 CHAPTER IX And now New Cross seemed to go backwards, and very far away, its dirty streets, its sword shifts, its crowds of anxious, unhappy people who never had quite enough of anything, and Dickie's home was in a pleasant cottage, from whose windows could be seen great green rolling-downs, and the smooth silver and blue of the sea, and from whose door you stepped not on to filthy pavements, but on a neat brick path, leading between beds glowing with flowers. Also, he was near Arden, the goal of seven-month effort. Now he would see Edward and Elfride 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 Castle, he did not seem to be much nearer to the Arden children. It is not an easy thing to walk into the courtyard of a ruined castle and ring the bell of a strange house, and ask for people whom you have only met in dreams, or as good as dreams. And I don't know how Dickie would have managed 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 come face to face with Edward and Elfride Aldrin, and they looked exactly like the Edward and Elfride whom he had played with and quarreled with in the dream. He halted, leaning on his crutch, for them to come up and speak to him. They came on, looking hard at him. The severe might have called it staring. Looked, came up to him, and passed by without a word. But he saw them talking eagerly to each other. Dickie was left in the lane looking after them. It was a miserable moment. But quite quickly he roused himself. They were talking to each other eagerly, and once Elfride half looked round. Perhaps it was his shabby clothes that made them not so sure whether he was the Dickie they had known. If they did not know him it should not be his fault. He balanced himself on one foot, beat with his crutch on the ground, and shouted, Hi! And hello! As loud as he could. The other children turned, hesitated, and came back. What is it? The little girl called out. Have you heard yourself? And she 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 whether you'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 they don't remember him, they'd think he was mad, and never show him the castle. Never mind. Now for it. Did you ever have a tutor called Mr. Parados? He asked. And again the others looked at him and at each other. Parate knows for short, Dickie hastened to add. And did you ever shovel snow onto his head, and then right away in a carriage drawn by swans? It's you! cried Alfreda, and hugged him. Eldred, it's Dickie. We were saying, Could it be you, oh Dickie darling? How did you hurt your foot? Dickie flashed. My foot's always been like that, he said. In nowadays time, when we met in the magic times, I was like everybody else, wasn't I? Alfreda hugged him again and said, No more about the foot. Instead she said, Oh, how ripping it is to really and truly find you here. We thought you couldn't be real because we wrote a letter to you at the address that said on that bill you gave us, and the letter came back not known outside. What address was it, Dickie asked? Lori Grove, New Cross, Eldred 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 live with, I call him father, because he's been kind to me. But my own daddy's dead. Let's go up to the Downs, said Alfreda, and sit down. And you tell us all about everything from the very beginning. So they went up and sat among the first brushes, and Dickie told them all his story, just as much of it as I have told to you. And it took a long time, and then they reminded each other how they had met in the magic or dream world, and how Dickie had helped them to save their father, which he did do, only to have not had time to tell you about it. But it is all written in the House of Arden. But our magic is all over now, said Edred sadly. We had to give up everyer having any more magic so as to get father back, and now we shall never find the treasure or be able to buy back the old lands and restore the 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, and old nurse said I could work it for you, and that's really what I've come for, so that we can look for the treasure together. That's awful jolly of you, said Alfreda. What is your magic? Edred asked, and Dickie pulled out Tinkler, and the white seal in the moonseeds, and laid them on the turf and explained. And in the middle of the explanation a shadow fell on the children, and the Tinkler and the moonseeds 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 Dickie added very quickly. My name's Dick Harding. It took longer for Dickie to get up because of the crutch, and Lord Arden reached to his hand down to help him. He must have been a little surprised when the crippled child in the shabby clothes stood up, and instead of touching his forehead as poor children are taught to do, held out his hand and said, How do you do, Lord Arden? I'm very well, thank you, said Lord Arden. And where did you spring from? You are not a native of these parts, I think. No, but my adopted father is, said Dickie, and I came from London with him to see his father, who is old Mr. Beale, and we are staying at his cottage. Lord Arden sat down beside them on the turf and asked Dickie a good many questions about where he was born, and who he had lived with, and what he had seen, and done, and been. Dickie answered honestly and straightforwardly. Only, of course, he did not tell about the magic or say that in the magic world he and Lord Arden's children were friends and cousins, and all the time they were talking, Lord Arden's eyes were fixed on his face except when they wandered to Tinkler and the White Seal, once he picked these up and looked at the crest on them. Where'd you get these, he asked. Dickie told, and then Lord Arden handed the seal in Tinkler to him and went on with these questions. At last Elfride put her arms around her father's neck and whispered, I know it's not manners, but Dickie won't mind. She said before the whispering began, Yes, certainly, said Lord Arden, when the whispering was over, it's tea time, Dickie, you'll come home to tea with us, won't you? I must tell Mr. Beale, said Dickie, you'll be anxious if I don't. Shall I hurt you if I put you on my back, Lord Arden asked? And next minute he was carrying Dickie down the slope towards Arden Castle, while Edred went back to Beale's cottage to say where Dickie was. When Edred got back to Arden Castle, tea was ready in the parlor, and Dickie was resting in a comfortable chair. Isn't old Beale a funny man, said Edred? He said Arden Castle was the right place for Dickie with a face like that. What could he have meant? What are you doing that for? He added in injured tones, for Elfride had kicked his hand under the table. Before tea was over there was a sound of horses hooves and carriage wheels in a courtyard, and the maid's servant opened the parlor door and said, Lady Talbot! Though he remembered well enough how kind she had been to him, Dickie wished he could creep under the table. It was too hard. She must recognize him. And now Edred and Elfride, and Lord Arden, who was so kind and jolly, they would all know he had been a burglar, and that she had wanted to adopt him, and that he had been ungrateful and had run away. He trembled all over. It was too hard. Lady Talbot shook hands with the others and then turned to him. And who is your little friend? She asked Edred. And in the same breath cried out, Why, it's my little run away. Dickie only said, I wasn't ungrateful. I wasn't. I had to. But his eyes implored. And Lady Talbot, Dickie will always love her for that, understood. Not a word about burglars, did she say, only? I wanted to adopt Dickie once, Lord Arden. But he would not stay. I had to go back to Father, said Dickie. Well, at any rate, it's pleasant to see each other again, she said. I always hoped we should some day. No sugar, thank you, Elfride. And then sat down and had tea and was as jolly as possible. The only thing which made Dickie at all uncomfortable was when she turned suddenly to the master of the house and said, Doesn't he remind you of any one, Lord Arden? And Lord Arden said, Perhaps he does with a sort of look that people have when they mean not before the children. I'd rather talk about it afterwards if you don't mind. Then the three were sent out to play and Dickie was shown the castle ruins, while Lord Arden and Lady Talbot walked up and down on the daisy grass and talked for a long time. Dickie knew they were talking about him. But he did not mind. He had that feeling you sometimes have about grown-up people, that they really do understand and are to be trusted. 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 the cottage. You and your grand-friend, Lord Arden, indeed. They were as jolly as jolly, said Dickie. Nobody weren't never kinder to me nor what Lord Arden was and Lady Talbot too. Without it was you, Farver. Ah, said Beale to the old man. He knows how to get round his old father, don't he? What does he want to talk that way for, the old man asked? He can talk like a little gentleman all right, because we earned him. Oh, that's the way we talks up London way, said Dickie. I learned to find talk out of books. Mr. Beale said nothing, but that night he actually read for nearly ten minutes in a bound volume of the Wesleyan magazine, and he was asleep over 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 of a feeling that perhaps Lord Arden might have seen by his face as old Beale had, that he was an Arden. So neither he nor you will be much surprised. The person to be really surprised was Mr. Beale. You might have knocked me down with a pickaxe, said Beale later. So help me, three men and a boy you might. It's a rum go. My lord, he says, there's some woman been writing letters to him this long time saying she's got old of his long-lost nephew or cousin or something, and a wanting to get money out of it. Though what for, goodness knows, and he says, you're an Arden by rights. You nipper you and he wants to take you and bring you up along with his kids. And so there's an end of you and me, Dickie old boy. I didn't understand more than Arfa what he was saying, but I trumbled to that much. It's all up with you and me and Amelia and the dogs and the little ome. You're a going to be a gentleman, you are. And I'll have to take to the road by myself, and be a poor beast of Cajun again. That's what it'll come to, I know. Don't you put yourself about, said Dickie Connolly. I ain't a going to leave you. Didn't Lady Talbot ask me to be her boy? And didn't I cut straight back to you? I'll play along with them kids, if Lord Alden'll let me. But I ain't a going to leave you. Not yet, I ain't. So don't you go snibbling before anyone's urt your father, see? But that was before Lord Arden had his second talk with Mr. Beal. After that it was, look here, you nipper. I ain't a going to stand in your light. You're going up in the world, says you. Well, you ain't the only one. Lord Arden's bought Father's Cottage and he's going to build on it. And I'm going to have all the dogs down here and sell them through the papers like. And you'll come and have a look at us sometimes. And what about Amelia, said Dickie and the little ones? Well, I did think, said Beal rubbing his nose thoughtfully, of asking Molina to come down here along with the dogs. Seems a pity to separate them somehow. It was Lord Arden put it into my head. You ought to be married, you ought. He says to me pleasant like. Man to man. Ain't there any young woman I could give a trifle to? To set you and her up in housekeeping? So then I cast about. And I think so Molina. As well her as anybody and she's used to the dogs. And the trifles and the hundred pounds. 