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W E ST M I N S T E R
PR I N T E D BY N I C H OL S AN D S ON S
u , P AR L I AM E N T S T R E E T
C ON T E N T S OF V OL . I II .
C H A P T ER I .
A L I TT L E Dl N NE li
C HA PTE R II .
m m: yo u T E M P TA T I ON
C H A PT E R III .
lul S U M D OW N S
'
C H A FT E R IV .
E DIT H G ET S O VE R IT
C H A PT E R V
A B LACK AS L O T
C HA PT E R VI .
“
T HE P A LA C E S T A K E S
C H A PT E R VI I .
THE GO LD C UP
C H AP T E R VI I I .
T H E N E \\ 8 0 1“ I S AN I H I L W AN A
C H A PTER IX .
T m: L E AG U E I :
C HA PTER X .
A PE R I L O US R I D E
5 52 7 02
VI C ON TE N T S .
C H AP T E R X I .
A I H T A TTA C K
N G
C H AP T E R
T HE NEW S ( OM E S
‘
H OM E
C H A PTE R XI I I .
C ON V A LE S C E N CE
C HA P T E R X I V .
T U N N L E T ON C HANG ES I T S OP I N I ON
C H AP T E R X V .
THE LEG E R
C H A P T E R X VI .
I
T H E B V OU AC
C H A P T E R X VI I .
T HE S T OR M I N G OF THE K RAA L
C ON C L U S I ON
A F AL S E S T AR T .
CH AP T E R I .
A L ITT L E D I NN E R .
N E X T week b ro u gh t two t h ings to Ma u rice

E nderby fi rst a j u b il an t letter from old
: ,
J ohn Madingley enclosing a very h andsom e

,
”
c h equ e o n acco u nt of t h e “
C h ampagn es ,
”
“
an d t h oug h , h e added ,
“
I was not t h ere to
see, and indeed ne v er h a v e seen t h e Wan
dering Nun run ex cept t h at tim e at
G oodwood yet , I am co n vinced s h e is t h e
best I ever owned ; l et h er only keep we l l
an d t h e O aks is a m oral certainty for h er
V OL 1 1 1
. . B
2 A FALS E ST A R T .
”
next spri n g . T h e ot h er letter w as from
Bob G rafton and ran ,
as follows :
DEA R M AU RIC E ,
I am afraid yo u are abo u t t h e m ost

h opelessly ruined man of my acquaintan ce .
A m an w h o h as only to si t sti l l an d see
h u ndred po u n d n otes dropping into

- hi s l ap
is certain t o deteriorate ; h e is bound to get
out of t h e idea of e v er earni n g h is li v ing
in future . T h e filly is a clipper and m ade ,
a perfect s h ow of h er fi eld on Tuesday .
By t h e way I m et young B alders at D on

,
caster and h e tells me t h at yo u are about

to lea v e T u n n l e t on . W h at does t h at mean ?
A re you tired of it or h as t h e petulant l ittle
place tired of yo u ? W h en we cast out
from i ts
bosom your most v irulent foe
R ic h ard Mading l ey —i f t h at really is h i s
n ame —I t h oug h t t h at T u n n l e ton wou l d be

bound to acknowledge i ts obligation to yo u .
D o you know I s aw t h at precio u s yo u ng

A L i TTL E D IN N E R . 3
scoundrel in t h e outer ring on the L eger
day ; h e was in close conference wit h P ic k
and one or two m ore of t h e sam e kidney ;
you may depen d u pon it h e is a regular

h anger of t h e turf : [ don t mean of t h e
’
-
on
j acka l species but h e ,

h as n o more rig h t to
t h e socia l status h e assum ed in T u n n l et o n
t h an h e probab l y h as to t h e nam e of R ic h ard
Mading l ey . I s h a l l be g l ad to h ear about

w h y you are l eaving T u n n l e to n , also w h at
are your intended m o v em ents . I presume
you are i n searc h of a fr e s h curacy or , c an
it be possible t h at you h a v e made u p your

mind to resign t h e p rofession ? K inde s t
regards to Mrs . E nderby , and t el l h er h er

pretty turn out requires n o outriders t h oug h
-
,
I admit t h e “ f an d e ri n Nun is enoug h to

g
tempt h er fortunate ow ners into t h e m ost
p rofuse expenditure .
E ver y our s ,
R O B E RT GRAF T O N .
4 A FA L S E S T A R T .
As h e finis h ed t h e letter Maurice co u ld

not h e lp t h inking t h at per h aps t h e on e goo d
t h ing he h ad done at T u n n l e t on was com
pelling R ic h ard Madingley to leave t h e
p l ace and , so sa v ing E dit h M ol e co m b e from
rus h ing on h er fate . He l itt l e d reamt
of h ow if c h ance h ad not i ntervene d

, ,
h is
efforts would h av e been una v ailing an d
.
t h at but for a v alued c l ient of h er fat h er s

’
h aving pro v ed rat h er lo g win ded n -

,
E dit h
would h ave been t h e partner of Dick Ma

d i n gl e y
’
s compulsory retreat . T h e person
w h o n ot a lit t le astonis h ed Maurice at th is
j u n cture w as Mr . M ol e c om b e ; t h e banker
h ad cal l ed u p on t h e E n d e rb ys at t h e insti
gati e n of h is partner ,
F rank C hyl t o n , w h en
t h ey fi rst m ade t h eir a p pearance in T u n n le
ton and w h en t h e rumours to Maurice s

,
’
discredit arose t h ere cou l d be no doubt

t h at h e rat h er d ropped t h em . H e did not
’
tak e a rabid vie w of M aurice s conduct l ike
A L ITT LE D I N N E R . 5
G eneral Prau n , and t h oug h t , p ro b ab l v , t h at

re p ort con s iderab l y exaggerated h is mi s
d o ing s but h e
,
d id t h ink t h at Mr . E nderby
w as n ot exact l y an acquaintance to cu l t i
vate . He w as cautious an d civi l enoug h
w h en t h ey m et ,
bu t he no l onger asked t he
E n d e rb v s t o h i s h ouse . Now a reaction

h ad arisen in h i s m ind ; h e knew t h at
Maurice w as b on d fi d c J o h n M ad i n gl e y s ’
n e p h ew by marri age j ust as h e kn ew t h at

,
Dick w as an impostor . V ery sore abou t

t he som ew h at ridiculo u s position h e h ad bee n
p l aced i n ,
h e h ad a sort of h azy idea t h a t
h e o w ed re p arat i on to t h e rig h t m an ; he
fe l t t h a t h e h ad b een sw ay ed very muc h i n
h i s j u d gment b y R i c h ard Mad i n gl ey and , ,
be i ng a t o l erab l y c l ear sig h t ed m an t h oug h t

-
,
t h at Maurice h ad p er h ap s h ad h ard j u s tice

d ea l t out to h im . Mr J arro w for i nstance
.
, ,
w ou l d h ard l y h ave t aken h i s curate s p art ’
w i t h ou t being s a ti sfi ed th at t he a ll eg at i o ns
6 A FALS E S T ART .
against h im were untrue ; as for t h is last

scandal h e h ad taken t h e trouble
,
to make
a few inquiries concerning it an d easily ,
”
ascertained t h at “
frequenting meant t h at
h e h ad been once seen coming out of “
The
Spotted D og .
”
AS Mr Mol ec o m b e rem arked
.
to h imself ,
“
A gent l eman don t live close ’
u po n a t wel v emont h in a place like T u nnle
ton wit h out t h e fact of h is frequenting

p blui c h ou s e s being known .
Maurice unab l e t o t h ink of any ot h er

,
reason for t h e banker s increased cordiality

’
,
at last attributed it t o t h e satisfactory

balance standing to h is account still h e , ,
w as rat h er taken aback at B essie s getting ’
a note from M rs Mol e c om b e asking t h em

.
to wai v e cerem ony and com e an d dine i n

a friendly way .
T h ere are w h eels wit h in w h els e v en in e
an in v itation to dinner ; and t h e conceit

W o u l d be taken out of a good m an y of us
A L ITTL E D I N N E R . 7
cou l d we know t h e real reason w h y we

are hi d d e n t o t h e feast . We s h ould be
astonis h ed to find h ow rarely it i s for our
own sakes . It was quite true t h at Mr .
Mol e c o m b e was disposed to be m u c h more

cordia l to t h e E n d e r b ys t h an h e h ad been ,
but for t h is i nvitat i on t h ey were indebted

i n a great measure to h is da u g h ter . E dit h
M o l e co m b e was m uc h depressed about t h e

tang l e of h er l ove a ffair . T h at s h e was
very earnest in h er l ove for D ick Mading l ey
was e v in ced by h er consenting to elope wit h
h im . She h ad h eard not h in g of hi m since
t h at brief peremptory w h isper i n T u n n l e ton
S tation w h en h e h ad sli p ped h er ticket i nto

h er h an d .
—
S h e h ad h eard i t is diffi c ul t to
sa
y q uite h ow but young l adies in
,
E dit h
’
s
situation do contrive to get n ews of t h eir
truant l o v ers in m arvellous fas h ion —t h at
Mr . E nderby an d a strange gent l eman h ad
ca ll ed u p on R ic h ard M ading l e y on ly a d a y
8 A FALSE S T AR T .
or two before hi s departure . N e w E di t h
M ol e c om b e k new very w el l t h at Ma u ric e

w as n o friend of Dick Madingley sh e
;
k new , on t h e contrary t h at t h e ,
E n d e rb ys
h ad b een rat h er pointedly excluded from

t h e two or t h ree garden parties - D ick h ad
gi v en . It was t h erefore decidedly not as
, ,
a friend t h at Maurice would call t h ere . She
fretted dreadfu l ly o v er t h is mysterious silen ce

on t h e part of h er l over ; h e m u st h a v e seen
h er fat h er at t h e station and h ave under ,
stood w h y sh e h ad to abandon t h eir sc h em e .
S h e w as u nable to write to h im as ,
sh e did
n ot kn ow hi s address ; but h e if h e c h ose , ,
c oul d h a v e n o di fficulty in letting h er h ear

W h ate v er Mr E n d e rb y s bus i
’
from h im . .
ness mig h t h a v e been it was possibl e t h at

,
it mig h t t h row som e lig h t upon h er l o v er s ’
si l ence . In t h e course of t h e evening ,

s he
t h ou g h t ,
sh e s h ould h a v e n o d i fficulty i n
questio n ing M aurice on t h is point .
A LITTL E D INNER . 9
E n d e rb ys ,
’
The at M au rice s i nstigation ,
accepted the i n v itation . He was quite as
curious t o h av e s om e conver s ati on wi t h

E dit h M o l e c o m b e as s h e w as wit h h im . He
kn ew her but s l ig h tl y an d h ad taken n o,
p articu l ar interest i n h er ti ll t h e event s o f

t h e l a st few days h ad br o ug h t h er s o promi
n en t ly to h is n otice .
Th e on l y peo pl e asked to m eet t h em were

th e C hyl t o n s . T h ese acted as a sort of con
n ect n i g link between t h e E n d e rb ys an d
t h eir h ost ,
an d ,
as t h e banker ke p t an
u ndeni able cook ,
t he litt l e dinn er p a s sed
o ff gai l y . A regret wa s ex p ressed at t h e
com i ng de p ar t ure of Maurice and h i s wife ,
but t h e subj ect w as n ot undu l y d w elt u p on .
R ic h ard Madingl ey an d h is m is d em ean o ur s
w ere n at u ra ll y n ot al l uded to and in s h ort

, ,
w h en t h e g ent l em en j oin ed t h e l adies i n t he

.
drawing room everyt h ing h ad gon e off m o st

-
,
socia bl y an d pl e a s an tl y . M r Mol e c om b e
.
10 A F A L SE ST A RT .
was no niggard , h e t h oroug h ly enj oyed

entertaining ,
and t h oug h
,
h e would h ave
been puzzled to explai n w h at h ad in duced
h im to gi v e t h is litt l e banquet yet h e h ad ,
got on v ery well wit h Maurice and h ad ,
com e to t h e concl usion t h at gentleman w as a
v ery good fellow . Taking up h is fa v ourite

p osition on t h e h ear t h rug Mr M o l ec om b e , .
rat h er confused Mrs C hyl t o n and Mrs . .
E nderby by fa v ouring t h em wit h h is views
on t h e politica l state of t h e country w h i l e ,
E dit h carried Maurice o ff to a distan t table

to look o v er p h otograp h s . She was a young
l ady of considerab l e determination and l ost ,
n o time i n b re ac h i n g t h e subj ect t h at was

n earest h er h eart .
”
Mr E nderby
“
.
,
She said in a low v oice ,
I h a v e one question to ask you . Will you

”
answer it ?
“
If it really is only one question ,
re
j oined Maurice smilin g
, ,
I t h in k I m ig h t
A L ITT LE D I N N E R .
11
s ay yes ; but one q ue s tion i s very a p t to

”
l ead to a string .
“
W h y did you call u p on Mr Madingl ey .
l ast week ? He was n o friend of your s

sure l y
”
“
Certainly n ot ,
said Maurice ,
“
I called
”
to see h im on b u s iness .
“
T h at is n o an s w c ,
replie d t h e girl
”
quic k ly ,
“
w h at business ?
“
T h at is anot h er question and I must ,
”
t h ink a m om ent before I an swer it .
T h ere was a pause of s everal seconds an d ,
t h en Maurice continued
“
I am not sure t h at i t woul d be fair
to tel l you t h at . L ike everybod y else i n
T u n n l e ton , I am of cou rse aware of t h e rel a
tion in w h ic h you l ate l y stood to h im . I
s h oul d be exceeding l y sorry to say anyt h ing
t h at mig h t h urt your fee l ings and t h erefore , ,
if you p l ease ,
we w il l l ea v e t h e subj ect
”
w h ere it is .
12 A FALS E S T AR T .
No no , ,
S h e said quick l y ,
tell me a l l
w h et h er for good or evi l I h ave a r i g h t to
”
kno w w h at m en sa
y concerning h im .
Again Maurice h esitated for some litt l e

time . A t l ast h e answered slowly ,
P er
h aps you are rig h t you oug h t to know ,
. If
I gi ve you p ain forgive m e . A t any rate I
W 1 ll be brief . I saw R ic h ard M ading l ey , i n
c om p any wit h a friend of m ine to inform ,
h im t h at h e w as down h ere u nder false

co l ours and t h at it was
,
my duty to unmask
h im before al l T u n n l eton , unl ess h e t h oug h t
p roper to avo i d suc h scanda l by l eaving t h e
”
pl ace in f o rty e i g h t h ours
-
.
A nd w h a t i nduced you to tell suc h a l ie

as t h at 9 said E dit h , wit h q uivering li p s .
I h ad to l erab l e proof of w h at I asserted ,
and t h at M r Madingley t h oug h t t h ere was

.
some trut h in it was p roved by h i s ac
ce
p t i n
g my terms and l eaving T u n n l e to n
wit h i n t h e ti m e s p ecified . We wi ll d ro p t h e
14 A FALS E S TAR T .
to a feeling t h at it is too la t e for yo u to turn

back now .
“
Yo u forget t h at I am only i n t h e
n o v itiate and ,
n ot as yet actual l y e l ected to
t h e ministry .
Bessie said n o more b u t ,

she still h ad h er
doubts as to w h et h er h er h usband would be
rig h t i n doin g t h is t h ing .
E dit h M ol e c om b e retired to h er own

room as soon as t h e v isitors h ad lef t ; but it
w as v ery late t h at nig h t before s he soug h t
h er pil l ow . S h e ha d h ad h er inter v iew wit h
M au rice E nderby ,
and for t h e first tim e
u nbelief in h er lo v er s p rang u p in h er min d .
Sh e h ad been v ery muc h impressed by Mau

rice s man n er ; u nlike h er fat h er h e h ad
’
h esitated at S peaking at all about R ic h ard
Madingley w h en h e did speak it was in t h e

q u iet resol u te tones of a man confident of
,
h is assertions and of h is power to p ro v e

t h em . He h ad passed o v er h er i ns u lt an d ,
A L ITT L E D I N N E R . 15
’
E dit h s face blus h ed even now as s h e t h oug h t .
h ow very rude s h e h ad b een to h im i n h er

own h ome . Care l ess of t h at ,
h e h ad been
on l y anxious to warn h er t h at h er l over was
not w h at h e represented h imself to be and ,
to caution h er against trusting in h is words .
T h at said h e h ad evident l y n o wis h to touc h

f urt h er on t h e subj ect Cou l d it be so
. I Vas
it t h e o l d stor y ? Had s h e also set up for

h er s e l f a fal se ido l and fal l en down an d
wors h i p ped ? She h ad refused to believe

h er fat h er ,
she h ad refused to believe all
stories to Dick M ad in gl e y s de t riment t h at’
reac h ed h er ears b u t Ma u rice E nderby h ad

cast doubts into h er mind and for t h e first ,
time s h e felt t h at it was well h er future was

yet i n h er own h ands .
G enerals Maddox and P r au n were muc h

ex ercised i n t h eir minds w h en t h ey m et
upon t h e P romenade t h e m orning after t h e
’
banker s l ittle dinner . T o h a v e given a
16 A F A LS E S T A R T .
s tranger a m u tto n c h op -
in T u n n l e ton u n
known to t h e co m munity wou l d h a v e been

di ffic u lt . Mr Mol e c o m b e s e n tertai n m ent
.
’
,
it need scarcely be said , w as already talked

abou t
“
I really am surprise d at M o l e c om b e ,
said G eneral Maddox . T h ink of a respect

abl e m an like h im entertaining a dissolute
young man like E nderby, a perfect scandal
to hi s clot h . U pon my h ono u r I don t ,
’
”
k now w h at societ y is c o ming to .
“
S h amef u l ! disgracef u l ! I ca l l it ,
re
p lied G enera l Pr au n , angrily .

