he read it, an’ said as he must be gone in a week an’ wouldn’t be back much afore the wedding.”
“who might the packet have come from?” enquired aaron french; but tibby could not tell. she believed in her future master and gave the man a short answer.
“that’s his business. us all have our troubles.”
“i be the last to speak anything but praise of the gen’leman,” declared aaron. “yet he is a man of mystery, an’ his goings an’ comings work upon no rule that a plain head can figure out to itself.”
“done a purpose,” declared joe mudge; “nought goes home to a maiden’s heart like mystery. ’tis meat an’ drink to a fansical female. a fellow do bulk large in the innocent eyes of women folk if they think he’ve got a hidden side to un—a side as nought but the moon do know.”
they returned to the subject of the packet; and then it fell out that, within half an hour of that time, the great fact already alluded to faced elias bassett, and an accident thrust the fortunes of a man and a woman into his hands.
as he left the “ring o’ bells” a little later, his p. 150mind upon the packet, nicholas merle himself set out on horseback, and galloped away in a direction that the keeper pursued more slowly on foot. and as he viewed the receding figure, a speck of white suddenly fluttered into the air behind it and fell upon the moor-path. ignorant of his loss, the rider went forward, and bassett, convinced that he had seen the identical object of recent discussion, marched along his way. his purpose, arrived at hastily, was to pick up the letter, conceal it, and give it to minnie with the frank advice that she would do well to read it; but in the event he did no such thing, for as he stooped to gather up the paper, a thud of hoofs came to his ear and he saw that nicholas merle had discovered his loss and was returning to make it good if possible.
he dropped the writing unseen, a flash of wisdom leading to that course; but he did not do so until two words had chanced to fall upon his eyes—two words of such tremendous significance that they quite dazed the mind of elias.
“dear husband—”
he read that much, then moved quickly away from the letter and pretended to be picking and eating blackberries a hundred yards distant, as merle rode past him with his eyes straining to right and left of the way. the rider banished his care and cracked a jest with bassett; then, looking p. 151backward, without appearing to do so, elias saw merle dismount and clutch up his letter. a moment later he resumed his ride, and went whistling along upon his great, bright horse.