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 Molina ain't like a stranger. And it could never be the same with us two and Nipper after all 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 come back from the other old, long ago world to help him. And I have been sticking to things I didn't like so as to help him and get him started. He was my bit of work. Now someone else comes along and takes my work out of my hands and finishes it. And here's Beale's provided for and settled. 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 to be at Arden Castle with Edward and Elfrida, all day at play and at lessons, was almost as good as being with them in the beautiful, old dream life. All the things that he had hated in this modern life when he was Dickie of Deppford, cease to trouble him now that he was Richard Arden. For the difference between being rich and poor is as great as the difference between being warm and cold. After that first day a sort of shyness came over the three children, and they spoke no more of the strange adventures they had had together. But they played at all the ordinary everyday games, till they almost forgot that there was any magic. Had ever been any. The fact was, the life they were leading was so happy in itself, that they needed no magic to make them contented. It was not till after the wedding of Malia and Mr. Beale, that Dickie remembered that to find the Arden treasure for his cousins. Had been one of his reasons for coming back to this, the nowadays world. I wish I had time to tell you about the wedding. I could write a whole book about it, how Amelia came down from London and was married in Arden Church. How she wore a white dress and a large hat with a wreath of orange blossoms, a filmy veil and real kid gloves, all gifts of Miss Edith Arden, Lord Arden's sister. How Lord Arden presented an enormous wedding 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 his kindness to his nephew Richard Arden. And how surprised everyone was to hear Dickie's new name. How all the dogs wore white favors and had each a crumb of wedding cake. And how when the wedding feast was over and the guests gone, the bride tucked up her white dress under a big apron and set about arranging in the new rooms the sticks of furniture which Dickie and Beale had brought together from the little home in Depford. And which had come in a van by road all the way to Arden. The Arden's had gone back to the castle in Dickie with them, and old Beale was smoking in his usual chair by his front door, so there was no one to hear Beale's complaint to his bride. He came behind her and put his arm around her as she was dusting the metal piece. Go on with you, said the new Mrs. Beale, and wanted to think we was courting. So would be, said Beale and kissed Melida for the first time. We got all our courting to do now, see? I might have picked and choose, he added reflectively. But there, I daresay, I might have done worse. Melida blushed with pleasure at the compliment and went on with the dusting. It was as the Arden's walked home over the short turf that Lord Arden said to his sister, I wish all the cottages about here were like Beale's. It didn't cost so very much. If I could only buy back the rest of the land, I'd show some people what a model village is like. Only I can't buy it back. He wants far more than we can think of managing. And Dickie heard what he said. That was why, when next he was alone with his cousins, he began, Look here, you aren't allowed to use your magic any more to go and look for the treasure. But I am. And I vote we go and look for it. And then your father can buy back the old lands, and build the new cottages, and mend up Arden Castle, and make it like it used to be. Oh, let's, said Alfredo, with enthusiasm. But Edrid, unexpectedly answered, I don't know. The three children were sitting in the window of the gate tower looking down on the green turf of the castle yard. What do you mean you don't know? Alfredo asked briskly. I mean, I don't know, said Edrid Stullendly. We're all right as we are, I think. I used to think I liked magic and things. But if you come to think of it, something horrid happened to us every single time we went into the past with our magic. We were always being chased or put in prison or bothered somehow or other. The only really nice thing was when we saw the treasure being hidden, because it looked like a picture. And we 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 I did. We're all right and jolly as we are. What I say is, don't let's. This cold water dampened the spirit of the others only for a few minutes. You know, Alfredo explained to Dickey, our magic took us to look for treasure in the past. And once a film of a photograph that we'd stuck up behaved like a cinemagraph, and then we saw the treasure being hidden away. Then let's just go where that was, mark the spot, come home, and then dig it up. Wasn't buried, Alfredo explained. It was put into a sort of cellar 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 Dickey, but suppose I just work the magic, and wish to be where the treasure is. I won't, cried Edward, and in his extreme dislike to the idea he kicked with his boots quite violently against the stones of the tower. Not much I won't, I expect the treasure's bricked up. We should look nice, bricked up in a vault like a wicked nut, and perhaps forgotten the way to get out. Not much. You needn't make such a fuss about it, said Alfredo. Nobody's going to get bricked up in vaults, and Dickey added. You're quite right, old chap. I didn't think about that. We must do something, Alfredo, said impatiently. How would it be, Dickey spoke slowly? If I tried to see the motor-work, he is stronger than a motor-work. 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 Edward firmly. You needn't. I'll lay outside the moon-seeds and things on the floor here. You'll see. So Dickey made the cross-triangles of moon-seeds, and he and his cousins stood in it. And Dickey said, Please, can we see the motor-work? Just as you say, please, can I see Mr. So-and-So, when you have knocked at the door of Mr. So-and-So's house, and someone has opened the door. Immediately everything became dark. But before the children had time to wish that it was light again, a disk of light appeared on the curtain of darkness. And there was the motor-work. Just as Dickey had seen him once before, he bowed in a courtly manner and said, What can I do for you today, Richard Lordardin? He's not Lordardin, said Edward. I used to be, but even I'm not Lordardin now, my father is. Indeed, said the motor-work, with an air of polite interest, you interest me greatly, but my question remains unanswered. I want, said Dickey, to find the lost treasure of Arden, so that the old castle can be built up again and the old lands bought back, and the old cottages made pretty and good to live in. Will you please advise me? The Moldar-work in the magic lantern-pitcher seemed to scratch his nose thoughtfully with his forepaw. It can be done, he said, but it will be hard. It is almost impossible to find the treasure without waking the moldiest warp, who sits on the green and white-checkered field of Arden's shield of arms, and he can only be awakened by some noble deed. Yet noble deeds may chance at any time, and if you go to seek treasure of one kind you may find treasure of another. I have spoken. It began to fade away, but Alfreda cried, Oh, don't go! You're just like the Greek oracles. Won't you tell us something plain and straightforward? I will, said the Moldar-work, 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 Eldred. So that's all right. Set forth to seek it with courageous face, and seek it in the most unlikely place. And with that it banished altogether in the darkness with it, and there were the three children in Tinkler and the white seal and the moon-seeds and the sunshine on the floor of the room in a tower. That's useful, said Eldred, scornfully, as if it wasn't just as difficult to know the unlikely places as the likely ones. I'll tell you what, said Dicky, and then the dinner bell rang and they had to go without Dicky's telling them what, and to eat roast-button and plump pie and behave as though they were just ordinary children, to whom no magic had ever happened. There was little chance of more talk that day. Eldred and Elfride were to be taken to Cliffville immediately after dinner to be measured for new shoes, and Dicky was to go up to spend the afternoon with Beale and Melina and the dogs. Still, in the few moments when they were all dressed and waiting for the dog-cart to come around, Dicky found a chance to whisper to Elfride, Let's all think of unlikely places as hard as ever we can, and tomorrow we'll decide on the unlikeliest and go there. Eldred doesn't need to be in it if he doesn't want to. You're keen, aren't you? Rather, was all where was time for Elfride to say. The welcome that awaited Dicky at Beale's cottage from Beale, Amelia, and not least the dogs was enough to drive all thoughts of unlikely places out of anybody's head, and besides, there were always so many interesting things to do at the cottage. He helped him wash through, cleaned the 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 yard to 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 cart returning from Cliffville would pick him up. But the dog cart was a little late, because the pony had dropped a shoe and had to be taken to the blacksmith. So when Dicky had waited a little while, he began to think, as one always does, when people don't keep their appointments that perhaps he had mistaken the time, or that the clock at the cottage was slow. And when he had waited a little longer, it seemed simply silly to be waiting at all. So he picked up his crutch and got up from the milestone where he 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 was that the memories of King James's time had grown dim, distant. He looked down on Arden Castle and loved it, and felt that he asked no better than to live there all his life with his cousins and their father. And then, 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 crackled sharply in the hedge. Then a dozen twigs rustled and broke, and something like a great black bird 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 someone had thrown over his head and shoulders, and through its strong hands were holding him. All your noise, said a voice, if you so much as squeak it'll be the worst for you. Help! shouted Dickey instantly. He was thrown onto the ground, hands fumbled, his face was cleared of the cloak, and a handkerchief with a round pebble in it was stuffed into his mouth, so that he could not speak. Then he was dragged behind a hedge and held there, while two voices whispered above him. The cloak was over his head again, and he could see nothing but—he could hear. He heard one of the voices say, Hush, they're coming. And then he heard the sound of hooves and wheels, and Lord Arden's jolly voice saying he must have walked on. We shall catch him up all right. Then the sound of wheels and hooves died away, and hard hands pulled him to his feet and thrust the crutch under his arm. Step out, said one of the voices, and step out sharp, see. I'll learn ya. There's a carriage awaiting for you. He stepped out, there was nothing else to be done. They had taken the cloak from his eyes now, and he saw presently they were