“
T h at is
w h ere it is ,
sir ; t h e plutocracy is p laying
t h e v ery devil wit h t h e country . M ole !
comb e is a man of b u s i ness ; M ol e c o m b e is a

m am mon wors h ipper . W h a t does M o l e c o m b e
care abou t a m an s private c h aracter ’
as lo n g
as h e keeps a good swinging balance at h i s
bank ? W h at does he care sir , ? ans w er
m e t h at ; ”
an d G ener al Prau n in fl icted
A L ITTL E D INNER . 17
sundry s e v ere punc h es on t h e flags at h is

feet as if ex h orting t h e very stones to
,
ri s e
and bear testimony on h is be h alf . I tell

”
you w h at Maddox , ,
h e contin u ed lo w erin g
,
’
h is tone ,
“
if B eelzeb u b s account stood at
o v er four figures ,
it ’
s my impression Mole
combe wo u ld ask h im to dinner
G eneral M addox s h ook h is h ead solemnly ,
an d said gently ,
“
Too true I am afraid, ;
but M o l e c o m b e will live to disco v er t h at
’
a gambler s acco u nt is liable to consi d erable
fl uctuations and wit h t h is exc h ange of
amiable senti m ents t h e two v eterans sepa
rated .
V OL . III .
CH A P T E R I I .
R I P E F O R T E M P TA T I O N .
A U T U M N wit h all t h e glories of

,
its dying
tints h as dep arted
, ,
a few last lingering
lea v es h a v e fluttered lifeless to t h e ground ;
h edge an d tree stand stark and bare grimly ,
defying t h e c h ill embrace of winter w h ic h

now t h reatens t h em . T h e markets are
glutted wit h p h easants ; t h e C h ristmas tur
key and t h e C h ristmas h olly are already
s h adowed on t h e h orizon and t h e C h ristmas
,
bills , m ore s u rel y to b e depe n ded upon t h an

R I PE F OR TE M P TAT I O N . 19
eit h er turkey or sausages l oom imminent ,
in t h e near futurity . The E n d e r bys h av e

p aid t h eir farewell calls h a v e wis h ed t h eir
,
friends good bye h ave s h aken t h e dust of

-
,
T u n n l eton from t h eir feet and left t h eir ,
c h aracters be h ind t h em . M u c h debate about

t h ese latter sti l l raging i n T u n n l eton , for
G eneral Sh r e w s t e r an d F rank C hyl t o n h ave
bot h now s p oken out and n arrated t h e
singu l ar story of Jo h n Mad i n gl e y s wed ’
ding present . It is kno w n now h ow t h e

E n d e rb ys sudden l y became possessed of
suc h command of m oney ; it is known now
w h at induced Maurice s strange interest in ’
t h e turf ; it is kn own now w h a t was t h e

”
cause of t h at visit to “
The S p otted D og ,
w h ic h h ad so scandali z ed T u n n l e t on ; an d
a l l but t h e most bigoted and obs t inate of
its in h abitants are fain to admit t h at under
s i milar circumstances t h ey wou l d h ave acted
muc h as Ma u rice did . A strong reac ti on
c 2
20 A F A L SE S T A RT .
h as se t in in favour of t h e E n d e rb ys ,
w h ile M r . R ic h ard M ad i n g l e y s ’
reputation
i s drownin g in t h e backwater of public
Opinion . Mr M ol e c o m b e es p ecia ll y
. is fu l l
of regret t h at h e did not sooner recognise
’
t h e curate s good qua l ities . T h e rector
makes h i mse l f peculiarly o ffensive to M au
’
rice s opponents ,
by al l uding to h im as
“
t h at exce l lent an d talented young man ,
w h o an obstinate faction li t era ll y h ounded

”
out of T u n n l e t on . General Shr e w s t e r cut
ting l y remarks t h at t h ose w h o h ad con
d em n ed Maurice E nderby an d be l ieved in
R ic h ard M ading l ey h ad S h ow n t h e y did

not know a gentleman w h en t h ey saw hi m ,
and h ad ex h ibit ed muc h want of tolerance

in t h eir j udgment .
General Maddox ,
fi n d in g t h e stor m run
h ig h ,
an d t h at h e h ad bee n somew h at mis
’
taken i n hi s estimate of Maurice s ini quities ,
t h oug h t it expedient to lea v e T u n n l e to n for

22 A F A L SE S TA RT .
any opinion . He h ad h is own misgivings

concerning t h at gentleman an d remembered ,
regre t fu ll y t h at h e h ad constituted h imse l f

one of hi s p rincipa l sup p orters in T u n n l e ton .
The E n d e rb ys meanw hile h ad estab l is h ed

t h emsel v es in comfortable l odgings in t h e
Hyde P ark district and Maurice was turning
,
over in h is mind w h at cal l i n g h e h ad b etter

embrace . T h anks to t h e successes of t h e
”
“
Wandering Nun ,
h e h ad a v ery com fort
abl e balance at h is banker s an d t h is would
’
,
give hi m time to look aro u nd . F or som e

tim e t h e Bar commended itse l f to h is a t ten
tion but t h e begi n ning of t h at profession was
,
cast am o n g rat h er stony p l aces and at t h e ,
b est some time must elapse before h e cou l d

expect to make even a s l ender income at it .
Many young barristers at t h e outset of t h ei r

caree r sup p lemented t h eir business wit h t h eir
p ens . T h is Maurice h ad commenced trying
to do at T u n n l et on , and sti ll con tinued in
R I PE F O R T E M P T A TI O N . 23
L ondon , but t h oug h it h ad been attended

,
latterl y w it h some l itt l e success it certainl y ,
did n ot at present promise to swell to a

regular incom e . A nd yet for t h e l ife of h im
be y ond t h e C h urc h and t h e B ar h e coul d see
no ot h er profession open to h im ; m edicin e
required special traini n g and for t h e army ,
and navy h e was too o l d for admission . It

must n ot be t h oug h t t h at Maurice was
lounging abo u t town i n a h appy Micawber
state of m ind waiting for somet h ing to t u rn
u
p; h e was stren u ously seeking for t h e
som et h ing h imse l f ; but it is not quite so
easy at six and twenty
- -
to fin d an Opening .
’
However ,
after som e weeks refl ection ,
he
attained t h e first great step . H e m ade up
h is min d wh at it was h e wanted and t h ere ,
is muc h in t h at . It w as true h is c h oice fel l

on w h at h e belie v ed to be u t t erly out of h i s
rea c h ; bu t t h e ap p arent l y u n attainab l e is
sometim es ac h i eved b y d o g ged p erseverance .
24 A F A LS E S T A RT .
He would be a soldier if h e could ; and h e

decided t h at h e could do no better t h an write
to consu l t G eneral Shr e w s t e r on t h at point .
G eneral Shr e w s t e r answer speedi l y ar

’
s
ri v ed h e would do h is best an d was wi ll ing ,
to seize e v ery opportunity ; but h e pointed

out t h at Ma u rice s age precl u ded h is getting
’
into t h e army by any of t h e regular c h annels .
‘
Yo u r only c h an ce my dear ,
E nderby , of
j oining t h e profession is by a b y-pat h ; t h ey
don t stand m u c h of i t in t h ese days ; still
’
,
a commission is got n ew and again in t h at

way . You must wait for a war of som e
kind and wit h our magnificent and exten
,
si v e empire t h e luxury of a small war is a

t h ing we are rarely wit h out for many
mont h s toget h er . You must t h en go to t h e
au t h orities and v ol u nteer to go o u t in any
,
capaci t y . You wi l l be h andsomely snubbed

no do u bt ; ne v er mind t h at . Yo u r case be
comes my b u siness t h en an d I s h all h o p e ,
R I PE FO R T E M P T A T I O N . 25
C
t h at I may h ave in fl uence sufficient to induce

some one empl oyed to take you on h is s taff ,
in of course an unacknowledged capacity ;
t h en we m ust trust to t h e c h apter of acci

dents . If you get a c h ance of di s tinguis h ing
yourself ,
or do good service i n t h e field ,
your c h ief m ay recommend you for a com

mission an d we m ust endeavour all we know
,
t h en to g e t y ou a p poi nted to a regiment .
You w il l be beginning late ,

but if l uck
favours you wit h p l enty of fig h ting yo u may
ea s i l y make up for a bad start . A n old
frien d of mine w as six years an ensign in an
infan try regiment bu t n e v ert h eless was a
,
Colone l of D ra goon s at t h e end of eleven

years . M ay fortune be as favourab l e to you
w h en we get you started .
“
Wit h kin d e s t regards t o Mr s . E n d erby ,
Be l ieve m e ,
E v er yours ,
J AM E s
T h is letter ga v e muc h e nco u ragem ent to

Maurice . F rom t h at out h e began to take
muc h interest in t h e proceedings of our
missionaries w h o are t h e cau se per h aps of
,
more of our petty wars t h an anybody else .
T h at m atter of religion h as been producti v e

of bitter feeling since the world began and ,
t h e desire of t h e one man to arbitrarily su b
st i tu te h is own creed for t h at of h is neig h

’
bours t h e ca u se
,
of m u ch h eartburning ex
Shr e w s t er
’
asperation . S trengt h ened by s
counse l s Mau rice gave up t h e t h oug h t of

,
seeking ot h er em pl oyment . He read t h e

papers c arefully more especial l y t h e Indian
,
n ews but t h e winter g l ided away and

, ,
Eng
land see m ed as far from an embrog l io as

e v er . I t was unfortunate bu t an unnatural ,
tran quil l ity seem ed sudden l y to h a v e settled

o v er t h e rest l ess area of t h e Britis h E m p ire .
O f t h e numberless races w h ic h ack now l edge

t h e sway of E ngl and , not one at p resent
R I PE FO R T E M P T A T I O N . 27
s h o w ed sign s of irritabi l ity ,

Maurice even
wrote a l etter to G enera l Sh r e w s t e r , com
p l aining of t h e stagnation i n t h e trade of
w h olesal e murder . T he veteran coul d not
’
!
’
h e lp s m iling upon receiving h is p r o t eg s
”
l etter ,
“
suc h a ra p id conversion ,
h e mur
m ured ,
“
was n ever seen Most decided l y h e
.
,
”
was not i n h is rig h t vocation h ere . B ut h e
wrote a few l ines to Maurice an d tol d h im
n ot to troub l e h imself for t h at ,
E ngland was
very seldom l ong wit h out a s m all war on h er
h ands ; t h a t i n t h e meantim e h e was in t h e
rig h t p l ace bot h for obtaining t h e ear l i est
information an d for m aking t h e earliest
ap pl ication for employment ; an d furt h er
promising to com e h imself to town direct l y
h e saw a c h ance of forwarding h is ( Maurice s ) ’
interests .
But as winter merged into early s p r i ng i n

h is S arc h t h roug h
e th e papers Maurice fou n d
h i mself con s tant l y con f ronted w i t h t h e b et
28 A F A L SE S T A R T .
ting on t h e spr i ng h andicaps ,

an d as the
weeks slipped by t h e betting on t h e Two
T h ousand and D erby becam e added to t h e
prize list
-
. The o l d infatuation once m ore
took possession of h im alt h oug h t h e Wan
,
dering Nun was engaged in none of t h ese

races but i n watc h i n g
,
the returns of l ast
ear s sport Maurice h ad ac q uired a general
'
y
knowle d ge of t h e runni n g of m ost of t h e
m ore prominent h orses on t he turf an d h ad
,
noted t h e vicissitudes of t h eir v arious careers

wit h t h e keenest interest O nce more h e began
.
speculating in h is own mind on t h eir c h ances ,
an d picking out w h at h e conceived oug h t

to be t h e winners of t h ese races not t h at h e ,
h ad t h e s l ig h test intention of backin g t h em ,
but sim pl y w i t h a view of seei n g W h et h er
h is j udgment wou l d p ro v e to be correct .
O nce or twice t h at so l emn warning w h ic h

S hr e w s t e r h ad gi v en h im crossed h is mind ,
but t h ere was l itt l e cause to feel afraid of

30 A FA L SE S T A R T .
is no good for t h e next five mont h s ; I ll ’
tell you w h at we ll do — t h ere can t be any

’ ’
h arm in it now you kno w —we ll go dow

,
’
n
next week and see t h e City and S uburban

run You cannot h e l p taking some interest
in racing as h a l f proprietor of t h e crack
-
t h re e year old of t h e season and t h e

-
,
E psom
h andicap is a pretty race to see .
New Maurice h ad v owed to h imself t h at

h e woul d n ot do t h i s t h ing t h at t h oug h h e
coul d not h e l p wa t c h ing racing h e would
not go near it ; but t h e n t h at was w h ile
Shre w s t e r
’
G ene ral s word of warning still
rang i n hi s ears . T h at was some time ago
now ; it was a l l nonsense ; h e could l ook
on and enj oy t h e s port wit h out betting ,
’
and af t er a m oment s h esitation h e yielded
, ,
’
to Grafton s persuasions and agreed to
accom p any h im to E psom on t h e fol l ow
ing Wednesday and t h is sett l ed t h e two
, , ,
frien ds separa ted for t h e present

R I P E FO R T JM P T AT I ON
«
. 31
Maurice h ad o f cour s e , ,
seen big races
run before but for a young m an
,
wit h a
strong t aste for h orses an d h u nting racing
h ad , so far interested h i m singularly little ;
,
it was eas il y explained : h e h ad ti l l t h e ,
l ast year never m ade any study of it

, ,
he
barely knew t h e n ames of even t h e pro
minent equine cele b rities ,
he h ad no
knowledge of t h e co l ours of t h e owners ;
consequent l y a race to h im so far h ad been
l ike t h e flas h ing of a ka l eidoscope an d even ,
w h en t h e numbers were h oisted t h e n am es

of t h e placed h orses interested h im but
l itt l e . Now it was different ; w h ile at
T u n n l e t on he h ad surrep t itiously studied
t h e ca l endar attentively an d learnt t he
colo u rs of prominent owners by h eart an d ,
h e was looking forward wit h considerable

excitement to v isiting a race course under -
different aus p ices and accompanied by suc h

a capable mentor as Grafton .
B ob was true to hi s tryst at V icto ria

S tatio n .
”
G lorious day , h e said , as t h ey step p ed
into a railway carriage ; “
brig h t clear and
, ,
n o c h ance of rain ; but your top coat is
h ar d ly t h ick en oug h ,
it will be nipping on
”
t h e Downs you m ay depend u pon it
, ,
and
B ob glanced down wit h muc h satisfaction
at t h e bulky ulster in w h ic h h e w as h imself
’ ”
encased .
“
I ll tell you w h at ,
too , he
’
continued : “
I ve got a rare h int about t h e
City and S uburban , and we ll ’
se e w h at
we can do wit h it w h en we ge t to t h e
”
c ou rse .
Two or t h ree strangers n ow got into t h e

carriage and G rafton at once dropped t h e
,
s u bj ect and n ever opened h is lips about it

again till t h ey fo u nd t h emsel v es on t h e
lawn at E psom , j ust outside t h e gate leading
’
into Tattersall s ring .
“
Now yo u wai t o u tsi d e for me w h ile I
R I P E FOR T E M P I AT I ON ' ‘
. 33
’
go in an d s e e w h at s doing ,
and t h en B ob
s li pp ed t h roug h t h e j ealous l y guarded portal s -
of t h at inner enc l osure .
Maurice lingered w h ere h e h ad been l eft ,
and t h oug h it was som e little time before

,
G rafton returned ,
ye t h e foun d h imself
t h oroug h l y amused ; h e fell across t h ree or
four ol d co l l ege friends and c h atte d plea
s an t ly wit h t h em and eac h ,
of t h em at
p arting ga v e h im a di fferent tip for t h e
’
big race . Maurice s own p redilections ran
in favour of a t h ree ye ar old cal l ed Wolf - -
gang ,
a p rominent favourite wit h th e
pub l ic , and h e was wondering w h et h er
G rafton would coincide wit h h im in t h at
op i nion an d getting slig h tly tired of t h e
,
monotonous question “
D o you want to do
”
anyt h ing sir , ? or t h e s l ig h tly varied for
”
mula of Want to back on e sir w h en
“
,
?
G rafton touc h ed hi m lig h tl y on t h e s h ou l der .
It s all rig h t old m an I ve got a rar e

’
, ,
’
VOL I I I . .
good price . T w enty to one to a pony is

rat h er a nice bet if it comes o ff . I m et
Jack D anby at din ner last nig h t an d h e told ,
m e t h at al l t h eir stable are going for ol d