nearing Acoster's barrel. They laid him in the barrel, covered him with the cloak, and put vegetable marrows and cabbages on that. They only left him a little room to breathe. Now, lie still for your life, said the second voice, if you stir an inch 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 these voices was strange to him. He knew them both only too well. Harding's Luck by Edith Nesbitt Chapter 10 The Noble Deed When Lord Arden and Elfrida and Edward reached the castle and found that Dickey had not come back, the children concluded that Bill had persuaded him to stay the night at the cottage, and Lord Arden thought that the children must be right. He was extremely annoyed, both with Bill and with Dickey for making such an arrangement without consulting him. It is impertinent of Bill and thoughtless of the boy, he said, and I shall speak a word to them both in the morning. But when Edward and Elfrida were gone to bed, Lord Arden found that he could not feel quite sure or quite satisfied. Suppose Dickey was not at Bill's, he strolled up to the cottage to see. Everything was dark at the cottage, he hesitated, then knocked at the door. At the third knock, Bill, very sleepy, put his head out of the window. Who's there? he said. I am here, said Lord Arden. Richard is asleep, I suppose. I suppose so, my lord, said Bill, sleepy and puzzled. You have given me some anxiety. I had to come up to make sure he was here. But he ain't here, said Bill. Didn't you pick him up with the dog cart? Same as you said you would. No, shouted Lord Arden. Come down, Bill, and get at Lantern. There must have been an accident. By dream window showed a square of light, and Lord Arden below heard Bill blundering about above. Here's your coat, Mrs. Bill's voice sounded. Never mind lacing up your boots, you oughta gone a bit away with him. Well I offered for to go, didn't I? Bill growled, blundered down the stairs and out through the wash house, and came round the corner of the house with a stable lantern in his hand. He came close to where Lord Arden stood, a tall dark figure in the starlight, and spoke in a voice that trembled. A little nipper, he said, and again. A little nipper? If anything's happened to him, swelled me, Governor. My Lord, I mean, what I'm meant to say, if anything's happened to him, one of the best. The two men went quickly toward the gate as they passed down the quiet, dusty road. Bill spoke again. I wasn't no good. I don't deceive you, Governor. And no count man I was, swelled me. And the little one, he tied me up and told me tales who kept me straight. It was his doing me and me, they were coming together. And the dogs and all. And the little one. And he's got me to jack the gajin. And worse, he don't know what I was like when I met him. Why? I set out to make a blighted burglar of him. You wouldn't believe. And out the whole story came as Lord Arden and he went along the grey road, looking to right and left, where no bushes were nor stones, only the smooth curves of the down, and that it was easy to see that no little boy was there either. They looked for Dickie to right and left, and here and there under bushes and by stiles and hedges, and with trembling hearts they searched in the little old chalk quarry, and the white moon came up very late to help them. But they did not find him, though they roused a dozen men in the village to join in the search. An old bill himself, who knew every yard of the ground for five miles round, came out with the spaniel, who knew every inch of it for ten, but true rushed about the house and garden, whining and yelping so pitiously that Melia tied him up, and he stayed tied up. And so when Edward and Alfreda came down to breakfast, Mrs. Honey said met them with the news that Dickie was lost, and their father still out looking for him. It's that beastly magic, said Edward as soon as the children were alone. He's done it once too often, and he's got stuck some time in history and can't get back, and we can't do anything. We can't get to him, said Alfreda. Oh, if only we got the old white magic and the mouldy warp to help us, we could find out what's had become of him. Perhaps he has fallen down a disused mine, Edward suggested, and he's lying panting for water, and his faithful dog has jumped down after him and broken all its dear legs. Alfreda melted to tears at this desperate picture, melted to a speechless extent. We can't do anything, said Edward again. Don't snivel like that, for goodness sake, Alfreda. This is a man's job. Dry up. I can't think with you blubbering like that. I'm not, said Alfreda untruly, and sniffed with some intensity. If you could make up some poetry now, Edward went on. Would that be any good? Not without the dresses, she sniffed. You know we always had dresses for our magic, or nearly always, and they have to be dead and gone people's dresses, and you'll only go to the dead and gone people's time when the dresses were worn. Oh dear Dickie, if he's really down a mine or things like that, what's the good of anything? I'm gonna try anyway, said Edward. At least you must too, because I can't make poetry. No more can I, when I'm as unhappy as this. Poetry's the last thing you think of when you're Missy. We could dress up anyway, said Edward, hopefully. The bits of armour out of the hall, and the Indian feather headdress his father brought home, and I have Father's shooting gate and some brown paper tops, and you can have Aunt Edith's Roman sash. It's in the right hand corner drawer. I saw it on the wedding day when I went to get her prayer book. I don't want to dress up, said Alfreda. I want to find Dickie. I don't want to dress up either, said Edward. But we must do something, and perhaps I know it's just only perhaps. It might help if we dress up. Let's try it anyway. Alfreda was too miserable to argue. Before long, two most miserable children faced each other in Edward's room. Dressed as red Indians, as far as their heads and backs went, then came lots of plate armour for chest and arms. Then in the case of Alfreda, Petticoats and Roman sash, and Japanese wickerwork shoes, and Father's shooting gaiters, made to look like boots by brown paper tops. In the case of Edward, legs cased in armour. That looked like cricket pads, ending in jointed foot coverings, that looked like chrysalises. I am told the correct law is chrysalides, but life would be dull indeed if one always used the correct law. They were two forlorn faces that looked at each other, as Edward said. Now the poetry. I can't, said Alfreda, bursting into tears again. I can't, so there. I've been trying all the time we've been dressing, and I can only think of, oh, cool, dear Dickie, back to me. I cannot play alone. The summer comes with flower and bee. Where is Dickie gone? And I know that's no use. I should think not, said Edward. Why? It isn't your own poetry at all. It's Felicia M. Hemmonds. I'll try. And he got a pencil and paper, and try he did. It's very hard, if be sure. But there are some things that the best and bravest cannot do. And the thing Edward couldn't do was to make poetry. However bad. He simply couldn't do it. Any more than you can fly. It wasn't in him. Any more than wings are on you. Oh, Maldi War, you said we must not have any more magic, but we trust. You won't be hard on us, because Dickie is lost, and we don't know how to find him. That was the best Edward could do. And I'd tell it to his credit. He really did feel doubtful whether what he had slowly and carefully written was indeed genuine poetry. So much so that he would not show it to Elfrida until she had begged very hard indeed. At about the 30th, do please, Edward, do. He gave her the paper. No little girl was ever more polite than Elfrida, or less anxious to hurt the feelings of others. But she was also quite truthful. And when Edward said in an ashamed, muffled voice, is it all right, do you think? The best she could find by way of answer was, I don't know much about Puppet Tree. We'll try it. And they did try it, and nothing happened. I knew it was no good, Edward said crossly. And I've made an ass of myself for nothing. Well, I've often made one of myself, said Elfrida comfortably. And I will again if you like, but I don't suppose it'll be any more good than yours. Elfrida frowned fiercely, and the feathers on her Indian headdress quivered with the intensity of her effort. Is it come in, Edward asked in anxious times, and she nodded distractedly. Great Maldius warp, on you we call, to do the greatest magic of all. To show us how we are to find, dear Dickie, who is lame and kind. Do this for us, and on our hearts we swore, we'll never ask you for anything more. I don't see that it's so much better than mine, said Edward. And it ought to be swear, not swore. I don't think it is, but you didn't finish yours, and it couldn't be swear, because rhyming, Elfrida explained. But I'm sure if the Maldius warp hears it, he won't care a tuppence, whether it's swear or swore. He is much too great. He's far above grammar, I'm sure. I wish everyone was, said Edward, and I dare say you have often felt the same. Well, far away. Not that it's any good. Don't you remember you can only get to the Maldius warp by a noble deed, and wanting to find Dickie isn't noble? No, she agreed. But then, if we could get Dickie back by doing a noble deed, we'd do it like a shot, wouldn't we? Oh, I suppose so, said Edward grumply. Fire away, can't you? Elfrida fired away. And the next moment, it was plain that Elfrida's poetry was more potent than Edward's. Also, that little bad grammar is a trifle to a mighty Maldi warp. For the walls of Edward's room receded further and further till the children found themselves in a great white hall with avenues of tall pillars stretching in every direction, as far as you could see. The hall was crowded with people dressed in costumes of all countries and all ages. Chinamen, Indians, Crusaders in armour, powdered ladies, Doubleted gentlemen, Cavaliers in curls, Turks in turbans, Arabs, monks, Abbasis, Jester's, Grandi's with roughs round their necks and savages with kilts of thatch. Every kind of dress you could think of was there. Only all the dresses were white. It was like a radute, which is a fancy dress ball where the guests may wear any dress they choose. Only all the dresses must be of one colour. Elfrida saw the whiteness all about her and looked down anxiously at her clothes and Edwards, which she remembered to have been of rather odd colours Everything they wore was white now. Even the Roman sash, instead of having stripes blue and red and green and black and yellow was of five different shades of white. If you think there are not so many shades of white try to paper a room with white paper and get it at five different shops. People round the children pushed them gently forward and then they saw that in the middle of the hall was a throne of silver spread with a fringed cloth of checkered silver and green and on it with the mouldy warp standing on one side and the mouldy warp on the other. The mouldiest warp was seated in state and splendour. He was much larger than either of the other moulds and his fur was as silvery as the feathers of a swan. Everyone in the room was looking at the two children. It seemed impossible for them not to advance though slowly and shyly right to the front of the throne. Arrived there it seemed right to bow very low. So they did it. Then the mouldy warp said what brings you here? Kind magic. Elfride answered and the mouldy warp said what is your desire? And Edward said we want Dickie please. Then the mouldiest warp said it was to Edward that he said it. Dickie is in the hands of those who will keep him from you for many a day unless you yourself go alone and rescue him. It will be difficult and it will be dangerous. Will you go? Me? Alone? Said Edward rather blankly. Not Elfride. Dickie can only be ransom at a great price. It must be paid by you. It will cost you more to do it than it would cost Elfride because she is braver than you are. Here is a nice thing for a boy to have said to him before all these people too to ask a chap to do a noble deed and in the same breath to tell him he is a coward. Edward flushed crimson and a shudder ran through the company. Don't turn that horrible colour. Whispered a white Tyredor who was close to him. This is a white world. No crimson allowed. Elfride called to Elfride's hand. Edward is quite as brave as me. She said, he'll go, won't you? Of course I will. Said Elfride impatiently. Then ascend the steps of the throne. Said the moldiest warp very kindly now and sit here by my side. Elfride obeyed and the moldiest warp leaned towards him and spoke in his ear. So that neither Elfride nor any of the great company in the white hall could hear a word, only Edward alone. If you go to rescue Richard Arden, the moldiest warp said, you make the greatest sacrifice of your life. For he who was called Richard Harding is Richard Arden and it is he who is Lord Arden and not you or your father. And if you go to his rescue you will be taken from your father the title and the castle and you will be giving up your place as heir of Arden to your cousin Richard who is the rightful heir. But how is he the rightful heir? Edward asked, bewildered. Three generations ago, said the moldiest warp, a little baby was stolen from Arden. Death came among the Ardens and that child became the heir to the name and the lands of Arden. The man who stole the child took it to a woman in Deppford and gave it in charge to her to nurse. She knew nothing but that the child's clothes were marked Arden and that it had tied to its waist a coal and bells ingrained with a coat of arms. The man who had stolen the child said he would return in a month he never returned. He fought in a duel and was killed but the night before the duel he wrote a letter saying what he had done and put it in a secret cupboard behind a picture of a lady who was born and Arden at Talbot Court and there that letter is to this day. I hope I shan't forget it all said Edward. No never forgets what I tell them said the moldiest warp. Finding that the man did not return the Deppford woman brought up the child as her own. He grew up, was taught to trade and married a working girl. The name of Arden changed itself as names do to Harding. Their child was the father of Richard whom you know and he is Lord Arden. Yes said Edward submissively. You will never tell your father this. The low beautiful voice went on. You must not even tell your sister till you have rescued Dickie and made the sacrifice. This is the one supreme chance of your life. Every soul has one such chance a chance to be perfectly unselfish. Absolutely noble and true. You can take this chance but you must take it alone. No one can help you no one can advise you and you must keep the noble thoughts in your own heart till it is noble deed. Then humbly and thankfully in that you have been permitted to do so fine and brave a thing to draw near to the immortals of all ages who have such deeds to do and have done them. You may tell the truth to the one who loves you best your sister Elfride. But isn't Elfride to have a chance to be noble too? Edward asked. She will have a thousand chances to be good and noble and she will take them all. She will never know that she has done it, said the Muldious Warp gravely. Now are you ready to do what is to be done? It seems very unkind to daddy, said Edward, stopping his being Lord Arden and everything. To do right often seems unkind to one or another, said the Muldious Warp. But think how long would your father wish to keep his house and his castle if he knew that they belonged to someone else? I see, said Edward, still doubtfully. No, of course he wouldn't. Well, what am I to do? When Dickie's father died, a Deathwood woman related to Dickie's mother kept the child. He was not kind to him and he left her. Later she met a man who had been a burglar. He had entered Talbot Court, opened a panel and found that old letter that told of Dickie's birth. He and she had kidnapped Dickie, open to get him to sign a paper promising to pay them money for giving him the letter which tells how he is the heir to Arden. But already they have found out that a letter signed by a child is useless and unlawful and they dare not let Richard go for fear of punishment. Or if you choose to do nothing your father is safe and you will inherit Arden. What am I to do? Edward asked again. To get Dickie back, I mean? You must go alone and at night to Bill's cottage. Open the door and you will find Richard's dog asleep before the fire. You must unchain the dog and take him to the milestone by the crossroads. Then go where the dog goes. You will need a knife to cut cords with and you will need all your courage. Edward looked into the eyes and the moldiest warp and saw that they were no longer a mole's eyes but were like the eyes of all the dear people he had ever known. And through them the soul of all the brave people he had ever read about looked out at him and said Courage Edward, be one of us. Edward looked and behold there were no longer strangers who knew them all Joan of Arc and Peter and the Hermit Heralord and Drake Elsa whose brothers were swans St George who killed the dragon Blondel who sang to his king in prison Lady Nistel who brought her husband safe out of the cruel tower there were captains who went down with their ships generals who died fighting for forlorn hopes Patriots, kings, nungs, monks, men, women and children all with that light in their eyes which brightens with splendour the dreams of men. And as he came down off the throne the great ones crowded round clasped in his hand and saying Be one of us, Edward Be one of us. Then an intense white light shone so that the children could see nothing else and then suddenly there they were again within the narrow walls of Edward's bedroom Well said Elfrida in tones of brisk commonplace What did it say to you? I say You do look funny Don't said Edward Crossley He began to tear off the armour Here, help me to get these things off But what did it say? Elfrida asked helpfully I can't tell you I'm not going to tell anyone till it's over Oh, just as you like said Elfrida Keep your old secrets and left him That was hard, wasn't it? I can't help it I tell you Oh Elfrida If you're going to bother it's just a little bit too much that's all You really mustn't tell me I've told you so 50 times he said Which was untrue You know he had only really told her twice Very well then She said heroically I won't ask you a single thing But you'll tell me the minute you can, won't you? And you'll let me help Nobody can help No one can advise me Edward said I've got to do it off my own bat if I do it at all Now just shut up I want to think This unusual desire quite old Elfrida But it irritated her too Perhaps you'd like me to go away She said ironically An Edward wholly unexpected reply was Yes please So she went When she was gone Edward sat down on the box at the foot of his bed And tried to think But it was not easy I ought to go He told himself But think your father Said something else Which was himself too He thought so hard That his thoughts got quite confused His head grew very hot And his hands and feet very cold Mrs Honey's set came in Exclaimed at his white face Felt his hands Said he was in a high fever And put him to bed With wet rags on his forehead And hot water bottles to his feet Perhaps he was feverish At any rate He could never be sure Afterwards whether there really had been A very polite and plausible black mole Sitting on his pillow most of the day Saying all those things Which the part of himself That he likely used to greed with Such things as Think of your father No one will ever know Dickie will be alright somehow Perhaps you only dreamed that About Dickie being shut up somewhere And it's not true Anyway, it's not your business is it And so on You know the sort of thing Elfrida was not allowed to come into the room For fear Edward could be ill With something catching So he lay tossing all day Hearing the black mole Or something else Say all these things in himself saying I must go Oh poor Dickie I promise to go Yes, I will go Late that night When Lord Arden had come home And had gone to bed Tired out by a long day's vain search For the lost Dickie And when everybody was asleep Edward got up and dressed He put his bedroom candle and matches in his pocket Kept downstairs And out of the house and up to bills It was a slow and nervous business More than once on the staircase He thought he heard a stair creek behind him And again And again As he went along the road He fancied he heard a soft footstep Pad padding behind him But of course When he looked round He could see no one was there So presently He decided that it was cowardly to keep looking round And besides It only made him more frightened So he kept steadily on And took no notice at all of a black patch By the sweet briar bush By Bill's cottage door Just exactly as if someone was crouching in the shadow He pressed his thumb on the latch And opened the door very softly Something moved inside And a chain rattled Edward's heart gave a soft, uncomfortable jump But it was only true Standing up to receive company He saw the whiteness of the dog And made for it Felt for the chain Unhooked it from the staple in the wall And went out again Closing the door after him And followed very willingly By true Again He looked suspiciously at the shadow of the great sweet briar But the dog showed no uneasiness So Edward knew That there was nothing to be afraid of True In fact Was the greatest comfort to him He told Alfreda afterwards That it was all true's doing He could never He was sure Had gone on without that good companion True followed At the slack chain's end Till they got to the milestone And then Suddenly He darted ahead and took the lead The chain stretched taut And the boy had all his work cut out To keep up with the dog Up the hill they went On to the downs And in and out among the furs bushes The night was no longer dark To Edward His eyes had got used to the gentle starlight And he followed the dog Among the gorse and brambles Without stumbling And without hurting himself Against a million sharp beers and thorns Suddenly True paused Sniffed Sneezed Blew through his nose and began to dig Come on Come on, good dog Said Edward Come on, True For his fancy pictured Dickie a prisoner In some lonely cottage And he longed to get it there And set him free And get safe back home with him So he pulled at the chain But True only shook himself And went on digging The spot he had chosen Was under a clump of furs Bigger than any they had passed The sharp furs spikes Pripped his nose and paws But True was not the dog To be stopped by little things like that He only stopped every now and then To sneeze and blow Then went on digging Edward, remember the knife he had bought It was the big pruning knife Out of the drawer in the hall He pulled it out He would cut away some of the furs bushes Perhaps Dickie was lying bound Hidden in the middle of