Dr u m h ead . The public don t fancy h im a ’
bit ; t h ey t h ink he ’
s got too muc h weig h t ,
but h e says t h e old h orse is wonderfu l l y

well j ust now ,
h as won a rare good trial ,
and is s u re to be t h ere or t h ereabouts at t h e

finis h . Now Maurice you S h all be in
, ,
a fiver wit h m e . You must h av e a bet yo u ,
know ; you can t come dow n an d ’

see the
City and S uburban wit h out h aving a trifle
W in Ol d
’
on it and , ,
or lose I m sure ,
Drum
h ead will gi v e you a good S h o w for your
’
m oney . A nd now let s com e u p to our stal l s
”
and se e t h e race .
C H AP T E R I II .
E PSO M D O W NS .
T H E Y reac h ed t h eir seats in v ery good time ,
and Maurice mentioned to h is frien d h is own

partiality for Wolfgang w h o as h e pointed
, ,
out was very well in t h e h an dicap

,
.
’ ”
T h at s j ust w h at it is ,
rep l ied G rafton ,
h e is rat h er t oo we l l in . H e s rat h er a
’
h ead s trong h orse and wants a m an to ride

,
h im . A big colt of t h a t kind to my t h i nk ,
i ng alway s runs better w h en not so l ig h tly

,
weig h ted for t h e s im pl e reas o n t h e b oy s

,
1) 2
36 A FA L S E S T A R T .
’
can t h old h im . However we s h a l l soon see
”
a ll about it now h ere t h ey come .
A nd in t h rees and fours t h e com p etitors

paced slowly past t h e stand .
”
“
It is a large fi e l d ,
remarked Grafton ,
and a h orse wants to be lucky as we l l as
good to win to -
d ay ; t h e starter wi l l Very
like l y h ave a j ob to get t h em ofi . Twenty

ni n e of t h em altoget h er . T h ere goes Drum
h ead Maur i ce wit h t h e black j acket and
, ,
”
crimson s l ee v es ,
and G rafton pointed to a
big brown h orse t h at was p acing soberly
up t h e course on t h e far side . A not h er few
minutes an d t h e cavalc ade came striding
back once more past t h e stand i n t h eir pre
liminary canter .
H er e comes W olfgang ,
cried Grafton ,
“
t h e blue an d w h ite c h e v rons in t h e centre .
Now do you w h at I m ean He a

’
see ? s
S plen did m over but look h ow h e ,

is tearing
at hi s bit , it ’
s as m u c h as t h e bo y c an do to
38 A F A L S E S TAR T .
His party are v ery confident more confiden t ,
t h an t h ey h ave any rig h t to be in suc h a

big fiel d . Fi ve to on e is h ard to get against
’ ’ ”
h im now but t h ere s l ots of em backe d .
“
W h at do y ou fancy yo u rself in q uired
Wel l you ,
s ee , Mr G rafton
.
,
replied t h e
bookm aker ,
“
it s n ot q u ite my business to
’
h a v e fancies but I t h ink old D ru m h ead will

,
well and I ve kept F l ycatc h er to run

’
ru n ,
for t h e book . H is peopl e t h ink h e l l give a ’
”
good account of h imself .
It must be a good betting race .
”
V ery fair ,
s i r ,
replied Hampton ,
“
very
’
fair . It won t h urt any of us mu c h . But I
a l ways like to go for t h e g l oves w h en I h av e
”
a c h ance and kee p on e
,
.
T h ey are down at t h e p ost now ,

said
Maurice ,
and som e of t h em ap p ear very
fractious .
G rafton looked s t eadily t h roug h hi s glass

E PSO M D O W N S . 39
at t h e c l uster of si l ken j ackets grouped i n

”
t h e starter s c h arge h e sai d t h ere
’
“
.
“
Y e s, ,
are t h ree or four of t h em giving troub l e .
T h ey re ’
o ff ' h e cried an d t h e s h out was
,
re - ec h oed from many a t h re at , on l y to b e

f ol lo wed b y a cry of No n o, 1 fa l se start !
w h il e som e h a l f dozen
- h orses were seen
s treaming to t h e to p of t h e h i ll .
T h at s bad for VVOl fg an g , continued

’
“
G raf t on ,
“
it i s as I t h oug h t ,
he
’
s got away
”
wi t h t h e boy like two or t h ree m ore
,
.
\Vo l f g an g , indeed prov e d m ore

,
i n su b or d i
n ate t h an h is companions an d reac h ed t h e ,
I Op of t h e h ill before his j ockey succeeded

i n p u ll ing h i m up . It wou l d be t edious to
d wel l upon t h e numerous fa l se starts t h at
took pl ace —as is n ot uncom mon ly t h e case
w h en t h ere is a l arge nu m ber of com p et i
tor s and t h e fie l d comprises t h ree or f our
,
fractious young s ters . T h e bad m anners of

t h ese si nners are infectious and make even
40 A FA L SE S T AR T .
elderly and well disposed h orses forget t h em

-
s el v es . Su ffi ce it to sa
y t h at t h e backers of
Wolfgang and G olden D ream passed a very
bad t h ree quarters o f an h our F alse start
- - - -
.
succeeded false start and upon pretty n early ,
e v ery occasion Wolfgang and G o l den Dream

were nearly at th e t Op of t h e h ill before
t h ey could b e stopped . L atterly F l ycatc h er ,
w h o h ad been v ery we l l be h aved during t h e

first part of t h e p roceedings began to ex ,
hi b i t sign s of temper an d even Drum h ead ,
an d hi s e x perienced pi l ot began to manifest

anxiety to be o ff . A t last t h e welcom e roar
’ ”
of T h ey re o ff was fo l lowed by n o
“
!
”
counter cry of -
“
F a l se start ! and wit h a
,
sense of relief t h e crowd , s aw t h e c l uster of

silken j ackets stream u
p t h e h ill and com e
sweeping t h roug h t h e furzes . If t h e backers
of t h e two principal o ff enders h ad l ooked
a skance at t h e erratic proceedings of t h eir
fa v ourites during t h e l ast forty m inutes t h e
su pp orters of G olden D re am h ad good rig h t

to be d isgusted wit h t h at anim al n ow .
After bei n g p retty well first away in every

”
on e of t h e previous n o goes h e h ad
d is tinguis h ed h imself by ge t ting o ff very
badly w h en the flag fell i n earnest .
I VOl fg an g ,
on t h e contrary prov ed eager t o
,
b egin ti ll th e last ,
an d , coming t h roug h th e
fur z es ,
a ssum ed t h e comman d ; h e must
h ave been a good colt in rare con d ition , ,
for n otw i t h standi n g

,
al l h is bre ak s away ,
and t h at h e h ad as good as taken a r ace

out of h i m self before startin g h e l ed h is ,
fi el d a cracker ti ll h alf way do w n t h e h i ll

-
,
l eadin g to T a t t e n h am Corner w h en ,
Fly
catc h er ran u p t o h im and getting t h e , ,
in s ide bert h round t h e fam ou s turn d eprived ,
h im of t h e l ead . By t h is time t h e scattering

of t h e fie l d w as amazing ; s uc h tai l ing h ad
r are l y been wi t n e s sed , an d ,
out of t h e
twenty nine - w ho l e ft t h e s t a rter s h an d s ’
42 A FALS E S T A RT .
n ot two minutes before t h ere were certainly ,
l ittle m ore t h an h a l f -
a- do z en le ft in t h e race .
A t t h e road F lycatc h er w as st i l l l eading ,
wit h W o l fgang l ying secon d . T h en cam e

t h ree or four a l l in a cluster and bare l y a ,
couple of l engt h s be h ind ; w h i l e stealing up

on t h e rai l s inc h by in c h was o l d Drum
, ,
h ead w h ose j ockey watc h i n g t h e leaders

, ,
keenly as a h awk , already felt victory

wit h in h is grasp . A t t h e distance Wo l f
gang was don e wit h and ,
F l ycatc h er cam e
on wit h a lead of two lengt h s . Hal f way-
up t h ere were only t h ree left and a cry

, ,
”
of “
Come on ,
F l ycatc h er , b u rst from t h e
excited t h r e at s of h is im mediate partisans .
”
At t h e B ell one of t h e t h ree competitors
compounded w h i l e D rum h ead ra p idly closed
,
wit h h is o pp onent . F l yc at c he r ’
s j ockey
cast an anxious l ook rig h t an d l eft and ,
became a w are t h at On h is near side t h e

m ost dang erous h orseman t h at e v er s teered
t h o roug h bred over E p som D own s was a t

h i s q uarter s . He h ad ridden steadi l y and
wit h j udgment u
p to t h is n ow h e l ost h i s
,
nerve and anxious to get h om e sat down

, , ,
o p posite t h e stand and comm enced riding

h i s h orse in earn est . I I is grim op p o n ent
smi l ed a s h e foun d ,
des p ite h is j ockey s ’
e ff orts ,
F l ycatc h er coul d not i m p rove t h e
h alf l engt h
- he h eld . T h e n h e too began ,
and dri v ing t h e o l d h orse a l l h e kn ew

l anded h im a cl ever winner by a good n eck .
“
A fin e s h ave ,
Hampto n ,
eit h er wa y ,
cried G rafton ; “
and from h ere I can t b e ’
very sure but I fancy Drum h ead got

,
u
p
”
i n time .
“
Not a doubt about it s i r , , rep l i ed t h e
bookm aker ; “
if I wasn t sure my s elf t h e
’
s il ence down bel ow wou l d te l l m e . F lv
catc h er would h ave been a c l ean h au l for

most of t h em b ut few I fancy m i s sed l ay
, , ,
”
ing Drum h ead an y m ore t h an I d id .
44 A FA L SE S T AR T .
Now Maurice we
, , c an go down and
’
l ook after some l unc h comfortably I ve
c ol lared four and you are one h u ndred i n
, ,
o l d boy .
Maurice sai d not h ing but h e cou l d not ,
h el p reflecting t h a t hi s determination not

to bet h ad been p romptly dissi p ated . It
would be abs urd to suppose t h a t h e felt
penitent or uncomfortable abo u t it ,
for
winning a h undred poun d s on a brig h t
breezy Ap ril afternoon never oppresse d any
body wit h in my recol l ec t ion . He h ad not
m eant to do it and great a s h is excitement
, ,
h ad been over t h e race ,

h e h ad h onest l y
n ever t h oug h t of t h e be t h e h ad u p on it .
H is interest h ad been absorbed first i n ,
t h e bo l d front S h own by h is own selectio n ,
Wolfgan g for ,
so great a p art of t h e dis
tance t h en in t h e sudden advent of
,
F ly
catc h er t h e bookmaker s ti p and lastly in

’
, , ,
’
th e trium p h of h is friend B ob Grafto n s
46 A FALS E S T A R T .
Mr Hampton ate wit h all t h e equanimity

.
and rapidity c h aracteristic of h is class . T h ey

are perfectly used t o t h e losing and winning
of m oney ,
and as convinced as t h e p ro
p i
r e t ors of Monte Carlo t h at t h ey m ust win
in t h e long run but of time for re velry t h ey
-
,
are aware t h ey h ave l i t tle during business

h ours . Mr Hampton was not l ong
. fi n i sh
ing hi s lunc h and tumbler of c h ampagne ,
and t h en anno u nced t h at h e must b e once

m ore “
u p and doing .
” G rafton and Ma u
rice lingered som e l itt l e time longer .
’
“
I don t care muc h about th e mi n or
”
Bo b ’
races h ere , said .
“
We ve see n t h e
b i g event ,
and ,
after we ve h ad a stro l l
’
’
t h roug h t h e paddock I m good to get back ,
to town again as soon as y ou l ike . S ure to

see a lot of fellows t h ere you know w h o , ,
can tell us a l l about t h e race and sure too ,
to encounter se v era l ot h ers w h o alwa y s said

E P SO M D O W N S . 47
o l d Drum h ead wou l d win ,

but w h o for
”
var i ed reasons n ever backed h im .
Maurice returned to town in exce ll ent

s pi rits a nd h aving t h oroug h l y enj oyed h i s
, ,
day I m afraid fe l t but sm al l compunction s

’
con cerning t h at pro fi tabl e wager t h at h e h ad

a l l o w ed h im se l f to be l ed into . He h ad n o
i ntention of tak i ng to betting but t h is ,
w as
j ust an odd instance t h at wou l dn t occur ’
again and as for enj oying a day s racing

,
’
occasional ly i t was quite p ossibl e to do t h at

wit h out gamb l ing ; and now h e h ad deter
,
mined to lay aside h is sacred ca l ling t h ere ,
would be n o S h ocking of peopl e s p rej udices ’
on t h at account . F rom t h is out h e paid as

muc h attention to turf n ews as if h e h ad
been a declared votary of t h e sport ; and as
th e E psom carniva l d rew n ear Maurice got
deep l y interested in t h e p robab l e results .
H e h ad not been on a race course s ince t h e

-
trium p h of Drum h ead but h e ,

had m ad e u
p
48 A FA L S E S T AR T .
hi s mind to see t h e Derby an d more ,

es
e c i al l t h e O aks run for T h e Wander

p y , .
ing Nu n h ad m ade a successful d ! bu t at

‘
Newmarket and carried , Off t h e T h ousand

G uineas in a canter and racing men were ,
pretty near l y unanim ously of opinion t h at

t h e l adies race at ’
E p som was at h er m ercy
provided she k ept well .
T h e l ast week in May s aw Maurice ao
companied by his friend G rafton once agai n

on t h e E psom lawn . H e h ad been down on
t h e D erby day an d h ad been persuaded by
B ob to h ave ten poun ds on t h e winner of
t h at race . B e t ween t h at and hi s h a l f of t h e
stakes for t h e T h ousand G uineas h is balance
’
at h is banker s waxed fat and Mau rice ever , ,
sanguine ,
looked upon t h e success of t h e
Wandering Nun t h is afternoon as a foregon e
concl u sion . G rafton h ad left h im to see
wh at was doing in t h e inner ri n g ,

w h ic h
Maurice not being a member of Tattersa l l s
,
’
,
E PSO M D O W N S 49
wa s o f cour s e u nab l e to enter

, ,
. S uddenly
h is attention was arres t ed by a voi ce h e

t h oug h t h e recogni s ed vociferating ,
The
I Van d e r i n g Nun I l l lay again s t h ere s four
’ ’ ’
, ,
to one t h e I Van d e ri n g Nun .

’
L o oking in
the d i rection from w h ic h t h e voice proceeded
h e at once recognise d Hampton j ust t h e !
ot h er s ide t h e rai l ings w h i c h divided t h e

T a t t e rs al l enc l osu re from t he L aw n . It
flas h ed t h roug h M aurice s mind t h at t h i s ’
w as a c h ance . The l ast q uotation h e h ad

h eard against t h e fa v ourite for t h e O aks h ad
been five to two . L eaning o ver t he rails h e
touc h ed t h e bookmaker wit h h is umbre l l a
”
and s aid ,
I l l take f o urs Mr Hampton
’
,
. .
V ery we l l ,
s r i . \Vh at s h all i t be i n
\Vi l l you h ave it i n p onies ?
”
“
No ,
exclaimed Maurice ,
“
I want f o ur
h un d red to a h undred wi l l you l ay it
”
Certainly re pl ied t h e ,
bookma k er .
L e t s see —Mr E nby i sn t i t

’ ’
P ”
.
,
V OL . I I I . E
No ,
’
t h at s not qui te rig h t ,
”
replied
Ma u rice E n d er by . Y ou m et m e wit h
Mr G rafton at t h e
. S pring Meeting . You
”
m ay rememb er .
”
Certainly ,
repli ed t h e bookmaker w h o , ,
like m ost of h is class h ad a good memory ,
for faces ,
and t h en ,
h a v ing made a rapi d
n ote of t h e transaction , h e turned roun d
and once m ore vociferated hi s war cry -
.
S om e little tim e after G rafton re - j oined

h im and Maurice at once informed h im of
,
w h at h e h ad don e .
”
B acked it for a h undred ? said G rafton .
“
The deuce you h av e . S ure l y , your s h are
of t h e stakes s h ou l d b e good enoug h for you ,
an d I ll tel l you w h at : I m v ery muc h afraid

’ ’
’
it isn t coming off t h is tim e I ve not bee n
’
.
able to catc h anybody w h o can tell m e any

’
t h ing about it ; but t h ere s a scre w l oose
’
abo u t t h e ‘
Wandering Nun . T h ose fel
l o ws in t h ere lay as if t h ey kn ew somet h ing ,
E S OM
I ’
DOW NS . 51
and I saw on e or two good j udges very b u sy

covering t h eir m oney . I t s n ot a v ery
’
h ealt h y sig n w h en t h e od ds again s t a

”
fa v ourite expand j ust before t h e race .
A s t h ey m ade t h eir way to t h e coign of

vantage from w h ic h t h ey meant to V iew t h e
,
race two m en w h o were ascending t h e stairs