the furs bush Dickie? He said softly Dickie? But no one answered Only True sneezed and snuffed And blew and went on digging So then Edward Took hold of a branch of furs to cut it It was loose Came away in his hand without any cutting He tried another That too was loose He took off his jacket And threw it over his hands to protect them And seizing an armful of furs Pulled and fell back Great bundle of the prickly stuff on top of him True was pulling like mad at the chain Edward scrambled up The furs he had pulled away Disclosed the hole And True was disappearing down it Edward saw as the dog dragged him close to the hole That it was a large one Though only part of it had been uncovered He stooped to peer in His foot slipped on the edge And he fell right into it The dog dragged in all the time Stop True! Lie down, sir! He said And the dog paused Though the chain was still strained tight Then Edward was glad of his bedroom candle He pulled it out and lighted it and blinked Perceiving almost at once That he was in the beginning of an underground passage He looked up He could see above him the stars Playing through a net of furs bushes He stood up and True went on Next moment he knew That he was in the old smuggler's cave That he and Alfreda had so often tried to find The dog and the boy went on Along a passage down steps in the rock Through a rough heavy door And so into the smuggler's cave itself An enormous cavern as big as a church Out of an opening at the upper end A stream of water fell And ran along the cave clear between shores of smooth sand And lying in the sand near the stream Was something dark True gave a bound That jerked the chain out of Edward's hand And leaped upon the dark thing Licking it, whining And uttering little dogmoans of pure love and joy That the dark thing was dicky Fast asleep It was bound with cords His poor lame foot tied tight to the other one His arms were bound too And now he was awake Down True, he said Hush, shh Where are they? The man and woman, Edward whispered Oh Edward, you, you perfect brick Dicky whispered back They're in the further cave I heard them snoring before I went to sleep Lie still, said Edward I've got a knife, I'll cut the cords He cut them And Dicky tried to stand up But his limbs were too stiff Edward rubbed his legs While Dicky stretched his fingers To get the pins and needles out of his arms Edward had stuck the candle in the sand It made a ring of light round them That was why they did not see a dark figure That came quietly creeping across the sand towards them It was quite close to them Before Edward looked up Oh, he gasped And Dicky, looking up, whispered It's all up, run Never mind me I shall get away all right No, said Edward And then with a joyous leap of the heart Received that the dark figure was Alfreda in her father's Ulster I hadn't time to put on my stockings She explained later You'd have known me a mile off by my white legs If I hadn't covered them up with this Alfreda Said both boys at once Well, you didn't think I was going to be out of it She said I've been behind you all the way, Edward Don't tell me anything I won't ask any questions Only come on out of it Lean on me They got him to the passage One on each side By that time Dicky could use his legs And his crutch They got home and roused Lord Arden And told him Dicky was found And all about it And he roused the house And he and Bill And half a dozen men from the village Went up to the cave And found that wicked man And woman in a stupid sleep And tied their hands And marched them to the town To the police station When the man was searched The letter was found on him Which the man It was that red-headed man You have heard of Had taken from Tolbert Court I wish you joy of your good fortune, my boy Said Lord Arden When he had read the letter Of course We must look into things But I feel no doubt at all That you are Lord Arden I don't want to be Said Dicky And that was true At the same time He did want to be The thought of being Richard Lord Arden He who had been just little-known Dicky of Depford Of owning this glorious castle Of being the master Of an old name And an old place This thought sang in his heart A very beautiful tune Yet what he said was true There is so often room In our hearts for two tunes at a time I don't want to be You ought to be, sir You've been so kind to me He said My dear boy Said the father of Edward and Elfrida I did very well Without the title and the castle And if they're yours I shall do very well Without them again You shall have your rights My dear boy And I shan't be hurt by it Don't you think that? Dicky thought several things And shook the other's hand Very hard The tale of Dicky's rescue From the cave Was the talk of the countryside True was praised much But Edward more Why had no one else thought Of putting the dog on the scent? Edward said that It was mostly trues doing And the people praised his modesty And nobody except Perhaps Elfrida Ever understood what it had cost Edward To go that night through the dark And rescue his cousin Edward's father and Mrs. Honey said Agreed that Edward had done it In a delirium of a fever Brought on by his anxiety About his friend and playmate People do, you know Do odd things in fevers That they would never do at other times The red-headed man and the woman Were tried at their sizes and punished If you ask me how they knew about the caves Which none of the country people seemed to know of I can only answer that I don't know Only I know that everyone you know Knows lots of things That you don't know they know When they all went a week later To explore the caves They found a curious arrangement of brickwork And cement and clay Shutting up a hole through which the stream Had evidently once flowed Out into the open air It now flowed away into darkness Lord Adam pointed out how its course Had been diverted and made to run down Underground to the sea We might let it come back to the moat Said Edward It used to run that way It says so in the history of Arden We must decide that later Said his father Who had a long blue lawyers letter in his pocket End of chapter 10 The Noble Deed Recording by Chris Clark Sitting born Kent United Kingdom Section 17 Of Harding's Luck This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer Please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sandra Estenson Harding's Luck By Edith Nesbit Chapter 11 Lord Arden There was a lot of talk and a lot of letter writing Before anyone seemed to be able to be sure Who was Lord Arden If the father of Edward and Elfrida Had wanted to dispute about it No doubt there would have been enough work To keep the lawyers busy for years And seas of ink would have spilled And thunders of eloquence spent on the question But as the present Lord Arden Was an honest man And only too anxious That Dickie should have everything that belonged to him Even the lawyers had to cut their work short When Edward saw how his father tried his best To find out the truth about Dickie's birth And how willing he was to give up what he had thought was his own If it should prove to be not his Do you think he was not glad to know That he had done his duty and rescued his cousin And had not, by any meanness or any indecision Brought dishonor on the name of Arden As for Elfrida When she knew the whole story of that night of rescue She admired her brother so much That it made him almost uncomfortable However, she now looked up to him in all things And consulted him about everything And, after all, this is very pleasant from your sister Especially when everyone has been rather in the habit of suggesting That she is better than you are As well as cleverer To Dickie, Lord Arden said Of course, if anything should happen to show I am really Lord Arden You won't desert us, Dickie You shall go to school with Edward and be brought up like my very own son And, like Lord Arden's very own son Dickie lived at the house in Arden Castle And grew to love it more and more He no longer wanted to get away from these present times to those old days When James I was king The times you are born in are always more home-like than any other times can be When Dickie lived miserably at Depford He always longed to go to those old times As a man who is unhappy at home May wish to travel to other countries But a man who is happy in his home does not want to leave And at Arden Dickie was happy The training he had in the old world life Enabled him to take his place And to be unembarrassed with the Ardens and their friends As he was with the Beals and theirs A little shy, the Arden's friends told each other But what fine manners And to think he was only a tramp Lord Arden has certainly done wonders with him So Lord Arden got the credit of all that Dickie had learned From his tutors in James's the first time It is not in the nature of any child To brood continually on the past or the future The child lives in the present And Dickie lived at Arden and loved it And enjoyed himself And Lord Arden brought him a pony So that his lame foot was hardly any drag at all And the other children had a donkey cart And the three made all sorts of interesting expeditions Once they went over to Talbot Court And saw the secret place where Edward Talbot Had hidden his confession About having stolen the Arden baby three generations before Also they saw the portrait of the Lady Talbot Who had been a Miss Arden In rose-colored brocade she was With a green silk petticoat And her powdered hair dressed high over a great cushion But her eyes and mouth were the eyes of Dickie of Depford Lady Talbot was very charming to the children Played hide and seek with them and gave them A delightful and varied tea in the U-arbor I'm glad you wouldn't let me adopt you Richard She said when Alfreda and Edward Had been sent to her garden to get a basket Of peaches to take home with them Because just when I had become entirely attached to you You would have found out your real relations And where would your poor foster mother have been then If I could have stayed with you I would, said Dickie seriously I did like you most awfully even then You are very like the Lady Arden Whose husband was shut up in the tower for the gunpowder plot So they tell me, said Lady Talbot But how do you know it? I don't know, said Dickie confused But you are like her You must have seen a portrait of her There's one in the National Portrait Gallery She was a Delamere And my name was Delamere too Before I was married She was one of the same family you see dear Dickie put his arms around her waist And she sat beside him and laid his head on her shoulder I wish you'd really been my mother, he said And his thoughts were back in the other days With the mother who wore a rough and a hoop Lady Talbot hugged him tenderly My dear Dickie, she said You don't wish it as much as I do There are all sorts of things a chap can't be sure of Things you mustn't tell anyone Secrets, you know, honourable secrets But if it was your own mother, it would be different But if you haven't got a mother You have to decide everything for yourself Won't you let me help you, she asked Dickie, his head on her shoulder, was for one wild moment Tempted to tell her everything The whole story, from beginning to end But he knew that she could not understand it Or even believe it No grown-up person could A chap's own mother might have, perhaps But perhaps not, too I can't tell you, he said at last Only, I don't think I want to be Lord Arden At least, I do, frightfully It's so splendid all the things the Ardens did In history, you know But I don't want to turn people out And you know, Edred came and saved me from those people It feels hateful when I think perhaps they'll have to turn out Just because I happen to turn up Sometimes I feel as if I simply can't bear it You dear child, she said, of course you feel that But don't let your mind dwell on it Don't think about it You're only a little boy Be happy and jolly And don't worry about grown-up things Leave grown-up things to the grown-ups You see, Dickey told her, somehow I've always had to worry about grown-up things What with Beal and one thing and another That was the man you ran away from me to go to? Yes, said Dickey gravely You see, I was responsible for Beal And now, you don't feel responsible anymore? No, said Dickey in business-like tones You see, I've settled Beal in life You can't be responsible for married people They're responsible for each other So now I've got only my own affairs to think of And the Ardens I don't know what to do Do? Why, there's nothing to do Except enjoy yourself and learn your lessons And be happy, she told him Don't worry, your little head Just enjoy yourself And forget that you ever had any responsibilities I'll try, he told her And then the others came back with their peaches And there was nothing more to be said But thank you very much And goodbye Exploring the old smuggler's caves Was exciting and delightful As exploring caves always is It turned out that more than one old man in the village Had heard from his father about the caves And the smuggling that had gone on in those parts In old ancient days But they had not thought at their place to talk about such things And I suspect that in their hearts They did not more than half believe them, old Beal said Why didn't you ask me? I could have told you where they was Only I should have done fear you'd break your precious necks Of course the children were desperately anxious To open up the brickwork and let the stream Come out into the light of day Only their father thought it would be too expensive But Edward and Alfreda worried and bothered In a perfectly gentle and polite way Till at last a very jolly gentleman in spectacles Who came down to spend a couple of days Took their part From the moment he owned himself an engineer Eldred and Alfreda gave him no peace And he seemed quite pleased to be taken to see the caves He pointed out that the removal of the simple dam Would send the water back into the old channel It would be perfectly simple to have the brickwork knocked out And to let the stream find its way back If it could to its old channel And thus down the arched way Which Eldred and Alfreda told him they were certain Was under a mound below the castle You know a lot about it, don't you? He said good humoredly Yes, said Edred simply They all went down to the mound And the engineer then poked and prodded it And said he should not wonder if they were not so far out And then Beal and another man came with spades And presently there was the arch As good as ever And they exclaimed and admired and went back to the caves It was a grand moment When the bricks had been taken out And daylight poured into the cave And nothing remained to break down the dam And let the water run out of the darkness into the sunshine You can imagine With what mixed feelings the children Wondered whether they would rather stay in the cave And see the dam demolished Or stay outside and see the stream rush out In the end the boys stayed within And it was only Alfreda and her father Who saw the stream emerge They sat on a hillock Among the thin hair-bells and wild thyme And sweet lavender-colored gypsy roses With their eyes fixed on the opening in the hillside And waited and waited and waited For a very long time Won't you mind frightfully, daddy? Alfreda asked during this long wait If it turns out that you're not, Lord Arden He paused a moment before he decided to answer her Without reserve Yes, he said I shall mind frightfully And that's just why we must do everything we possibly can To prove that Dickie is the rightful heir So that whether he has the title or I have it You and I may never have to reproach ourselves For having left a single stone unturned To give him his rights, whatever they are And you, yours, daddy, and me, mine If he is Lord Arden I shall probably be appointed his guardian And we shall all live together here just the same Only I shall go back to being plain Arden I believe Dickie is Lord Arden Alfreda began And I am not at all sure That she would have gone on to give her reasons Including the whole story Which the Mulderstorp had told to Dickie But at that moment There was a roaring rushing sound from inside the cave And a flash of shiny silver gleamed across that dark gap in the hillside There was a burst of imprisoned splendor The stream leaped out and flowed right and left over the dry grass Till it lapped in tiny waves against their hillock Like sand castles, as Alfreda observed It spread out in a lake, wider and wider But presently gathered itself together And began to creep down the hill Winding in and out among the hillocks In an ever-deepening stream Come on, childy, let's make for the moat We shall get there first if we run our hardest, Alfreda's father said, and he ran with his little daughter's hand in his They got there first, the stream, knowing its own mind Better and better as it recognized its old road Reached the castle, and by dinnertime All the grass round the castle was under water By teatime the water in the moat was a foot or more deep And when they got up next morning The castle was surrounded by a splendid moat Fifty feet wide, and a stream ran from it In a zigzagged way it is true But still it ran to the lower arch under the mound And disappeared there to run underground into the sea They enjoyed the moat for one whole day And then the stream was damned again And condemned to run underground till next spring By which time the walls of the castle would have been examined And concrete laid to their base Lest the water should creep through and sap the foundations It's going to be a very costly business, it seems Alfreda heard her father say to the engineer And I don't suppose that I ought to do it But I can't resist the temptation I shall have to economize in other directions, that's all When Alfreda had heard this She went to Dickie and Edrid Who were fishing in the cave And told them what she had heard And we must have another try for the treasure She said Whoever has the castle will want to restore it They've got those pictures of it as it used to be And then there are all the cottages to rebuild Dear Dickie, you're so clever Do you think of some way to find the treasure? So Dickie thought And presently he said You once saw the treasure being carried to the secret room In a picture, didn't you? They told him yes Then why didn't you go back to that time and see it really? We hadn't the clothes Everything in our magic depended on clothes Mine doesn't Shall we go? There were lots of soldiers in the picture Said Edrid And fighting I'm not afraid of soldiers Said Alfreda very quickly And you're not afraid of anything, Edrid You know you aren't You can't be Or you couldn't have come after me right into the cave in the middle of the night Come on Stand close together And I'll spread out the moon seeds So Dickie said And they stood And he spread the moon seeds out And he wished to be With the party of men Who were hiding the treasure But before he spread out the seeds He took certain other things in his left hand And held them closely And instantly They were They were standing very close together All three of them In a niche In a narrow dark passage And men went by them Carrying heavy chests And great sacks of leather And bundles tied up in straw And in handkerchiefs The men had long hair And the kind of clothes you know were worn When Charles, the first, was king And the children wore the dresses of that time And the boys had little swords at their sides When the last bundle had been carried The last chest set down with a dump On the stone floor of some room beyond The children heard a door shut And a key turned And then the men came back all together Along the passage And the children followed them Presently Torchlight gave way to daylight As they came out into the open air But they had to come on hands and knees For the path sloped steeply up And the opening was very low The chests must have been pushed or pulled through They could never have been carried The children turned and looked at the opening It was in the courtyard wall The courtyard that was now a smooth grass lawn And not the rough daisy grass plot Dotted with heaps of broken stone and masonry That they were used to see And as they looked Two men picked up a great stone And staggered forward with it And laid it on the stone floor Of the secret passage Just where it ended At the edge of the grass Then another stone And another The stones Fitted into their places Like bits of a Chinese puzzle There was mortar or cement at their edges And when the last stone was replaced No one could tell those stones From the other stones that formed the wall Only the grass in front of them Was trampled and broken Fetch food and break it about Said the man who seemed to be in command That it may look as though the men had eaten here And trampled the grass at other places I give the roundhead dogs another hour To break down our last defense Children, go to your mother This is no place for you They knew the way They had seen it in the picture Edrid and Alfreda Turned to go But Dickie whispered Don't wait for me I've something yet to do And when the soldiers had gone to get food And strew it about As they had been told to do Dickie crept up to the stones that had been removed From which he had never taken his eyes Nelt down And scratched on one of the stones With one of the big nails he had brought in his hand It blunted over And he took another Hiding in the chapel doorway When the men came back with the food Every man to his post And God save us all Cried the captain When the food was spread They clattered off They were in their armor now And Dickie knelt down again And went on scratching with the nail The air was full of shouting And the sound of guns And the clash of armor And a shattering sound Like a giant mallet striking a giant drum A sound that came And came again At five minute intervals And the shrieks of wounded men Dickie pressed up the grass To cover the marks he had made on the stone So low as to be almost underground And quite hidden by the grass roots Then he brushed the stone dust from his hands And stood up The treasure was found And its hiding place marked Now he would find Edrid and Elfride and they would go back Whether he was Lord of Arden or no It was he and no other Who had restored the fallen fortunes of that noble house He turned to go the way his cousins had gone He could see the men at arms Crowding in the archway of the great gate tower From a window to his right A lady leaned Pale with terror And with her were Edrid and Elfride He could just see their white faces He made for the door below that window But it was too late That dull, setting sound came again And this time it was followed by a great crash And great shouting The blue sky showed through the archway Where the tall gates had been And under the arch Was a mass of men shouting Screaming, struggling And the gleam of steel and the scarlet of brave blood Dickie forgot all about the door below the window Forgot all about his cousins Forgot