,
j ust before t h em enlig h tened t h eir m inds on

t h e subj ect . No t h e
,
‘
I Van d e ri n g Nun
’
w on t win ; s he is not even first favo u rite
j ust now . Al l t h e better for us . Wit h h er
ou t of t h e way Be ll adonna oug h t to be abo u t
good enoug h .
Have you h eard w h at s t h e matter wi t h ’
”
t h e Nun‘ ’
P
G on e sl i g h tl y amiss at t h e elevent h
h our I fancy as t h ese fi l l ies will som etimes
, ,
ou t of s h eer p er v ersity . S ome of t h em seem

to h ave got a h int of it i n t h e enc l o s ure for ,
Ham p ton Weston and two or t h ree more of

, ,
E 2
t h e most deadl y pencillers o u t h av e ne v er ,
”
ceased betting against h er all t h e morning .
”
“
P leasant n ews ,
s aid M aurice ,
wit h a
smil e ,
“
h owe v er I can a fford to forgive h er
,
”
if any one can .
The race for t h e O aks w as devoid of all

interest as far as M a u rice s c h am p ion was ’
concern ed ; from t h e fa l l of t h e flag t h e

“
Wan dering Nu n eit h er co u ld n ot or
wou l d not go near h er h orses . She never
l ooked dangerous from fi rst t o last ,
an d
finis h ed an indi fferent sixt h in a field of ten

runners . Be l ladonna and Tamarinde foug h t
out a rattling race ,
w h ic h t ermi nated in
fa v our of t h e latter b y h a l f a l engt h .
“
She is n ot h erself and s h owe d temper
,
to boot but t h at run ni n g

,
is too bad to be
t ru e , an d t h e Wandering Nun wi ll wi n
‘
you a h at fu l l of money y et old fe ll o w

-
, ,
be
”
fore s h e h as done , remarked G rafton .
certain to be informed of your attendan ce at

any Hig h C h urc h temp l e of wors h ip . You
cannot as a r ul e j oin in any celebration
w h ic h your dear relatives consider u n fi tt n i g
W it h out its speed i ly coming to t h eir ears .
O ur sins h a v e a greater tendency to make

t h emselves h eard of t h an our good deeds .
Maurice was m ost assure d l y n ot t h i nking of

T u n n l e t on d u ring t h e E psom week ,
but
t h ere were T u n n l e t on men t h ere w h o s aw
h im an d a l arge section of
,
T u n n l et on is
even n ow bewailing h is backslidings and
misfortunes .
It is all v ery wel l said ,

T u n n l et on for
G eneral Sh r e w s t e r and one or two m ore to
express t h eir belief in Mr E n d e rb y s i n
’
.
nocence of t h e acc u sations laid again s t

h im but
,
“
w h at was h e doing at E p so m ?
”
A nswer m e t h at , demanded G enera l P r au n ,
fiercely ; “
I am told too t h at h e h as lost a
”
v ery large su m of money .
ED I T II G E TS O V E R IT . 55
A s Maurice wa s n ow c urrent l y kn o wn to
b e t h e ne p h e w of t h e owner of t h e “
Wander
”
ing Nun , t h e defeat of t h at anim a l wou l d
natura ll y give ri s e to s om e suc h r u mour i n
t h e l it tle town an d it was upon t h at re p ort
,
t h at t h e l atter part of G e n ar al P rau n ’

s state
m ent w as founded . A s for Maurice h e
t rou b l ed h imse l f l it tl e a b out T u n n l e to n ’
s
op i nion . He h ad re c eive d h is first re b uff on

a race course . H e h ad m ade so sure of t h e
I Van d e rin g Nun s victory t h at h e felt very
’
m uc h as if h e h ad l ost a l arge sum of

m oney but , G eneral Shr e w s t e r h ad gauged
h im pretty accurate l y h e was j ust t h e man ,
of w h ic h b o l d an d daring bettors are made .
He was n ot in t h e l east depre s sed at h is

d efeat ,
bu t simp l y keen and sanguine to
recover h is l osses . H is successes h ad been
so un b roken ,
for every victory of U nc l e
Jo h n s flyi ng fi ll y h ad bee n practical l y a
’
s ucce ss for h i m t h at h e must h ave b een a

,
56 A FA L SE S T A RT .
v ery craven to h ave been cast down by t h e

fi rst r e v erse . T h is was a qui et week but ,
n ext cam e A scot an d t h ere Maurice h a d

,
m ad e up h is mind to p lunge into t h e t hi c k
of t h e fray . E v en B essie t h oug h ver y far

,
from intending it con fi rmed h im in h is re

,
solution . He h ad mention ed neit h er h is

l ittle bet on t h e S p ri n g Handic ap nor h is
big one on t h e O aks but like h imself i n , ,
S pite of all h er prudent reso l utions ,

s he h ad
’
grad u a l ly com e to l ook on U ncle Jo h n s
racing s u ccesses as a welcome contribution
to t h eir incom e an d t h is last wou l d h ave
,
been suc h a grand prize . Su c h a su m as two

t h ousand pounds odd w h ic h ,
sh e h ad com e
to regard as sure to fall into t h eir h an d s was ,
bit t er disappointment to be bereft of and s h e ,
m ore t h an once l aug h ing l y expressed s uc h

di s appointm ent to h er h usband .
”
“
Ne v er mind ,
h e rej oined ,
“
our good
fairy h as one or two engagements at A scot ,
E D IT H ETS 7
l
G OV E R I T . C
an d we mu st h op e t h at nex t we ek w il l fi nd
h er re sto red to h eal t h . T h e s por t ing p ap er s
”
al l sa
y it w as m ere l y a temporary a il men t .
You w on
’
t go d o wn ,
Maurice ,
w il l
you 3,
s h e in q uire d a l i tt l e anxiou sl y
,
.
”
“
O h ye s I s h a l l
, ,
h e re p l i e d .
“
It
’
s no
”
di s t ance ,
an d I t h o r o ug h l y enj oy t h e sp or t .
I am afraid T u n n e to n l w il l b e m ore con
v in c e d t h an ever t h at you b et , i f t h ey h ear

of you at a l l t h e s e ra c e c o urse s -
,
s ai d Be ssi e
wit h a s m il e .
”
A nd wi t h s ome j u s tice at l a s t ,
th oug ht
Maurice .
“
Non s en s e ! h e s aid . \Vha t
’
T u n n l e to n to m e or me to
,
T u n n l e to n ?
Bar
t he C hyl t o n s and S hre w s t e r , I t hi n k w e h ave
”
l ef t n o friends be h ind u s t h ere .
“
\Vel l , I must sa
y I l i k ed t h e Mo l e c o m b e s ,
t h ey w ere very c ivi l t o u s at t h e l as t an d ,
very anxiou s to make am end s f o r h aving

l en t too credu l ous an ear t o t h a t p rec i ou s
im p o s tor R ic h ard Mading l ey . By t h e w ay
I h ad a letter from E dit h t h is mornin g and , ,
w h at is m ore ,
it contains a mysterious
message to you . She desires h er kindest
regards h opes you wil l forgive h er being
,
so
rude to y ou ,
and bids m e sa
y t h at S h e bears
w h at you told h er constant l y in mind ; and
n ow , Maurice ,
cried B essie quick l y ,
“
w h at
did you tell h er
A m ere n ot h ing ; only gave h er my
opinion regarding R ic h ard Madingley , w h ic h
sh e natural l y refused to believe true . I am
very g l ad to see t h at sh e at all events t h inks
”
t h at I m ay be r i g h t after all .
“
She talks of coming up to town in t h e
course of next week w h en ,
sh e h opes to se e
”
us .
T h ere was one person who s h ook h is

h ead ,
t h oug h not so noisily as G enera l
Pr a u n , yet muc h m ore seriously , o v er
Maurice s proceedings ’
. It so h ap pen ed t h at
’
G eneral Shr e w s t e r h ad h eard of Maurice s
ED I T I I G ETS OVE R I T . 50
p re s en c e at t he S pring Meeting , and h e

feared t h at h i s prediction w as about to be
real i zed .
“
It wi ll be t h e ruin of h im t h at l ife i n ,
”
L ondon , h e muttered ,
“
wit h any amount of
rac i ng going on a l l roun d h im . He w ill
b egi n atten d ing al l t h e s e m eeting s , an d as
for a m an of h i s temperam en t not b etting it

i s p re p osterou s to t h ink of . Ah ! i f t h ere
was on l y a c h ance of getting h im into t h e
service in som e way . To pack h im o ff to
India or ra t tle h im out on service would be
, ,
t h e m aking of h im j u s t n ow , but I am afraid

at h is a
g e t h ere i s n o opening at present ;
Od d , too t h at
, we are not in a petty quarre l
wit h som e b ody
H owever for a wonder t h e countr y
, ,
w as
n ot engaged in protecting its fr o ntiers ,
p u n is h in g its feudator i e s or ann ex i ng it s ,
n e i g h bour s and so l diers h ad not h ing for i t

,
bu t to regret t h e st agnati o n of t h e i r trade .

60 A F A L SE S T AR T .
Mrs . E nderby was very p l eased in the

c o urse of t h e week at receiving a v i sit from
E di t h Mo l e c o m b e . T h at young l ady was
unfeign ed l y g l a d to fi nd h er h ostess at
‘
h ome and seeme d sti l l more p l ease d at dis

,
covering t h at Maurice was l ike l y to be in

l ater in t h e a fternoon . S h e w anted very
muc h to m ake friends wit h Mr . E nderby ,
who ,
she h a d taken i t into h er h ead h ad a ,
s h rewd sus p i c i on of h er contemp l ated e l o p e

m ent , t h oug h sh e h ard l y antici p ated t h e
c h ance of say ing m uc h to h im . As it turned
out w h en h e
,
d id m a k e h is a pp earance h e ,
was accom p anied by h is friend M r G rafton .

,
an d t h e con ver s ation becam e ,

of course ,
genera l .
Grafton h ad never a s yet set eyes upon

E dit h Mo l e c o m b e , and k nowing h er history
,
as h e did look ed , u p on h er w i t h n o l i tt l e
curiosity . She was l ooking h er best ; t h e
worry of h er disap p ointment h ad im p arted a
62 A FA LS E S T A RT .
to h is h ostess and E dit h M ol e c o m b e about

all t h e gossip of t h e day and w h at w as doing
,
i n town , in t h e liveliest fas h ion . F ancy
fairs ex h ibitions R oya l patron ages B ob

‘
, , ,
G rafton h ad attended t h e m all and h ad a

pi quant anecdote to tell ab out many of t h e m .
He was a popular man and s u re of being

,
h eartily recei v ed at many a L on don tea

tab l e could h e on l y be entrap ped t h it h er .
It was n ot till t h e last m oment t h at G rafton

alluded to t h e fort h coming A scot
-
, an d t h en
it was briefly to arrange wit h Maurice w h ere
t h ey s h oul d meet but t h at allusion produced
,
res ults w h ic h Bob never dreamed of .
”
“
How I s h ould l ike to se e A scot ! ex
claimed Miss Mo l e co m b e ,
but t h e Mi l l is o n s ,
wit h w h om I am staying , sa
y t h ey can
not fin d any on e to go h al ves in a box .
and Mr Mi l lison declares t h at h e cannot

.
”
a fford to take a w h ole one .
ED I T I I GE TS O V E R IT .
An d I h ave never s een A scot ,

cried
”
Bessie ,
and rea l ly ,
s h e contin ued wit h a ,
sl ig h t toss o f h er h ead ,
as I am never l ike l y
to be part proprie t or of an ot h er race h orse I -
,
oug h t to be a ll owed to see t h e I Van d e ri n g

’
Nun for once . Can t ’
you m anage it ,
Maurice
”
“
O f course h e can ,
and must ,
replied
G raf t on ,
t h e idea of a l ady w h o owns t he
best t h ree year ol d of t h e year n ot going

- -
down to see h er m are ru n ! H ow can you

ex p ect h er to win ,
M rs . E n d erby , if you
don t persona l ly smile on h er exertions
’
Maurice was rat h er i n a d i l emm a ; h e did n ot

w ant to take h is wife down to A scot but , ,
considering t h at all the m oney w h ic h h ad

W ander i ng
'
come to t h em by m eans of t h e
”
Nun was v irtual l y h ers it did seem rat h er ,
ungracious to refuse h er re q uest ,

so af t er
some l itt l e h esitation h e yielde d and s a i d ,
t h at i f a box cou l d be p rocured so late i n t h e

day h e s h ou l d be v ery g l ad to s h are “
on e
wit h Mr Mi l lison
. .
“
Ho l d hi m to t h at Mrs ,
. E nderby , and
’
n ever fear but w h at I ll ’
find t h e box . It s
of course a l itt l e late in t h e day but , t h ere
are alwa y s a fe w come in at t h e l ast m omen t
be l onging for t h e m ost p art to regu l ar
tenants w h o m som et h ing suddenly prevents
”
from atten d ing , and wit h t h is M r Grafton .
m ade h is adie u x and departed .
”
D o yo u t h ink we s h a l l get t h e box ?
exclaimed M iss Mo l e c o m b e , wit h eyes

sparkling at t h e prospect of witnessing t h e ,
as y et unknown g l ori es of A scot

,
.
I can on l y sa
y t h e a ffair cou l d not be
i n better h ands . G rafton knows a l l sor ts
of people and if t h e t h ing is to be managed
,
”
h e i s t h e m an to do it .
”
“
Y e s , E dit h , said M rs . E nderby , who
ED I T I I G ETS O VE R I T . 65
be l ieved immen s e l y i n h er h us b and s friend ; ’
I don t t h ink we s h a l l be disappointed so

’
.
,
”
you m a y look o ut your best frocks .
“
It wil l be delig h tfu l . I must run h om e
n ow and te l l Mr Mi l lison t h e good n ews .
;
”
and Mr . E nderb y , s h e continued in a low ,
v oice ,
“
I want to apo l ogise for being so
.
rude to you t h at nig h t ; fro m several t h ings

I h ave learnt late l y I am afraid you h ave
t old m e t h e tru t h . I don t want to s ay
’
a nyt h ing m ore on t h e subj ec t but you m ay ,
b e sure I s h a ll not forget your warning .
G ood b y e -
.
“
I t h ink s h e h as prett y well g et over
it ,
said Maurice w h en h e h ad returned
from seeing h is v isitor out .
“
Yes ; t h er e is one t h ing t h at once ,
convinced of i t wou l d h el p a proud gir l ,

.
like E dit h M o l e c o m b e m uc h in gett i ng o ver

a dis appo intment ; h er p ride w ould b e so
V OL I I I . I .
"
wounded at t h e t h oug h t of t h ere being good

re ason to doubt h er lo v er being a gent l e
”
m an .
“
Ah ! ” said Maurice “
I belie v e d is
,
traction is always recommended for t h ese

”
cases ,
he w as still feeling a little annoyed
at t h e idea of being saddled wit h ladies at
A scot I suppose E dit h i s j ust in t h e
state described in t h e old son g
F r om p l ac e t o p l ac e th e y h r r y m t b n i
u e o a sh my r eg r et
An d wh e n th e y W i n a s m i l e f r m m th e y f n
o e a cy I fo r g et ;
and as far as my ex p erience goes t h ey are

, ,
pretty we l l j ustified i n doing s o . I don t ’
suppose if it is a fine day an d

,
h e r d ress
fi ts ,
t h at we s h a l l be wrong in su p po s in g
”
t h at E dit h h as for g otten .
“
You needn t sneer in t h at way Maurice ;
’
,
it woul d be rat h er odd if sh e h adn t D on t

’ ’
.
you know t h at from t h e day R ic h ard

EDIT II G E TS O VE R I T . 67
Mading l ey l eft T u n n l e to n she h as never

eve n h eard of hi m ? T h at is about t h ree
q uarters of a year ago ; I t h ink m o s t girls
would h ave ceased to t h ink abou t suc h a
l over as h ers was in t h at time .
It would be very curious if it s h ou l d be

so but do you know Bessie it s j u st p os s ib l e
, , ,
’
t h at E di t h mig h t se e h er Ol d l over a t A scot .
I h ave n ever seen hi m myse l f during my

few days ’
racing experience but G rafton ,
tell s m e t h a t h e h as caug h t sig h t of hi m
o nce or twice and t h at w h atever h e mig h t

,
h ave been w h en h e was at T u n n l e to n he

h as l it tle d ou b t now t h at h e is enrol l ed in
t h e ranks of t h e ring .
”
\Ve w i l l h o p e s h e won t re p lie d Bessie ;
’
“
,
s ure l y we s h a l l not be mix ed up wi t h

”
t h ose s ort of p eople ?
“
N o but I
,
saw at E psom t h at s ome of
t h e sma ll er bookmakers roame d ab o u t in
F2
68 A F A L S E S TAR T .
p u rsuit of t h eir calling in front of t h e stand ,
and I daresay t h ey do t he same at A scot ;

h owever it
,
is n ot very likely to h appen ,
and l et G raf t on only get

,
us t h e box no
”
doubt we s hall h ave a good ti m e .
i he d
n s wit h race cards t h e w h ole party were
-
,
speedi l y engaged i n s p eculatio n as to w h at

wou l d win t h e ! ueen s V ase E ven t h e ’
.
ladies caug h t t h e ent h usiasm desired to be ,
instructed and ex p ressed t h eir intention of

,
h a v ing a bet u p on t h at race . A n d G rafton

soon fo u nd h imse l f invested wit h t h e office
of t h e ladies com missioner w h i le t h ey t h em
’
sel v es plunged into an animated discussion

as to w h at extent t h e i r i nvestments were
to be carried . Miss M ol e c om b e so l emn l y
h anded a five -
p oun d n ote over to Grafton ,
w h ic h h e was adj u r e d to l ay out to t h e best

advantage . Mr Mi ll ison depos i t ed a S i m i lar
.
stake on be h a l f of h is wife and t h en Maur i ce ,
h anded o v er a l ike sum on t h e p art of B ess i e .
Mrs E nderby was in a state of great excite

.
m ent as to w h et h er t h e “
Wanderi n g Nun
wou l d run or not for t h e ! u een s V ase T h e ’
.
m are was reported amongst t h e arriva l s at

A scot and was a l so co l oured on t h e card
, .
A B LA C K As c o r '
.
71
But Graft o n rat h er i nc li n e d to t h e b e l i ef

t h a t s h e wou l d n ot s tar t fo r t h at race .
You see , Mrs . E nder b y , t h e Wandering

‘
N un h as t wo or t h ree va l ua bl e eng agemen ts

t h i s week and as s h e wasn t q uite h er s e l f
,
’
ten days ago i t i s probab l e t h ey wi l l kee p

h er f o r some t h i ng t h a t i s run o v er a l ess
”
s evere co u rse t h an t h e ! u een s V ase ’
.
Now it h ad b een arranged t h at t h e l adies

s h ou l d run down for t h e fi rs t day of t h e
meeting an d t h e Cu p day . A nd n ow aro s e
an o t h er p r o b l em for Grafton to so l ve . Mr s .
E nderby was natura ll y e cessi ve l y a n xious x
to see t h i s fa m ous mare of w h ic h ,

sh e wa s
h al f owne r
,
ru n . M i s s Mo l e c o m b e was
equa ll y decided t h at a b ove a ll t h ings an y
”
ra c e i n w h ic h t h e “
I Va n d e r i n g Nun fi gure d
must be w i t nes s ed . But h ere came a l i ttl e
d i vergence of V ie w ; w h ereas B ess i e an d Mr s .
M ill i s on h ad on l y suggested a c h ange of day

i f nece ss ar y ,
E d it h t h o ug h t t h a t t h e y h a d
72 A FA L SE S TART .
better ad h ere to t h eir original arrangem ent ,
and come down an extra day if circum

stances re q uired it . R acing mig h t amu s e
Miss M o l e co m b e or it mig h t n ot but s h e
, ,
h ad at al l events m ade u p h er mind to

th oroug h ly satisfy h erself on t h is point .
A t l ast A scot station is reac h ed and de , ,
scending from t h eir carriage t h e p arty fol ,
lowed t h e t h rong making t h eir

, w ay up t h e
n arrow lane l eading to t h e back of t h e stand .
NO sooner are t h e l adies comfortab l y in
stalled in t h eir box t h an Maurice an d G raf

ton sal ly fort h across t h e l awn towards t h e
betting ring to ascertain w h at
- is doing ,
leaving Mr . M i lliso n to do C i ce r o n e and

point out t h e h umo u r ; of t h e course to t h e
two n eo p h ytes . T h eir box was on t h e second
tier and looking down
,
u pon t h e crowd t h at
t h ronged t h e lawn and race course afforded -
ample amusem ent to Mrs . E nderby an d

E dit h . Wit h t h eir g l asses t h ey could see
A B LA C K AS C O T .
7?
cl e arl y t h e m o t l ey c rowd o n th e far s ide

drag s c o vered wi t h m en w h os e a pp ear ance
u nmi s t ake ab ly stam p ed t h em as w o nt to
mingle i n t h e c l ub s of St J am e s s and t he
’
.
dra w ing ro o m s o f B e l gravi a

-
. O t h er drag s
t h ere were in w h i c h t he l adie s l ooked q ui t e
as smartly dre ss e d but ex h i b ited muc h want
,
of t h at repo s e o f manner w h ic h c h aracteri s ed

t h eir n eig h bours . T h e m en t o o in t h e s e
l atter were rem ark abl e for a br ill ian cy o f
attire w h i c h i f n ot
, , q uite to be p icked to
p ieces gave a v ague i d ea of not b eing ex
,
ac t l correct a s a w h o l e T h ere were th e

y .
sab l e sons of minstrelsy t h e tumbl ers , ,

t he
gip s ie s girls wit h t h e l ast mu s ic h al l s ong s

,
-
strong m e n , fi re -
eaters card se l lers
,
-
,
an d al l
t h e miscellaneous cro w d t h at mingl e in the
t h rong of a big race m eeting -

. A lt h o ug h
w atc h in g t h em from a far ,
Edit h t h roug h
h er g l ass e s c o u l d s ee q uite we ll enoug h t o
be a mu s ed at t h e mo t l ey g a t h erin g . At
74 A F A LS E S TA R T .
l engt h a line of police marc h e d steadily

down t h e centre of t h e course ot h er mo unted ,
p o li cemen accompanying t h em and in an ,
i n cred i b ly s h ort Sp ace of time t h e broad

green ribbon is c l eared of t h e loungers w h o ,
but a few minutes since h ad crowded it .
A no t h er minute and a ringing c h eer som e

,
distance down t h e course announces t h at t h e

roya l c or t eg e is c l ose at h and an d imm e
,
d i at e l y afterwards some h alf dozen open -
carriages wit h t h e P rince an d P rincess of

,
Wa l es i n t h e l ea d i ng one p assed l eisure l y

,
up t he centre of t h e cour s e and deposited,
t h e i r contents at t h e door of t h e R oyal
S tand .
T h e s h arp note of t h e sadd l ing b ell is -
n ow h eard and a minute or

. tw o l ater
t h e numbers go up for t h e T ri al S takes .
T h ere are are fi ve runners and as is usua ll y, ,
t h e cas e in t h is race ,
one of t h e m is at
on ce m ade a p retty h ot fa v ourite .
A B LA C K AS C O T . 75
G raf t on an d Maurice h urry i n a t t h e l a st

m oment , an d B o b inf o rms t h e l ad i es t h a t
h e h as taken two to on e again s t Marma
d u ke for w h at h e ca l l s t h e
,
L adies
’
Bet t ing
Ass ociat i on l imited ,
T h at h e h a s backed
i t h imse l f and fanci es it s h ould
,
w in . But
th e T ria l S t ake s , w h ic h inaugurates t h e meet
in fr
g ,
is gen eral l y an uncerta i n race an d wont
to re s u l t in d i s c o m fo r t u r e to t h e backers t o
start w it h . It fo ll ow s its c h arter t h i s after
n oo n and our party see t h eir h orse b ea t en
,
i n a canter by a l itt l e fancied outsider -

,
about w h om very l on g odd s h ad b een

o ffered a few m om ents b efore °
h owever ,
n obody re e k s muc h of t h e fi r st rever s e of a

big meeting ; t h ere i s plenty of t ime for u s
to recover from suc h pe t ty d i s aster ; an d
G rafton ,
a s h e l aug h ed gai l y and s a id ,
Better l u c k n ext tim e , l i t t l e dream e d o f

t h e s ca l e u p on w h i c h Maurice h ad com
m e n c ed o p era tio n s . E nder by h ad m a d e u

p
76 A FA L S E S TAR T .
h is m i nd to bet in earnest for once an d ,
h ad unluck ily conceived a h azy notion of a

s y ste m about backing h orses . He did not
know it , but t h e idea was as old as t h e
h i ll s ,
and h ad broug h t m any a ga l l ant
b acker to grief in h i s day . It was simply
increasing your stak es after e v ery re bu ff ,
on t h e prin cip l e t h at your turn must c om e ,
and t h at w h en it does you will h ave re
covered al l your losses and a good deal

besides . Maurice h ad lost fifty p ounds
upon t h is race and ,
had alread y determined
to h ave a h un d red on t h e next .
Is my h or s e going to st art Mr G raf .
”
ton ? exc l aim ed Mrs . E nderb y . W h at
h a v e y ou h eard about h er in t h e ring ? ”
’
"
N O, you won t see h er to day -
; s he is
not to go for t h e V ase but I h ear ,
s he is to
run on T h ursday for t h e ric h St . J ames s ’
P a l ace S takes . Not quite p er h aps al l t h e

h onour and glor y of winning t h e V ase but ,
78 A FALS E STAR T .
t h ey trooped back to t h e box to once more

enj oy t h e sport Miss M ol ec om b e v owed t h at
,
racing was t h e most exci t ing am us ement in
w h ic h S h e h ad ever embarked and t h at a ,
proprietress of race h orses like M rs - . E n derby
w as a woman wondrous l y fa v oured of fortune .
“
You will h a v e to lay out Some of your
”
winnings ,
exclaimed E dit h , in purc h as
in g two or t h ree more racers . It must be
’
so nice to h ave a few of one s OW I I .
No no Mrs
, ,
. E nderby ,
”
l aug h ed G raf
ton ,
we m ust make a great deal more
m oney t h an we ve done so far before we start
’
our stud . You are to ap p o i nt me your master

’
of t h e h orse remember an d I can t aut h orise
, ,
’
our beginning as yet .
It wou l d be tedious to follow our friends

t h roug h a ll t h e v icissit u des of fortune . In
t e r e s ti n g as t h e fierce battle between backer
and bookmaker is to t h ose engaged ,
it is
s ome w h a t wearisome to read about . S uf
A B LA C K A S C O T . 70
fi cc it t o s ay t h at wagering un d er t h e s age
,
advice of Bob G rafton w h en after t h e l a s t

,
race but on e t h ey m ade t h e i r w ay back to

t h e train t h ey were a l l winners wit h on e
,
exception . F lus h ed wit h success Maurice ,
h ad trusted t o h is own j udgment instead

of re l ying u p on h i s m entor and ,
un fo r t u n
ate l y h ad don e so for a con s iderabl e sum .
He a l on e h ad l ost m oney on t h e da y ; t h e
ot h er s a l t h oug h
,
far fro m requiring sacks
to carry h ome t h eir winnings ,
were s till
victors on t h e af t ernoon ; and E di t h Mole
combe at a l l events
, ,
w as convinced t h at
racing was t h e sport of kings as indeed , , ,
i t may we l l b e termed so far as E ng l i s h
m onarc h s are concerned .
Many a b l ack A s cot h as o pened as se duc
t i v el y as t h i s one and looked like a ver y

,
garden of Bendem eer to t h e f as h it m a b l e
L on d on t h rong w h o h ave already f o und t h eir

,
resources severely t axed to kee p p a c e w i t h

80 A FA L S E S TAR T .
t h e const antly rec u rring exigencies of t he
season . T h e veterans put bu t litt l e fait h in

t h ese gay openings ,
an d the fi e l d e rs blenc h
not a w h it b ecause t h e fi rst day goes against
th em . T h e former h ave seen t h e storm
c l ouds gat h er h eavily round t h e Hunt R oyal
— —
Cu p t h at p rettiest of gambling races and
t h e decision of t h e W o ki n gh am s cause A scot
to c l ose metap h orica l l y s p eaking in a gloo m
, ,
dark as E rebus . I t h ad been settle d t h a t

t h e l adies were not to go down on the o ff
day but t h e men al l met again at Waterloo

, ,
Maurice keener t h an ever for t h e fra y and ,
wit h a fi rm con v iction s h ared indeed by t h e ,
ot h er t wo , t h at it w as a card easy to p i c k
winners from . But d isaster came wit h t h e

opening race ,
w h en t h e fa v ourite ,
u pon
wh om two and in some instances even t h ree
, ,
to on e were laid , w as most ignom i niously

beaten . T h e second race was attended wit h
a similar res u lt ,
and t h en came t h e pa u se
A BL A C K AS C O T . 81
w h ic h usually p recedes t h e R o y al H u nt Cu p .
T h e competitors were numerous and ,

t he
b etting remarkably h eavy b u t t h e powerf u l

stab l e t h at owned D uke Hump h rey were
ap p arently not to be stayed by any e ff orts
of t h e bookmakers and continued to back
,
t h eir h orse . Two of t h e patricians connected

wit h t h at stable were as s h rewd j udges an d
as bold specu l ators as any men on t h e t u rf ,
an d s h eer weig h t of m etal kept t h eir h orse

at t h e h ead of t he pol l al t h o u g h m any of
,
t h e ot h ers were also backed h ea v ily . A cting

under t h e advice of G rafton Ma u rice h ad ,
t h rown in h is lot wit h Duke Hump h rey .
H e was stan ding against t h e rails of t he
la w n scanning t h e competitors as t h ey
,
c an
t c rc d past w h en a v oice h e t h o u g h t h e
,
knew struck upon h is ear .
”
D o as y ou l ike ,
said t h e s p eaker , bu t
’
I tell you i t is so . I know all t h at ; I ve
h eard i t al l before . L ord L y nto n and S ir
VOL 1 1 1
. . G
82 A FALS E S TART .
R alp h don t t h row t h eir m oney away I

’
,
grant you . T h ey make mistakes at times ,
and t h ey re making one h ere

’
. T h ere
’
s a
to u t I emp l oy on t h ose D owns ,
an d he
’
s
about t h e best of his calling in E ngland .
T h ey ’
v e tried Duke H u mp h rey all rig h t
enoug h ,
but t h eir training ground - is n ot
t h e new mile at A scot , and t h ey h a v e
n ot yet q u ite opened t h eir eyes to t h e fact
”
t h at t h eir h orse is a rogue .
Ma u rice h ad recognised t h e speaker by

t h is ,
an d looked ro u nd to m ake s u re t h at h e
w as rig h t in h i s conj ecture R ic h ard Ma .
din gley was turned slig h t l y away from h im ,
but t h e satc h el h ung from h is s h oulder left

n o do u b t about t h e part h e played on t h e
raceco u rse .
”
A nd y ou t h ink t h en
, , sai d Dick s com’
p anion ,
a somew h at o v er dressed young
-
man ,
t h at J erry can beat t h e D uke
No not if t h e D uke would try ; b u t h e
,
A B LA C K AS C O T . 83
’
won t like t h e h i l l an d h e won t l ike t h e
,
’
strugg l e ; and so I recommend you i f , you
want to get out of your scrape to back ,
Jerry t h is time Yo u can get a good price ,
at leas t yo u could j ust now . I ve m ade my

’
”
book for h im and b acked h im besides
,
.
Maurice wondered i f t h ere cou l d be any

t h ing i n w h a t Mading l ey said ; h e h ad lo c k e d
wit h ra t h er contempt u p on t h at gent l eman s ’
j udgment a t T m m l e to n , and considered t h at

h e h imself w as a far better j u dge w h ic h h ad
, ,
h e ana l yse d it was sim ply bas ed u p on t h e

.
fact t h at h e h ap p ened to know more about

”
th e “
Wandering N un t h an Mading l ey . No ,
h e dec i ded if h e was to l et h is own opinion

be swayed by every i d l e rumour h e h eard ,
h e mi g h t back h alf t h e h orses i n t h e race .
”
Jerry ,
h e muttere d contemptuous l y
, ,
an d
h ere h e turne d round and asked one of t h e

o u ts ide book makers w h a t t h at h or s e s p r i ce
-
’
“
I v e do n e on t h e race
’
,
s i r , replied t h e
m an ci v i l ly ,
but I l ai d one h undred to si x
”
abo u t t h a t on e .
Maurice walked q u iet l y back to hi s box

’
to se e t h e race w h ere h e found ,

hi s two
friends duly installed an d wit h t h eir glasses ,
in t h eir h ands . T h ere w as t h e u sual Slig h t

delay at t h e post and t h en t h e bell announced
,
t h at t h e field for t h e Hunt Cup was away .
’ ’
We can t see em till t h ey top t h e h ill ,
cried G rafton . K eep your glasses on its

crest Maurice
, . All rig h t so far ,
”
h e ex
claim ed ,
as t h e c h arging S q u adron glittering ,
like a t ul ip bed in t h e s u mm er su n flas h ed

”
in sig h t , D uke Hump h rey is lying fourt h .
A nd now t h e squandering began . A little

m ore an d t h ere were only s ix in it opposite
,
t h e stand t h ere were b u t t h ree . D uke Hum

p h re
y w as leading but sticking to , hi s quar
ters like a bur on t h e h and were a pair of
antagonists w h o promised to gi v e tro u ble .
CH AP T E R V I .
T H E ST . J A M E S P A L A C E S T A K ES
’
.
MAUR IC E h ad begun t h e week wit h a very

’
h andsom e balance at h is banker s de rived ,
entirel y from t h e victo ries of U nc l e J o h n s ’
flying fi l ly but h e mig h t well look seri ous

,
w h en h e t h oug h t of t h e inroads h e h ad m a d e
u pon t h at ba l ance during t h e l ast two d a y s .
T h e l atent demon of gambli n g h ad been

aro u sed in h im and h e h ad already dis
,
c o v ered t h at it requires a man of iron wi l l to

follo w a sy stem on t h e turf and a littl e more
,
T I I E PA L A C E S T A KE S . 87
know l e d ge of t h at amusem en t wi l l s h ow hi m
t h at a system I S fa l lible on a racecourse as it

is at t h e gaming tab l e It is certainly h arder
- .
to carry out for i n t h e l atter case you wi ll