that he had found the treasure And that it was now his business to get himself and the others Safely back to their own times He only saw The house he loved Broken into by men he hated He saw the men he loved Spending their blood like water To defend that house He drew the little sword that hung at his side And shouting An ardent, an ardent He rushed towards the swaying, staggering melee He reached it Just as the leader of the attacking party Had hewn his way through the ardent men And taken his first step on the flagged path of the courtyard The first step was his last He stopped, a big burly fellow In a leather coat and steel round cap And looked bewildered at the little figure coming at him With all the fire and courage of the ardents Burning in his blue eyes The big man laughed and as he laughed Dicky lunged with his sword The way his tutor had taught him And the little sword No tailor's ornament to a court dress But a piece of true steel Went straight and true Up into the heart of that big rebel The man fell, wrenching the blade from Dicky's hand A shout of fury went up from the enemy A shout of pride and triumph from the ardent men Men struggled and fought all about him Next moment Dicky's hands were tied with the handkerchief And he stood there breathless and trembling with pride I have killed a man, he said I have killed a man for the king and for ardent They shut him up in the fuel shed and locked the door Pride and anger filled him He could think of nothing but that one good thrust for the good cause But presently he remembered He had brought his cousins here He must get them back safely But how? On a quiet evening On the road Beale had taught him how to untie hands tied behind the back He remembered the lesson now and set to work But it was slow work And all the time he was thinking Thinking How could he get out? He knew the fuel shed well enough The door was strong There was a beach bar outside But it was not roughed with tile or lead As the rest of the castle was And Dicky knew something about thatch Not for nothing had he watched the men thatching the oast house By the medway When his hands were free He stood up and felt for the pins that fastened the thatch Suddenly his hands fell by his side Even if he got out How could he find his cousins? He would only be found by the rebels and locked away more securely He lay down on the floor Lay quite still there It was despair This was the end of all his cleverness He had brought Edrid and Alfreda into danger And he could not get them back again His anger had led him to defy the round heads And to gratify his hate of them He had sacrificed two who trusted him He lay there a long time And if he cried a little It was very dark in the fuel house And there was no one to see him He was not crying however But thinking, thinking, thinking And trying to find some way out When he heard a little scratch Scratching on the corner of the shed He sat up and listened The scratching went on He held his breath Could it be that someone was trying to get in to help him? Nonsense Of course it was only a rat Next moment a voice spoke so close to him That he started and all but cried out Bide where you be lad Bide still Tis only me Old mold warp of ardent You be a bold lad By my faith So you be Never an ardent better Never an ardent of them all Oh mold warp Dear mold warp, do help me I led them into this Help me to get them back safe Do, do, do So I will Don't there ain't no reason in getting all fluster It ain't fitting for a lad As his face death seems as what you have Said the voice I've made a little tunnel for you I have Here in this air corner You come cat and wise Cross the floor and you'll feel it You crawl down it and outside you be sure enough Dicky went towards the voice And sure enough As the voice had said There was a hole in the ground Just big enough it seemed For him to crawl down on hands and knees I'll go a four Said mold warp You come ardor There's not to be afraid of lord ardent Am I really lord ardent Said Dicky pausing Sure as I'm alive you be The mole answered Your uncle will tell it Y'all deloys reasons tomorrow morning As sure as sure Come along then There ain't no time to lose So Dicky went down on his hands and knees And crept down the mole tunnel Of soft sweet smelling earth And then along And then up And there they were in the courtyard There too were Edward and Alfreda The three children hugged each other And then turned to mold warp How can we get home? The old way he said From the sky above A swan carriage suddenly swooped In with you said mold warp Swan carriages can take you from one time to another Just as well as one place to another But we don't often use them Cause why? Swans is that contrary They won't go invisible Not for no magic they won't So everybody can see them Still we can't pick nor choose When it's danger like this air In with you Be off with you This is the last you'll see oh me Be off before the soldier sees you They squeezed into the swan carriage All three The white wings spread And the whole echepage rose Into the air Unseen by any one But a round head sentinel Who with great presence of mind gave the alarm And was kicked for his pains Because when the guard turned out There was nothing to be seen The swans flew far too fast For the children to see where they were going And when the swans began to flap More slowly so that the children could have seen If there had been anything to see There was nothing to be seen Because it was quite dark And the air was very cold But presently a light showed ahead And next moment they were in the cave And stepped out of the carriage On the exact spot where Dickey had set out the moon seeds And Tinkler and the white seal The swan carriage went back up the cave With a swish and rustle of wings And the children went down the hill As quickly as they could Which was not very quickly Because of Dickey's poor lame foot The boy who had killed a Cromwell's man With his little sword had not been lame Arrived in the courtyard Dickey proudly led the way And stooped to examine the stones Near the ruined arch That had been the chapel door Alas! There was not a sign of the inscription Which Dickey had scratched on the stone When the round heads were batting At the gates of Arden Castle Then, Edward said, Aha! In a tone of triumph I took notice too, he explained It's the fifth stone from the chapel door Under the little window With the Arden arms covered over it There's no other window with that over it I'll get the cold chisel He got it And when he came back Dickey was on his knees by the wall And he had dug with his hand And uncovered the stone Where he had scratched with the nail And there was the mark Nineteen R.D. O.8 Only the nail had slipped once or twice While he was doing the nine So that it looked much more like a five Fifteen R.D. O.8 There, he said, That's what I scratched That, said Idrid Why? That's always been there We found that when we were digging about Trying to find the treasure Quite at the beginning Didn't we Elf? And Elfride agreed that this was so Well, I scratched it anyway, said Dickey Now then, let me go ahead with the chisel Edward let him He knew how clever Dickey was with his hands For had he not made a work box For Elfride and a tool chest for Edrid Both with lids that fitted Dickey got the point of the chisel Between the stones and pride and pressed Here and there and at the other end Till the stone moved forward a little at a time And they were able to get a hold of it And drag it out Behind was darkness A hollow Dickey plunged his arm in I can feel the door, he said It's all right Let's fetch father, suggested Elfride He will enjoy it so So he was fetched Elfride burst into the library Where her father was busy with many lawyers Letters and papers And also with the lawyer himself A stout, jolly looking gentleman in a tweed suit Not a bit like the long, lean, Disagreeable black coated lawyers you read about in books Please daddy, she cried, we've found the treasure Come and look What treasure? And how often have I told you not to interrupt me When I am busy Oh well, said Elfride I only thought it would amuse you, daddy We found a bricked up place And there's a door behind And I'm almost sure it's where they hid the treasure When Cromwell's wicked men took the castle There's a legend to that effect, said Elfride's father To the lawyer who was looking interested You must forgive us if our family enthousiasms obliterate our manners Have you not said good morning to Mr. Roscoe, Elfride? Good morning, Mr. Roscoe, said Elfride cheerfully I thought it was the engineer's day and not the lawyer's I beg your pardon You wouldn't mind me bursting in If you knew how very important the treasure is To the fortunes of our house The lawyer laughed I'm deeply interested in buried treasure It would be a great treat to me If Lord Arden would allow me to assist in the search for it There's no search now, said Elfride Because it's found We've been searching for ages Oh, daddy, do come You'll be sorry afterwards if you don't If Mr. Roscoe doesn't mind then, said her father indulgently And the two followed Elfride Believing that they were just going to be Kind and to take part in some childish game of make-believe Their feelings were very different When they peeped through the hole Where Dickie and Edrid had removed two more stones And saw the dusty gray of the wooden door beyond Very soon all the stones were out and the door was disclosed The lock plate bore the arms of Arden And the door was not to be shaken We must get a lock, Smith, said Lord Arden The big key with the arms on it, cried Elfride One of those in the iron box Mightn't that? One flew to fetch it A good deal of oil and more patience were needed Before the key consented to turn in the lock But it did turn And the low passage was disclosed It hardly seemed a passage at all So thick and low hung The curtain of dusty cobwebs But with brooms and lanterns and much sneezing and choking The whole party got through to the door of the treasure room And the other key unlocked that And there, in real fact, was the treasure Just as the children had seen it The chests and the boxes and the leather and sacks And the bundles done up in straw and in handkerchiefs The lawyer, who had come on a bicycle, went off on it at racing speed To tell the bank at Cliffville to come and fetch the treasure And to bring police to watch over it Till it should be safe in the bank vaults And I'm child enough, he said before he went As well as cautious enough to beg you Not to bring any of it out till I come back And not to leave guarding the entrance till the police are here So when the treasure at last saw the light of day It saw it under the eyes of policemen and bank managers And all the servants and all the family And the bills and true and half the village beside Who had got one of the strange happenings at the castle And had crowded in through the now undefended gate It was a glorious treasure, gold and silver plate Jewels and beautiful armor along with a pile of old parchment Which Mr. Roscoe said were worth more than all the rest put together For they were the title deeds of great estates And now, cried Beale, let's have a cheer for Lord Arden Long may he enjoy his find, as I, it, it, array The cheers went up, given with a good heart I thank you all, said the father of Edred and Alfreda I thank you all from my heart, and you may be sure that you shall Share in this good fortune The old lands are in the market, they will be bought back And every