,
be a ll owed to p ursue yo u r t h eory u ntroubled

by a d vice w h i l st in t h e former you are
,
genera l ly advised of n ear ly as m any winners

as t h ere are runners in t h e stake about to
be con ten ded for . N eit h er h i s w i fe nor
Graf t on h ad t h e s l i gh e s t idea of t h e magn i
tude of h is speculations .
M r Hampton t h e b ook m aker was a p ro

.
minent member of Tattersa l l s and at A scot ’
h ad a p art i cu l ar co i gn of vantage ,
w h ic h
custom seemed to h ave made h is own . At
t he corner of t h e inn er ring adj acent to t h e ,
G rand S tand , and j ust beneat h t h e l ower

gal l er y of t h e Iron stand was a square p i ll ar
,
about fi ve feet h i g h ; from t h e to p of th i s

Mr Ham p to n was wont to o ff er to g i ve or
.
t ake t h e odds to a l l com ers . I t wa s an

88 A FA L S E S T A RT .
ex cel len t positio n f o r hi s p u rpose ; e v ery

bo d y cou ld fin d hi m , and h e was bot h
e n cl o
’
with in re ac h of t h ose in Tattersal l s
su re an d al so of t h ose wit h o u t t h e p al e .
His S ecretary stood book ,

in h an d at t h e
,
foot of t h e pillar taki n g note of hi s t ran s ac

,
tio n s as quick l y as t h ey wer e made an d ,
s u ch w as t h e swarm of c u stomers at t h e foot

of t h e pillar t h at it was all
, th e se c retary
’
c ou l d d o to write dow n hi s empl oyer s
wagers .
L on g h abit h ad made t h e pair t h oroug h ly

e xpert at t h eir b u siness an d it was rarely
,
’
t h at Hampto n s m em ory faltered as to w h at
su m h e h ad laid against any particular h orse .
It w as wit h t h is m an t h at Maurice h ad
carried on h is speculati ons . H e co u ld n ot
go into t h e inner ring an d in t h e o u ter l awn
,
h ad n ot t h e knowledge w h ic h would enable

h im to distinguis h good men and true from
t h e pi ra t es w h o m i n gled wit h t h e m .
TII E PA L A C E S T A K ES . 89
Hampton k n ow Mr . E nderby to be a
friend of G rafton and t h at h ad been intro
,
duction enoug h for h im ; bes i des h e h ad ,
gi v en t h e bookm aker a h un dred po u nd note -
t h roug h t h e m edium of G rafton w h en t h e ,
”
I Van d e rin g N u n was beaten for t h e O aks ,
and t h erefore Hampton h ad been on l y too

glad to w elcom e h i m as a n ew client .
T h ere h ad n ever been suc h a g l orious

A scot w eek kn own said t h e pleasure l o v ing
,
-
dames and demoiselles w h o , ro b cd in t h ei r

fres h est an d pret t iest t h ronged t h e
,
I Vat e rl o o
p l atform on t h e day of t h e G o l d Cup .
T h ere h ad n e v er been suc h a de u ce of a

time seen ,
said t h eir mal e bel ongings w h o ,
h ad passed t h e last e i g h t and forty h o u r s in

- -
weary bat tl e wit h t h e bookmakers . Men

s t u died t h e card g rave l y and pronounce d i t
,
promising .
“
A winning card , Mrs . E nderby , sai d
90 A FALS E S T A RT .
’
G rafton gaily ,
better t h an t h e fi rst day s
even and we did pretty we l l t h en
,
.
”
A nd it need to be ,
rep l ied o l d M illi son ,
for if t h ey do n t h a v e a c h ange ’
f or th e
better t h e gent l e m en wi l l be a l l clean
broke .
We are going to se e your co l ours out to

d ay, Mr s E nderby ,. an d I t h ink we must all
h ave a p l unge on t h e W andering Nun She
’
.
oug h t to wi n t h e S t James s P alace S take s

.
’
if we ll and t h ey wo u ld h ard l y h ave sent h er

,
to A sco t un l ess S h e was supposed to h ave a

”
race in h er .
”
Y e s, Mrs . E nderby , exc l aimed E dit h ,
w h en we see your pretty b l ue and w h i t e

s l eeves go b y v ictorious our t h roats must
make t h e welki n ring
Isn t t h at t h e proper .
’
way to put it Mr G rafton — and o h ! by ,

.
t h e way w h at , is t h e welkin ?
’ ”
“
T h at s known only to t h e poe t s ,
replied
TII E PA LA C E S T A K ES . 91
Grafton ,
an d t h e craft k ee p t h at myster y
”
s afe l y to t h emse l ves .
T h ey arrive d at A scot i n t i m e to s ee t h e
roy a l c or t eg e
’
s w ee p up t h e course i n state ;
t h e Ma s ter of t h e B u ck h ounds attended b y ,
h is h untsman and w h i p s riding at t h e h ead ,
of t h e p roces s ion . T h ere wa s muc h c h eer i ng

from a ll p ar t s of t h e course ,
and m uc h
waving of p ocket h an d kerc h ie fs from t h e
gran d stand a s t h e prince an d p rince s s
,
bowed t h e i r acknow l e d gm ents . R oya l ty
safe l y disp osed of , racing p eo pl e sett l e d

down to t h e regu l ar business of t h e d ay .
It wou l d h ave been wel l for Maurice

E nderby if h e co ul d h av e o v er h eard a con
v ersation w h ic h took pl ace on t h e co rner of
t h e l awn next t h e racecourse about t h is very
t i me . Mr . P ick and R ic h ard M ad i ng l ey
h ad been h olding grave conference over t h e
afternoon programme at t h e conclus i on of ,
w h ic h Mr P ick rema rked

.
92 A FALS E S T A R T .
We had a rare innings yesterday . I

tell you w h at , D ick , t h e swells look ed bl u e
e noug h over it ,
but I ve a strong idea
’
t h at indigo wi l l b e n ot h ing to em by t h e ’
time th e card s finis h e d to day

’
- . T h is
‘
W andering N u n ’
will be facer the first ,
’
t h e re ll be h e a v y plunging
’
on h er and I v e
,
got a h int from a man I can depend on t h at

”
s he is not quite up to con cert pitc h - .
“
T h ere is one t h ing more ; you re m ember
t h at young parson w h o spoilt my gam e at
T u n n l e to n . I al w ays st u ck t o it h e w as a
betting man and h e is h ere and w h at
-
, ,
is
m ore h e is backing and no m istake I

’
em .
was j ust p utting a young friend of mine o n

J erry for t h e H unt C u
p yesterday w h en I ,
t wigged hi m wit h h is ears back listening to

a ll I was saying . We ll after t h at I stalked
,
my gent l e m a n and fo u nd h im interviewing

Hampto n before e v ery race . N ow I owe
t h at fellow a pretty h eavy score and I s h ould ,
94 A FAL S E S T A RT .
ominous wink Mr P i ck d isappeared t h ro u gh

.
t h e wicket of t h e in n er ring .
O ne or two minor races were dis p osed of

to start wit h resu l t i ng
,
in no material dif
ference bet w een backers and fi e l d e rs , and
t h en t h e n u mbers were h oisted for t h e St .
James s P a l ace
’
S takes The “
Wandering
Nun w as t h e cynos u re of al l eyes in t h e pack ;
s he was pronounced a gran d m are and ,
many of h er adm i rers m arvelled not a l itt l e

h ow s h e h ad l ost t h e O aks ; h er coat s h one
li ke satin an d t h e cro w d genera ll y
, an
n ou n c e d h er in s pl endi d condition . O ne or
two o l d h ands ,
and more especial l y t h ose
w h o knew t h e mare best s h ook t h e i r h eads,
and muttered She wou l d be t h e better for

”
anot h er gallo p or two , but t h ese cavillers
were deemed h ypercritica l and t h e crowd , ,
fu l l of ent h usiasm for J o h n M ad i n g l e y s ’
fi ll y rus h ed back to t h e ring pre p ared to

,
stake t h eir money free l y on w h at many of

T u n P AL AC E ST A K E S . 95
t h em declared was t h e “
best t h i ng of t h e
”
meeting . The fi e l d e rs were ap p arent ly
of t h e sam e w ay of t h inki n g ,
and de
cl in e d , in t h e first instance to do business ,
”
under t h ree to on e “
on ,
an d som e of t h e
irrepressible w h o are always anxious to be
,
ear ly i n t h e market l aid t h ose odds on

,
”
th e Wandering Nun . T he bookmakers
took a point s h orter l ater on ,
but e x citab l e
Ma u rice one can easily imagine h ad not
, ,
wa i ted for t h at but p romptly laid Ham p to n

si x h undred poun d s to two h undred on t he
m are as soon as t h e betting o p ened .
T h at t h ere was great excitem ent i n M rs .
E n d e rb y box it is need l ess to say T he

’
s .
ladies h ad not only in v ested one of t h ose

subscribed fi v e rs but all suc h winnings as
stil l remained to t h em from t h e T ues d ay ,
and t h eir g l asses were ri v eted on t h e “

\Va 11
”
dering Nun t he m inute s h e made h er
a pp earance . A s las h ing ,
dark c h es t nu t
96 A F A L SE S T A R T - .
mare wit h ,
n ot a speck of w h ite about h er
save t h e b l az e on h er face ,
and looking
really fit to run for h er life except to a ,
t h oro u g h ly trained eye owned by a man ,
also well acquainted wi t h t h e mare . The

ladies were ent h usias t ic an d e v en G rafton , ,
a ccustomed as h e was to t h e v icissit u des of

t h e race course and caref u lly
-
as h e h ad
scanned t h e Wandering N u n in t h e pad
dock t old Mrs
, . E nderb y t h at h e t h oug h t sh e
was sure to se e h er fa v ourite win to day -

.
T h e race m ay be tol d in a few words ;

”
th e Wandering Nu n appa rently h eld h er
opponents safe u ntil sh e reac h ed t h e d is
t ance , t h en it was seen t h at sh e w as
palpabl y in di ffic u lties and , ,

t h oug h s he
struggle d gam e ly till h er j ockey ceased
riding ,
sh e only finis h ed a bad t h ird to two
animals of infinite l y inferior class to h er
sel f . The want of con dition up th e
punis h ing A scot mile h ad beaten h er .
98 A FA L SE S TA R T .
famous mare wit h w h ic h t h ey h ad proudly

,
identified t h emsel v es beaten an d it

, ,
w as
wit h a sense of re l ief t h at B essie and E dit h
Mo l e com b e we l comed G rafton s ’

proposa l
t h at t h ey s h o u l d take a turn on t h e lawn
an d t h en walk up t h e course h ave a look ,
into t h e royal inclosure an d , s ee t h e h orses

parade for t h e G old C u
p . Maurice h ad
disappeared t h e moment t h e race w as de
cided and Mrs M illison a portly lady n o t
,
.
,
muc h gi v en to exertion declined to l ea v e ,
h er c h a i r e v en to feast h er eyes on t h e
millinery triump h s dis p layed in front of
the R oya l S tand ; h owe v er sh e m ade n o
obj ection to being left alon e and ,
so , under
t h e c h arge of Mr Millison an d G rafton
. , t he
ot h ers sal l ied fort h .
L ike m any anot h er plunger of t h at

mem orabl e A scot Maurice glanced m oodily
,
at h is betting book and won d ered w h et h er

-
h e could afford to go on ; h e kn ew v er y
Tn E P ALA C E ST A K E S . 99
w e l l t h at h e h ad no more rig h t to co n t i n u e
t ha n h e ever h ad to h ave beg u n ,
but sti ll ,
t h an k s to t h e t h o u sand guineas h e h ad not ,
yet got to t h e en d of h is bal a n ce at h is

banker s ’
. It wa s i m p ossible t h a t t h ings
co u l d go on l ike t h i s : i t wo u ld ne v er do to
give u p n ow, l u ck must turn He sauntered
i d l y t o w ard s t h e e n tra n ce of t h e i nn er
rin g .
T he next race w h ic h was a s m a l l

, one,
h ad virtua ll y resolved itse l f i n t o a matc h ;

i t l oo ked p ret t y we l l a cer t ainty for one ,
an d , fl u s hed w it h s u ccess , t he ring were

l iberal enoug h to take s h or t odds abo u t t h e
re s ult . O n ce m o re d id Maurice boldly re p l y
’
to [ I am p to n s c h a l l e n ge ,
an d t hi s t i m e h is
venture was crowned wit h success . H e h ad
the sati s fac ti o n o f fee l ing t h at h e h ad
reduced h is l o ss es t o some s m a ll exten t . He
h ad n o t b ee n u
p to t he bo x to s ee t h i s ra c e
but h ad viewed it f rom t h e ra il s and a s , ,
n 2
1 00 A FALS E S TART .
h e turned a w ay h e found h i mself face to,
face wit h Dick Madingley .
”
“
H ow do y ou do Mr,
. E n derby ? said
Dick ; “
yo u w ere pretty severe upon m e
because t h e p eople at T u n n l e t on took an
i dea into t h eir h eads and declared t h at I
w as a liar an d impostor ; do you t h ink
t h ere is m uc h to c h oose bet w een us n ow
Yo u ll be good enoug h not to address
’
”
yourself to me in f u ture ,
rej oined Maurice
h aug h tily .
“
Now don t go on in t h at way Mr
’
,
.
E nderby . I ll ’
own
’
I couldn t stand you at
T u n n l e t on be cause I l ooked u pon you as an
arran t h ypocrite ; yo u decl ared you n ever
”
bet on races .
”
“
Nor d id I ,
rej oined Maurice quickly .
No m atter ; I suppose you ll h ardly ’
’
preten d y o u don t now and I l ike you a l l ,
’
t h e better for it . I d do yo u a good turn
if yo u would let me .
1 02 A FA LSE S T AR T .
proj ects by t h reatening to div ul ge t h e fur

t h er information h e h ad acquired concerning
h im . No li v ing t h ing likes bei n g h unted
ex cept per h aps foxes and man is wont to
,
treasure u p fierce resentment against hi s
socia l pursuer . No ,
w h atever h is m otive
mig h t be it would be abs u rd to sup p ose t h at
,
h e co u l d feel an y desire to be of u se to h im ,
Ma ur ice E nderby . A n d yet Maurice coul d

n ot di v est h imself of t h e idea t h at Dick w as
real l y in possession of m ysterious informa

tion about t h e big race now so soon to be
run .
CH A P T E R V II
T I I E G OLD C U P .
MR S . E N DE R B Y and E dit h m ost t h oroug h l y

enj oyed t h eir strol l t h roug h the l awn .
U n der G rafton s
’
guidance t h ey passed
t h ro u g h t h e wicket and proceeded up t h e
,
course till t h ey were Opposite t h e R oya l
I nc l osure w h ere t h ey feasted t h eir eyes on

,
t h e v ery last e fforts of t h e crack L ondon
m od i stes . I t is a wondrous s h ow t h at l awn

,
on a fine Ou p day w h en fas h ion s f airest

,
’
d aug h ters ru ffl e it i n a l l t h eir bra v ery . It

was t h eir fi r s t experience of As c o t remem ,
1 041 A FALSE S T AR T .
ber . T h e two country girls were delig h ted

wit h e v eryt h ing t h ey s aw . G raf t on it need ,
scarcely be said kne w by s i g h t e v eryone ,
who w as anyone in t h e L ondon world an d ,
pointed out many celebrities to h is c h arges .
”
An d n o w, h e said as t h e roar of t h e
,
betting ring broke once more u p on t h e ear

-
,
it is getting time we went back . The

n umbers are u p ,
an d we s h all h av e t h e
”
h orses out directly .
As t h ey reentered t h e wicket G rafton ,
and h is compan ion h ad fal len a litt l e be h ind

B essie and M r Millison . . S uddenly B ob felt
a strange flutter on t h e little h an d wi t h i n h is
arm . He t u rned quickly to se e w h at w as
t h e matter . Miss M ol ec o m b es face was very ’
pale and h er eyes were l ooking into i nfinite

,
S pace wit h t h at far away look w h ic h we a l l -
ass u me w h en determined n ot to s ee anyone .
Just in front of t h em stood Mr . R ic h ard
Madingley busily v ocifera t ing, ,

1 06 A FALS E S TAR T .
G rafton h aving seen Miss M ol e c o m b e safe

,
to t h e box at once disa p peare d to

,
see w h at
w as doing in t h e betting ring -
. O n h is way
t h it h er h e ran across M a urice w h o eagerly ,
asked h im w h at h e t h oug h t of t h e C u
p .
“
Wel l I don t know muc h w h at to t h ink
,
’
of it . How are t h ey betting

“
T h ere are on l y two backed in earnest .
T h ey take even money about t h e V iking ,
and t h ere s a large party w h o are backi ng

’
”
old B ellon a .
Ah ! I can q uite understand t h at ,

ob
ser v e d Grafton . T h ey know t h e old mare

can go t h e course and it yet to be seen
’
, s
”
w h et h er t h e young one can stay . A nd wit h
t h at Grafton disap p eared into t h e inner in
c l osure . Al most imm ediately afterwards