house on Arden land shall be made sound And weather tight and comfortable The castle will be restored almost certainly And the fortune of Arden's tenancy will be the fortunes of Arden castle Another cheer went up, but the speaker raised his hand And silence waited his next words I have something else to tell you, he said And as well now as later This gentleman, Mr. Roscoe, my solicitor, has this morning brought me news That I am not Lord Arden Low murmurs of dissatisfaction from the crowd I have no claim to the title, he went on grimly My father was a younger son The real heir was kidnapped And supposed to be dead So I inherited It is the grandson of that kidnapped heir Who is Lord Arden I know his whole history, I know what he has done To do honor to himself and to help others Hear hear from Beal I know all his life And I am proud that he is the head of our house He will do for you, when he is of age All that I would have done And in the meantime, I am his guardian This is Lord Arden, he said, throwing his arms around the shoulders of Dickie Little lame Dickie, who stood there leaning on his crutch, pale as death This is Lord Arden, come to his own Cheer for him, men, as you never cheered before Three cheers for Richard Lord Arden End of Chapter 11 Chapter 12 of Harding's Luck This is a LibriVox recording While LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sandra Estenson Harding's Luck by Edith Nesbet Chapter 12 The End What a triumph for little lame Dickie of Depford You'd think, perhaps, that he was happy as well as proud For proud he certainly was With those words and those cheers ringing in his ears He had just done the best he could And tried to help Beal and the dogs And the man who had thought himself to be Lord Arden had said I am proud that he should be the head of our house And all the ardent folk had cheered It was worth having lived for The unselfish kindness and affection of the man he had displaced The love of his little cousins The devotion of Beal The fact that he was Lord of Arden And would soon be Lord of all the old acres The knowledge that now he would learn all he chose to learn And hold in his hand some of the destinies of these village folk All loyal to the name of Arden The thought of all that he could be and do All these things you think should have made him happy They would have made him happy but for one thing All this was one at the expense of those whom he loved best The children who were his dear cousins and playfellows The man their father who had moved heaven and earth To establish Dickie's claim to the title and had been content Quietly to stand aside and give up the title Castle, lands and treasure to the little cripple from Depford Dickie thought of that And almost only of that in the days that followed The life he had led in that dream world When James I was king Seemed to him now a very little thing compared with the present glory Of being the head of the house of Arden Of being the Providence The loving overlord of all these good peasant folk Who loved his name Yet the thought of those days When he was playing Richard Arden Son of Sir Richard Arden Living in that beautiful house at Depford Fredded at all his joy in his present state That and the thought of all he owed to him Who had been Lord of Arden until he came With his lame foot and his airship Fredded his soul as rust Fred's steel These people had received him Loved him and been kind to him When he was only a tramp boy And he was repaying them by taking away from them priceless possessions For so he esteemed the lordship of Arden And the old lands and the old castle Suppose he gave them up The priceless possessions Suppose he went away to that sure retreat That was still left of him the past It was almost a sacrifice To give up the here and now for the far off The almost forgotten All that happy other life That had once held all for which he cared Seemed thin and dreamlike Beside the vivid glories of the life here and now Yet he remembered how once that life In King James's time had seemed the best thing in the world And how he had chosen to come back from it To help a helpless middle-aged, ne'er-do-wheel of a tramp, Beale Well, he had helped Beale He had done what he had set out to do For Beale's sake he had given up the beautiful life For the sordid life And Beale was a new man A man that Dickie had made Surely now he could give up one beautiful life for another For the sake of these his flesh and blood Who had so readily, so kindly, so generously Set him in the place that had been theirs More and more it came home to Dickie That this was what he had to do To go back to the times when James I was king And never to return to these times at all It would be very bitter It would be like leaving home never to return It was exile Well, was Richard Lord Arden to be afraid of exile Or of anything else? He must not just disappear either Or they would search and search for him And never know that he was gone forever He must slip away and let the father Of Edward and Elfride be, as he had been Lord Arden He must make it appear that he, Richard Lord Arden, was dead He thought over this carefully But if he seemed to be dead Edward and Elfride would be very unhappy Well, they should not be unhappy He would tell them And then they would know that he had behaved well And as in Arden should Don't be hard on him for longing For just this little human praise There are few of us who can do without it Who can bear not to let someone very near and dear Know that we have behaved rather decently on those occasions When that is what we have done It took Dickie a long time to think out all this Clearly and with no mistakes But at last his mind was made up And then he asked Edward and Elfride To come up to the cave with him Because he had something to tell them When they were all there Sitting on the smooth sand by the underground stream Dickie said Look here I'm not going on being Lord Arden You can't help it, said Edward Yes I can You know how I went and lived in King James's time Well, I'm going there again For good You shan't, said Elfride I'll tell Father I've thought of all that, said Dickie And I'm going to ask the Moldawerps To make it so that you can't tell And I can't stay here and feel that I'm turning you and your Father out And think what Edward did for me in this very cave No, my mind's made up It was And they could not shake it But we shan't ever see you again Dickie admitted that this was so An old Dickie, said Elfride with deep concern You won't ever see us again either Think of that Whatever will you do without us That, said Dickie, won't be so bad as you think The Elfride and Edward who live in those times Are as like you as two pins No, they aren't really Oh, don't make it any harder Well, I've got to do it There was that in his voice Which silenced and convinced them They felt that he had indeed to do it I could never be happy here Never, he went on But I shall be happy there And you'll never forget me Though there are one or two things I want you to forget And I'm going now Oh, not now Wait and think, Elfride implored I've thought of nothing else for a month, said Dickie And began to lay out the moon-seeds on the smooth sand Now, he said when the pattern was complete I shall hold Tinkler and the white seal in my hand And take them with me When I've gone, you can put the moon-seeds in your pocket And go home When they ask you where I am Say, I am in the cave They will come and find my clothes And they'll think I was bathing and got drowned I can't bear it, said Elfride, bursting into sobs I can't and I won't I shan't be really dead, silly, Richard told her We're bound to meet again some day People who love each other can't help meeting again Old nurse told me so And she knows everything Goodbye, Elfride Goodbye, Elfride He kissed her Goodbye, Adrid, old chap I'd like to kiss you, too, if you don't mind I know boys don't But in the times I'm going Men kiss each other Raleigh and Drake did, you know The boys kissed shyly and awkwardly And now, goodbye, said Richard And stepped inside the crossed triangles of moon-seeds I wish, he said slowly Oh, dear mold-warps of ardent Grant me these last wishes I wish, Adrid and Elfride May never be able to tell what I have done And I wish that in a year They may forget what I have done And let them not be unhappy about me Because I shall be very happy I know I shall He added doubtfully And paused Oh, Dicky, don't The other children cried out together He went on I wish my uncle may restore the castle And take care of the poor people So there aren't any more poor people And everyone's comfortable Just as I meant to do He took off his cap and coat And flung them outside the circle His boots, too I wish I may go back to James I's time And live out my life there And do honor in my life and death To the house of ardent The children blinked Dicky and Tinkler and the white seal were gone And only the empty ring of moon-seeds Lay on the sand Shocking, bathing fatality The newspapers said Lord Arden drowned The body not yet recovered It never was recovered, of course Alfreda and Edred said nothing No wonder their elders said The shock was too great and too sudden The father of Edred and Alfreda Is Lord Arden now He has done all that Dicky would have He has made Arden the happiest And most prosperous village in England And the stream beside which Dicky bade farewell To his cousin's flows A broad moat round the waters of the castle Restored now to all its own splendor There's a tablet in the church Which tells of the death by drowning of Richard 16th Lord Arden The children read it every Sunday for a year And knew that it did not tell the truth But by the time the moon-seeds had grown and flowered And shed their seeds in the castle garden They ceased to know this And talked often, sadly and fondly, of dear cousin Dicky Who was drowned At the same time they ceased to remember That they had ever been out of their own time Into the past So that if they were to read this book They would think it all nonsense and makeup And not in the least recognize the story as their own But whatever else is forgotten Dicky is remembered And he who gave up his life here For the sake of those he loved Will live as long as life shall Beat in the hearts of those who loved him And Dicky himself I see him in his rough and cloak With his little sword by his side Living out the life he has chosen In the old England When James I was king I see him growing in grace and favor Versed in book learning Expert in all noble sports and exercises For Dicky is not lame now I see the roots of his being Taking fast hold of his chosen life And the life that he renounced receding Receeding till he can hardly see it anymore I see him at all youths straight and strong Lending the old nurse his arm to walk In the trim beautiful garden at Depford And I hear him say When I was a little boy nurse I had mighty strange dreams of another life than this Forget them, she says Dreams go to the making of all proper men But now there are a man Forget the dreams of thy childhood And play the man to the glory of God And of the house of Arden And let thy dreams be of the life to come Compared to which all lives on earth Are only dreams And in that life All those who have loved Shall meet Shall meet And be together forever more In that life When all the dear and noble dreams of the earthly life Shall at last and forever Be something more than dreams The end End of chapter 12 Recording by Sandra Estenson End of Harding's Luck By Edith Nesbit