Maurice s attent i on was arrested by t h e
’
v oice of D ick M ading l e y . H e was t a l king

to on e or two of h is bret h ren and apparently ,
TnE G OL D C U P 1 07
perfect l y unaware t h at M aurice wa s in h i s

vic i nity .
”
No don t te l l m e
,
’
,
h e was exclaiming i n
muc h t h e same arrogant way h e h a d been
wont t o assert h is o p inion at t he T u n n l e t o n
C l ub ,
“
t h is Viking won t win ’
. Ol d Bel l on a
wi ll ga ll op h i m to a standsti ll . Th e swe lls
wi l l ge t anot h er s pi ll you see if t h ey d on t
,
’
.
I h a v e i t p retty straig h t from t h e stab l e .
T h ey v ery muc h d oubt w h et h er t h eir h orse

can stay ,
but t h ey h op e it wi ll be a s l o w
run race an d t h en t h ey know t h at t h ey can
,
cut th e ol d mare do w n for sp eed . B ut t h e

Be ll ona peo p le are quite as wideawake as
t h eir neig h bours and t h ey m ean t h e race t o
,
be run rig h t t h roug h .
The l ittle grou p seeme d muc h im p resse d

wit h Mr Mad i n gl e y s vi ews and t h e y a l l
.
’
agreed t h at to t ake t h ree to one about

Be ll ona under t h e circum st ance s on t h is in
f ormat i on wa s a bo ut as g ood a c h a nce of

m aking money as often fe ll to men and t h en ,
ap p arent l y separated to take ad v antage of

it .
M aurice w as strange l y impressed wit h

t h is con v ersation . It coincided in some
measure wit h G rafton s idea of t h e race an d ’
,
moreover it o ffered t h e great c h ance to

recou p h imself for w h ic h h e ,
so anxiously
l ooked . H is mind w as made u p quick l y ;
’
h e wou l d wait no l onger but take Ham p ton s ,
fi fteen h undred to fi v e h undred if h e cou l d

get it .
V eri l y G eneral
,
Sh r e w s t e r was rig h t . The
gamb l er s instinct ’
w as strong wit h in M a u
rice .
Ham p ton h esitated for a m oment an d ,
t h en replied ,
“
All rig h t Mr ,
. E nderby , t h ree
monkeys to one B ellona ; and ,
t h at
l itt l e bit of business satisfactori l y conc l uded ,
M aurice t h ou g h t h e wou l d go back to t h e

box and s ee t h e race . T h ere h e was not
an d I once s aw t h at o fficial gra v ely con

su l ted on t h e subj ect of t h e G ol d C u
p by
an unmistakeable West end cockney -
.
T h ere was no delay a t t h e starting post -
on t h i s occasion . T h e h al f do z en runners
-
were dis p atc h ed a l most immediate l y an d ,
t h e race itse l f was as tame a struggle for

the C up as e v er was seen and may b e told
,
in two lines . B e l lon a m ade running ti l l

t h ey were in t h e Sw i n l e y B ottom w h en ,
V ikin g took up t h e running and ga ll o p ed

h om e an easy winner by twenty l engt h s ,
to t h e grea t de l ig h t of M rs . E nderby and

E di t h . T h e iron y of fa t e i s comm on
enoug h on our l eading race courses -
. Wives
an d daug h ters rej oice o v er t h e g l oves and
bon bons t h ey h av e won knowing l itt l e w h at
-
,
t h e triump h h as cost t h eir h usbands and

brot h ers . T h e fi ckle goddess is ca p ric i ous ,
and i s won t to dea l better wi t h our feminine

b e l ongings t h an s h e d oes wit h ourselves ,
T u E c ow C UP 111
Maurice laug h ed gai l y as h e c on

g r at u
l at ed h i s wife and t h e rest on t h eir succe s s ,
and in answer to G rafton s inquiries as to ’
w h at h e h ad won h imse l f replied , ,

“
I w as
n ot so l ucky as y ou a ll seem to h ave been

my investment sad t o say was on Be l lon a
, ,
and t h en Maurice a b ru p tly l eft t h e box .
T h i s l ast d efeat was a crus h ing b l ow .
He knew n ew t h at h e was gett i ng n ear t h e

en d of h i s resources an d fel t t h at h e h ad
,
h ard l y capital enoug h remaining wit h w h ic h

t o take advantage of a turn i n t h e tide ,
even if it s h ou l d come . I t h ad n ot occurred

to h im t h at t h e conversation h e h ad e ver
h eard h ad been got up ex p res sl y for h is
benefi t ; and on l y t h a t Madingl ey afra i d
, ,
of ri s king t h is c h an ce of wreaking h is ven

g e an c e , stern l y di s countenanced it on e of ,
h i s com p anion s u p on t h at occa s ion wou l d h ave

endeavoured to l ay M aurice t he od d s aga i ns t
B e l lona w h ic h m are t h e confederate s
,
be
li e v e d really to h ave n o sort of c h a n ce wit h

the favourite .
But Dick M ad in gl e y s malice wou l d h a v e

’
h ardly been gratified wit h ou t h is making

Maurice aware t h at h e h ad been t h e v ictim
of a littl e conspiracy . O ne of h is associates
h ad dogged E nderb y unti l h e h ad h eard hi m
make t h at big bet wit h Hampt on in accord

ance wit h t h e false information he h ad
b een a l l owed t o o v er h ear . T h e confederate
quick l y reported t h e fact t o h is principal ,
an d it w as wit h muc h c h uckling Madingley

and his companions s aw t h e race terminate
j u st as t h ey h ad anticipated .
”
Come along ,
sai d Dick in suc h j u bilan t
tones as a m an may u se w h o h as won h is
money and worsted h is enem y for a l t h oug h
D ic k h ad fielded i n t h e fi rst instance h e h ad
turned rou n d and backed t h e fa v ourite to
”
fi nis h with Come along ,
h e said ,
I
want to gi v e t h e parson anot h er c h ance ; h e
w h om I ’
v owed to pay o u t for an u g l y
ve
trick h e serv ed m e i n t h e country not long

since . He
’
s as innocent as a baby w h en h e
gets on a race co u rse an d I
-
,
s aw h im going
abo u t wit h hi s ears cocked l isten i ng h ere and
l istening t h ere and seeing w h at h e cou l d
,
m ake of it a l l . W h en h e h ad put it al l
t oget h er I knew h e looked u pon it t h at I

w as a tidy j udge of raci n g an d it sudde n l y ,
occ u rred to m e to put hi m on a wrong

’
’
nu
for t h e C up . I let h im h e ar a v aluable

piece of informatio n and am blessed if t h e ,
sagacious cuss didn trot o ff an d back it for

’
t
”
a monkey .
An ostentatiously loud gu ffaw fo l lowed

’
t h e conclusion of Dick s narrative . It was
not t h at h is listeners were rea ll y amused ,
it
’
was m ore like t h e conspirators c h orus i n
M adame A ngot a necessary f anf a r on a d e
,
for t h e proper rendering of t h e plot Ma u .
rice h ad h eard e v ery word ,

an d knew t h at
TnE cow C UP . 115
he w as intended t o h ear it and cou l d h ave

,
gro v e ll ed on t h e l awn at h is own foo l is h ness .
l Vas it like l y t h at any inform ation oste n

t at i o u sl y d ropped by suc h m en as Dick
Mad i ng l e y cou l d h ave any o t h er obj ect
t h an to delude the bystanders ? Was
i t like l y t h at M ading l ey woul d drop a
h int for h is benefit ? O f course n ot ; but
t h at h e wou l d g l ad l y be t h e cause of h is
l osing a lot of mone y was easy of com p re
h e n si o n . He h ad t h ir s ted h imse l f to strike
Dick to t h e ground at T u n n l e to n , and was
it to be supposed t h at Dick s fee l ings towards ’
h im h ad n o t been of similar nature ? He

h ad read of t h e sal ting of gold and diam on d
m i nes and s aw n ow idiot t h a t h e was h ow
, ,
,
p o ss ib l e it was to sa l t go l d mines on t h e
turf . If t h ere was one m an at A scot w h ose
ill wi l l h e h ad good cause to dread i t
-
w as
R i c h ard Madingl ey an d h e h ad b een in s an e

,
e noug h t o fol l ow h i s advice on a b i g race .
I 2
”
F oo l ! fool ! t h rice sodde n foo l ! he
muttered .
“
The veriest c h ild wou l d h a v e
m istrusted one w h o h ad al w ays been hi s
a v owed enemy ,
and I m ust actua l ly put
fai t h in h im . I start on a system and neglect
to follo w it . I p u t my own j udgme n t of
racing against G rafton s w h o h as been f ol ’
,
l owing it t h e l ast ten years . No wonder I

”
h a v e come to grief . To fi nis h wit h ,
h e co n
tinned grim l y ,
I h ap p en to h a v e t h rown in
for t h e wors t meeting backers h a v e h ad t h is

year . We l l I ve gone too far to give
,
’
in
now . It may as we ll be a lit tl e worse as

l eft w h ere it is . L u ck m ust c h ange ,
one
”
cannot al w ays go on backing l osers .
It is to be h oped not sti ll t h e ,

sa d fact
remains t h at on e m ay do so for a v ery con
si d e rab l e ti m e T h ere is not h ing in t h is l ife
i n w h i c h l uck does not form an i ngredient .
B ob Grafton l ounging t h roug h t h e lawn

,
w h ere h e s m o k e d his after l u nc h eon cigar -

,
su d
No Mr G rafton I didn t quite mean

,
.
,
’
t h at . I on l y m ean t h at he ’
s backing h is
bad luck rig h t out . I v e seen a meet ing or
’
two like t h is before and I can on l y , sa

y if 1
w as a backer I s h ould turn it up and go

back to L ondon .
As G rafto n walked away be reflected

rat h er seriously over w h at t h e bookmaker
h ad told h im ; h e h ad n o doubt t h at Hamp
’
ton s story was correct an d t h at Maurice , ,
carried away by t h e excitement of w h at

mig h t be called h is first race m eeting h ad -
,
staked h eavy sums agai n an d again . He

k n ew perfectly well w h at t h is was to t h e
E n d e rb ys . It m ean t swee p i n g away a l l
t h ese w inni n gs of t h e “
Wandering Nun ,
e v e n if t h ey su fficed to pay Mauri ce s lia ’
b il i t i e s . He t h o u g h t rat h er ruefully t h at it
was h e w h o h ad been at t h e bot t om of t h is
A scot exc u rsion . Howe v er t h ere
, w as no
more to be said ,
bu t it made G rafto n some
TUE G OL D C U P . 119
w h a t grave for t h e remai nder of t h e after

n oon .
T h ey were a somew h at sombre carriage

full on t h eir way back to town . F irst an d
forem ost t h ey were al l tired ,
an d in t h e
crowd of t h e Cup day h ad a considerab l e
di ffi c ul ty in getting away from A scot sta
tion . T wo train s l eaving before t h ey suc
c e e d ed i n Obt aining t h e accom modatio n t h ey
required ; an d t h ose w h o h ave experie n ced
t h at wait at t h e station af t er a fatiguing
and u n successf ul day wil l q uite understand
t h at t h ere was n ot muc h life or con versation
in t h e party on t he way h ome —i n s h ort ,
mos t of t hem , I t h ink slept m ore or less

, ,
and if Maur i ce did n ot h e was at a ll e v e n ts

c h ewing t h e bitter en d of h is o wn t h oug h ts .
CH AP T E R V III .
T H E NE W S OF I SAN D H L W AN A .
A SCO T is o v er : t h ere is not h ing left b u t to

pay t h e bill an d Maurice sits gloomi l y t h i s
,
S aturday morning pondering over t h e pages

,
of h is betting book -
. It is no u se h e ping
for a mistake in t h e figures ,
h e h as gone
o v er it at least a dozen times trying to ,
c h eat h imself wit h t h e idea t h at h e h as

added it up wrongly ; but n o t h e fi gures ,
are inexorable , his losses are l arger t h an h e

h ad fancied t h em . E v en if h e drains h is
and fo u nd t h at gentleman at breakfast ,

al
t h oug h it was past noon .
”
Come in h e said and si t down I
“ “
, , ;
’
always take it o u t af ter a h ard week s racing ,
especia lly w h en it h as been suc h a week of

disaster as t h is h as I v e a p h ilosop h er
’
amongst my acq u aintance w h o always takes

to h is bed w h en h e is h ard h it ; as h e says ,
it is t h e m ost economical t h ing yo u can do .
’
You don t spend money an d are h edging ,
”
any amount of sleep for livelier times .
A l l t h e tim e B ob ra ttled on h e was

watc h ing hi s companion s face keenly—as
’
h e rig h tly guessed h e was about to lis t en

,
t o a discussion of ways an d means . He

h ad listened to so m any from all sorts of
people t h at h e was quick at reading t h e
signs of t h e storm beaten - . Indeed h e ,
eu
j e yed quite a reputation in t h is way . Clear

h eaded and ferti l e i n resource it was qu ite ,
a common saying among s t h is own s et ,

T HE N EW S 01" I S AN D H L W AN A . 1 23
G o to B ob G rafton h e l l pu l l you t h roug h,

’
”
if anybody can .
”
“
I want to consu l t you ,
B ob , said
Maurice as h e took a c h air
, .
”
“
I know ,
interrupted G ra fton ; you
got h it deuced h ard at A scot . I d n o idea
’
you were b etting h eavily or else I s h ou l d ,
h a v e to l d y ou not to be su c h a fe e l as to
do it . Howe ver ,
it ’
s no use ta l king about
t h at now ; t h e q uestion is w h at does t h e ,
scrape com e to
”
Twenty four eig h ty
-
,
re p lied Maurice ,
as h e h anded h is m em oran dum book to h i s

b e st .
l Ve ll , you v e j oined t he p l unging sc h ool

’
”
wit h a v engeance ,
rej oin ed Grafton .
“
I
h eard somet h ing of t h i s accidental l y at A scot .
T h e names of t h e h eavy l osers genera ll y

ooze out in t h e ring an d I supp o se you
,
attracted attention as a new h and . But

I d n o idea t h at it
’
w as so b ad a s t h i s .
1 24 A FALS E S T AR T .
’
We ll it s no use going o v er it all you ve
,
’
no doubt totted it u p correctly H o w it .
was l ost is of n o conse q uence —t h at it h as

got to be paid at once —is . W h at are t h e
assets
“
A bout fi ve h undred sh ort of t h at amount
”
if I dra w out my l ast s h i ll ing .
We l l ,
7
on can t q uite do t h at you must
’
h ave som e ready m oney to carry on wit h .
Ham p ton ,
I see ,
is your main creditor .
You must l et me h ave as muc h as you can

s p are on Monday morning I l l p ay o ff th e
’
.
few minor creditors I wi ll give Hampton ,
al l t h ere i s left on account and ,

as k h im
”
to give you time for t h e remainder .
”
Ye s ,
sai d Maur i ce gloom il y
, ,
I know
al l t h at can b e done but t h e worst of i t is , ,
’ ”
I don t see w h at tim e i s to d o fo r me .
”
I d o, rej oined Grafton ; an d if you l l ,
’
promise m e solemn l y n ot to go p lunging

an y more I can give y o u a g l ea m of com
,
but total abstinen ce is of any u se to you ;

and I te l l you w h at old man t h e sooner
, ,
—
yo u get so m et h ing to do to work your
’
superfluo u s steam o ff at t h e be t ter
,
. Y ou re
c ertain to come to grief if yo u stop i d l ing
”
abo u t town .
Tal k about m arking out our own career ,
h ow very l itt l e we often hav e to sa

y to it .
M en w h o h ave started for t h e bar h ave

b ecome eminen t dramatists ; men w h o h a v e
started for t h e navy h a v e become famous
j udges ; w h ile warriors l ike Cromwe l l and
Cli v e were not bred to arm s . Had it not
’
been for U ncle Jo h n s wedding present ,
Maurice E n derby mig h t h ave blossomed

i nto a respectable clergyman ; as it is,
w h erever hi s future m ay l i e h e w ill n ever

,
attai n c elebrity in th is wise . Yet Maurice s ’
pen was get t ing recognised amongst t h e

guild of literature as t h at of a brig h t l ively ,
writer wit h considerable power of satire one ,

THE N EW S OF 1S AN 1m L W AN A . 1 27
w h o h andled the topics of t h e day in. lig h t ,
masterly and above al l readab l e fas h ion

, , ,
.
It mig h t not be very l ucrative emp l oyment

as yet but h e h ad at a l l events establ i s h ed a
,
market for h i s wares .
Now anot h er p erson w h ose c h aracter h ad

b een somew h at altered by A scot was Miss
Mol e c om b e . She h ad been ,
previous l y to
h er affair wit h D ick M ading l ey ,
a q uiet
conventional y oung lady ; but t h ese latter
event s h ad im p arted a certain am ount of
das h and possession to h er manner w h ic h
it h ad n ot possessed before . She h ad been
pretty well cured of h er p assion for Dick
Madingl ey before g oin g t o stay wit h t h e
Mi lli s o n s . No girl w h o h ad dared so muc h
for a l over cou l d h ave stood t h e coo l p re ,
m editated n eg l ect t h at fo l l owed t h e fi a s c o

Of h er attempted elopement S h e h ad st o od .
u p for h im for some t i m e but h er woman l y ,
pride h ad been cut to t h e q uick and i t m u st ,
h a v e been indeed a ver y c l ear ex p lanation

w h ic h wou l d restore h im to h er good graces .
A t A scot she sa w h im i n his true co l ours ,
an d t h e very sa l t was sown o ver h er dead

l o v e wit h a vengeance ; bu t strange to sa
y
sh e returned to T u n n l et on wit h a great ad
m i rat i o n for M aurice E nderby . He h ad

been so loya l and true to h er and above al l
,
t h e very iniquities now c h arged against h im

rat h er g l orified hi m in h er eyes . T h at Mr .
E nderby h ad wit h drawn from t h e C hurc h ,
and h ad lost a very large su m of m oney at

A scot ,
w as no secret w h atever in T u n n l e ton .
The l atter D ick Ma d ing l ey h ad taken care

s h oul d reac h t h at town w h ere h e h o p ed it
,
mig h t do Maurice consi d erable h arm . He

was not a w are t h at E nderby h ad severed a ll
connection w i t h it but t h e b l ackening of
,
Mauri ce s c h arac ter was a t h ing to w h ic h

’
h e was ready to devote h imse l f un

g ru dg
i n gl y . Bu t Miss Mol e c o m b e looked back

u pon M aurice s misdee d s w h en t h ey cam e to
’
,
h er knowle d ge wit h a species of re v erence

,
.
1 30 A FALSE S TART .
of v ol u nteeri ng t h at m ay arise . Count u po n

m e to back yo u in t h is . N ow to h elp your
,
self . I h a v e h eard t h at you wield a smartis h

pen of your own . Can ’
t you get an appoint
m ent from one of t h e daily papers S h ould
t h ese rum o u rs turn out true ? It wou l d b e
n o detrim ent t o you as an extra aid remem ,
b er , to be in p ossession of t h e ear of a
prominent dai l y . Take my ad v ice ,
an d
look after t h e second string at once and if , ,
’
you can t S peak w h ate v er t h e lingo of t h ose
”
parts m ay be well pretend you can
, . .
Maurice was t h understruck as h e finis h ed

t h is l etter . Mr G reville in h is memoirs
.
, ,
recalls h ow E psom and Newmarket u tter l y

absorb a m an , and Maurice h ad forgotten
for some days to take note of any t h ing i n
t h e pa p ers t h at did not bear upon t h e pursuit
u pperm ost in h is t h oug h ts , bu t t h oug h h e
h eeded t h em not ,
an d t h e Go v ernment also
tro u bled t h eir h eads but little about it t h ere ,
T H E N E W S OF I S AN D L H W AN A . 1 31
were S igns of stormy times on t h e Ca p e

frontier . \Ve were acting wit h our usua l
contem p t for our neig h bours ,
arrogant l y
’
sending a corporal s gu ard to p t u down a
simmering ins urrection w h ic h required a
division to i ntimidate it .
It is our way I suppose ,

. We are so im
p ressed wit h t h e manner in w h ic h a h andfu l

of p o l icemen cow a L ondon m ob t h at we ,
be l ieve a l ike h andful of so l diers wi l l s uffi ce

to strike terror into t h e h earts f our savage
'
ne i g h bours . We are astonis h ed to find t h at ,
m uc h as we l l traine d soldiers
-
c an eff ect by
scien ce and superior weapons yet w h en t h e , ,
foe ex ulting in h is numbers

, ,
h as , reckless of
l oss foug h t h is way in to a h and to h and strug
,
g l e t h e barbarian s sinew s are toug h er t h an

,
’
t h ose of our o wn men . O verweening co n fi
dence and insu f ficient number s h ave been t he
cau s e o f m o re t h an o ne d i saster to o ur arm s ,
and fi rst succes s e s give courage to t he enemy .
x 2
1 32 A FALSE S TAR T .
Here an d t h ere an old military man w h o ,
knew t h e country s h ook h is h ead and pro

, ,
p h e si e d t h at if G overn m ent did not stamp

t h is littl e agi t ation out promptly t h ey woul d
find t h emselves invol v e d in an awkward war
b efore many weeks were over .
T h e croake rs were rig h t —t h ese prop h ets

of il l omen a re at times— and w h en t h e cabl e
,
flas h ed the news t h at a B ritis h regiment h ad

been anni h ilated t h e n ation was one in de
,
m anding t h at t h e Z ulu king s h ould be at

once broug h t to h is knees . A mere q uestion
of ti m e an d troops ,
no doubt but meanw h ile
,
t h ose wit h a stom ac h for fig h ting were like

to get t h eir fi l l of it .
T h e story of t h e a l l but anni h i l atio n of

t h e twenty fo u rt h -
,
and h eroic d efence of
R orke s D rift h ad not yet reac h ed E nglan d ,
’
w h en G eneral Shre w s t e r wrote but it fol

,
l owed prett y quick l y on t h e h eels of h is

l e t ter ,
an d Maurice s aw n ow t h at t h e c h ance
CH AP T E R IX .
T H E L E AG U ER .
I F E ngland h ad been start l ed and E urope
amazed at t h e terrible inte l lige n ce t h at t h e

cabl e h ad flas h ed from S out h A frica it was
,
not h ing to t h e dismay t h at spread t h roug h

t h e co u ntry itself . In Natal t h e news of t h e
d isaster produced a positi v e p anic . It was
r u moured t h at t h e Zulu army flus h ed wit h ,
v ictory h ad crossed t h e Tugela

,
an d were in
a fair way to o v erru n t h e pro v ince . P ari s
and B erlin , as well as L ondon , were ag h ast

T m: LEA G U E R . 135
at t h e catastrop h e . E ven i n civi l i s ed war

fare it i s rare to h ear of t h e anni h ilation of a
regiment and singu l ar to re l ate it was t h e
, , ,
s am e regiment t h at s om e t h irty odd y ears

before h ad died gri mly fig h ting almost to a
m an , in India on t h e fata l fie l d of C h il l ian
,
wa ll a h . T h at t h e scare s h ou l d b e pretty
genera l t h roug h t h e provi n ces b ordering on
Z u l u l and wa s excu s ab l e ,
considering t h at
even t h e mi l itary l eaders took a most g l oomy
view of t h e situation and at once abandoned
,
t h e in i ti ative for t h e defensive .
Had t h e Z u l us of t h at tim e been l ed by

one of t he s e wi l d mi l itary ent h usiasts w h o
see m born to ride t h e w h irlwind and direc t
t h e storm t h ey would h a v e s w e p t l ike a
,
torren t across t h e T ugela anni h i l ating c on ,
voy after co n voy in t h eir triump h ant marc h ,
but according to t h e manner of barbarians

, ,
t h eir fir s t impu l se ,
after striking a great
b l o w was to return h ome i n tr i um p h w it h
,
”
1 36 A F A L SE S T A RT .
t h eir pl un der . O ur own Hig h lan ders in t h e

l ast cent u ry h ad a good dea l of t h is fee l ing ,
and t h o u g h easy to gat h er for one supreme

,
effort were difficult to h old toget h er for a

,
contin u o u s campaign .
Colonel P earson , ad v ancing into Zulu l an d

at t h e h ead of a long stragg l ing con v oy h ad ,
arri v ed as far as E t s how e , w h en h e recei v ed

n ews of t h e catastrop h e of I s an d hl w an a ,
wit h orders to entrenc h h imself w h ere h e

w as , and to b e prepared to bear t h e attack
of t h e W h ole Zulu army . T h is t h e co l umn
did w i t h out loss of time and for about a ,
m o n t h was known to t he outer worl d n o

more .
T h e first streaks of dawn were j ust visible

in the h ea v ens ; t h e advanced sen t ries
drop S lowly in and repor t t h at a l l is q ui e t
as far as t h ey can ascertain ,
but every
one k nows t h at E t sh o w e is s u rrounded by
a n umero u s and s u btl e foe ; t h ey h a v e h ad
1 38 A F A LSE S T A R T .
parap et and eagerly scans t h e co u ntry

t h roug h a fi eld -
glass but apparently wit h out
,
disco v ering anyt h ing wort h y of h is atten

tion . A s h e p uts down h is glass a quiet
v oice by hi s side obser v es ,
“
A not h er nig h t of tranqui l lity , Mr .
”
E nderby ?
“
Yes sir, ,
rep l ies Maurice as h e turned ,
and touc h ed h is cap to t h e v eteran c h ief

’
w h o stood beside h im ; “
you do n t suppose
t h ey wi ll r aise t h e S iege do you ,
”
“
Not a bit of it ,
replied t h e colonel ;
’
I ve h ad muc h experience on t h e frontiers ,
and t h e Zu l us l ike a ll barbarians are fu ll

, ,
of tricks and stratage m s . T h ey are on l y

trying to lull us into fancied security . I
wis h we co ul d h ear somet h ing from t h e
outside ; we know less of w h at is going on
t h an t h ey do in L ondon .
“
A nd know I S h o u ld t h ink sir
, , ,
re pl ied
TII E L E AC U E R . 1 39
Ma u rice laug h ing , ,

more a b out t h e Zu l u
”
arm y t h an most p eop l e .
”
“
Ah ,
rep l ied t h e c h ief “
we can t te l l ’
ho w m uc h o f t h at army we h ave got around

us ; exce p t i n sma ll bodies we never catc h
m uc h s ig h t of t h em by day an d i n t h e ,
nig h t a t tacks i t i s di ffi cu l t to j udge of t h eir

n umber s . By t he way ,
Sh r e w s t e r , in h i s
l etter to m e to l d me y our obj ect in ,
v ol u n
teering and I ve s een q uite enoug h o f

,
’
y ou
h ere to know t h at y ou h ave t h e m akings

of a good soldier . Now I can t say for ’
certain ,
but t h e probabi l ity i s i n two or
t h ree days I s h a l l want a v ol u n teer o n a

very de l icate mission ; I do n t di s guise fro m
’
y ou it s a risky one
’
,
b ut if you p ul l t h roug h
a l l r i g ht it wi l l count as a spec i a l bit of
service and s trengt h en yo u r c l aim con
,
”
s i d e rab l y for a com mission .
’
“
It s on l y too kind of you to g i v e m e
”
t h e c h ance ,
re pl ied Maur i ce ;
“
I c an on l y
1 40 A F A L SE S T A R T .
promise w h en t h e time comes to do m y

”
l e v el best .
”
T h at l l do
’
,
said t h e c h ief “
o n ly don t ’
forg et a cool h ead is t h e first essential in

”
di fficulties ,
and ,
wi t h a S lig h t n od , he
walked away into t h e i n terior of t h e for t ,
l eaving Maurice to wo n der w h at hi s special

mission mig h t pro v e .
It w as rat h er a grim consultation at w h ic h

t h e c h ief h ad n ex t to preside . H e h ad to
point out to hi s secon d and t h ird in com
mand t h at t h eir stock of provisions was
g e tting l ow, and t h at ,
t h oug h he h ad
no d o u bt t h ey could h old E t sh o w e for
m ont h s h ad t h ey fe e d , yet t h eir ability to
do so was n ow S imply dependent on t h at
fact .
“
I don t like to do it but I am afraid I
’
,
s h all be compe l led to p ut t h e force upon

h a l f rations
- . It is a sad necessity for t h e ,
men are h ard worked ; you can t expect to

-
’
1 42 A FA L SE S T A R T .
I s an d hl w an a h ad been by no m eans th e
m easure of our d isasters . T h e commander
in -
c h ief wo u ld h ave surely contri v ed to com
m u n i c at e wit h us before t h is if t h ere h ad not
”
been f u rt h er trouble .
Maurice s first exp erience of active service

’
.
h ad been by no m eans c h eering T h e marc h

u p to E t sh o w e h ad been al l very w e l l ; riding
t h ro u g h a strange country in w h ic h t h ey
mig h t h ourly expect to be attacked h ad a
wild excitement about it w h ic h sent t h e
bl ood co ur sing t h roug h t h e v eins an d m ade
t h e pulses tingle but t h is being
, c ooped up ,
like a rat in a corner t h e d u l l and depress

,
i ng routine of siege l ife ,

is about t h e h ardest
tria l t h at a sol d ier h as to endure fo l lowed ,
as it usua l ly is b y a ll t h e privati o ns of in
s uffi ci en t food et cetera . AS for fig h ting , t h e

Zu l us to do t h em j ustice t ook care t h ey
, ,
S h ou l d h av e pl enty of t h at . Maurice l ike a l l

,
his comrades knew t h at t h e y were fig h ting

,
TH E L E AG U E u . 1 43
for t h eir very l ives . T h eir fi erce foes h ad

a l ready s h own t h em h ow t h ey con s trued
wa s h ing t h eir s p ears ,
and every one in
E t sho w e knew t h at if t h e place was taken

t h e Zu l us woul d spare n o one wit h in its
ram p arts . Men die h ard w h en fig h ting for
t h eir live s an d ,
so far t h e Zu l us h ad found
E t sh o w e a stubbor n nut to crack . B ut t h ey
knew as we l l as its b e l e ag u r e d defenders
t h at t h e r e was a limit to t h eir p rovi s ion s ,
and waited patient l y ti ll t h e time s h o ul d

come w h en t h e garrison wou l d h ave to
c h oose between surrender or t h at l as t ex
p e d ie n t of t h e de s perate an attem p t to cu t
,
t h eir way t h roug h .
A bout t wo days after t h e order for h alf

rati o ns h ad been given out som e of t h e
so l d i ers were sudden l y struck wi t h some
singu l ar flas h es t h at i llumined t h e s ky in t h e
d i rec t ion of t h e l ower Tugela an d n o soo ner ,
was t h i s fac t communicated to t h e i r o ffi c ers

t h an t h e entire garrison crowded out to se e
w h at could be m ade of it . T h e o ffi cers wel

com ed it wit h a great sense of relief . It was
a pp arent to t h em t h at t h eir own peopl e were
striving to comm u nicate wit h t h em by means
of t h e h eliograp h It is true t h at so far
t h ey were unable to interpret t h e S igna l s ,
but one t h ing was c l ear assistance was

,
a
p
pr e ac h ing and t h at one fact did more to
,
raise t h e spirits of t h e gallant little band

t h an e v en luxury in t h e s h ape of rations
cou l d h ave don e . T h ere is somet h i n g ter
r ib l y de p ressing in utter isolation to most
of us but not h ing per h aps tries t h e soldier
,
m ore h eavily w h en besieged t h an com p lete

ignorance of w h at hi s friends on t h e o u tside
m ay be doing on h is be h a l f . T h e l eaguered
force at once attempted to rep l y in S imiliar
fas h ion but t h e afternoon
,
w e re away wit h
out t h eir being able to interpret t h e S ig
n al s T h is h owe v er was clear : t h at friends
days ,
h ad th e Zulus wit h drawn from
around E t sh o w e wit h a view to giving battle
to t h e relieving force ? If so t h ey were
probably lying m ore or less masked on t h e
road leading to t h e fort . It was h e t h oug h t
, ,
imperati v e t h at h e s h ould comm u nicate wit h

t h e leade r of t h e ad v ancing column He
m u st sen d a m essenger— a dangerous errand
n o doubt stil l a resolute well m ounted m an
, ,
-
mig h t get t h ro u g h c arrying wit h h im suc h

,
exp l anations as would m ake all signa ll ing

easy for t h e future and w h o would also be ,
able to speak as to t h e exact state of t h ings

in E t sh o w e . He h ad been p re p ared to do
t h is before w h en wit h out t h e kn owledge
t h at assistance w as so near at h and and it ,
seemed to h im stil l more necessary to send

t h at messenger now . His mind was soon
made up and t h en h e sent for Maurice
, .
Briefly h e exp l aine d w h at h e wanted .
’
“
It s n ot a nice ride for you ,
E nderby ,
TnE L EA G U E R . 1 47
’
and you l l want bot h sabre and revol ver
ready to your h and but I t h ink if you kee p
your h ead coo l you l l pul l t h roug h . A good
deal de p ends upon your h orse and yo u ve ,
’
m y aut h o rity to take your c h oice of any one

”
i n t h e fort .
“
T h ank you ,
sir but I t h ink my own
,
’
h orse l ook s as we ll as an
y of t h em h e s got
a b it of b l ood about h i m t h at l l serve m e ’
we ll if it comes t o a p inc h . I h ad plenty

Of o pp ortunities of trying hi m on t h e way
u p and kno w h e ll do h is bes t in ca s e of
’
df
’
n ee
“
G o od ! y ou d better start j ust before
’
day b reak . I wi ll h ave t h e road patrolled so

a s to en s ure you a clear start . My im
p ress i on i s t h at y ou w il l see no Z u l us ti l l
”
you get s ome mi l es from h ere .
“
You d o n t t h i nk t h ey h ave wit h drawn
’
from aroun d E t s ho w e in q uired Maur i c e .
“
In t he m ain y es . T h e y ve l ef t p ar t of
’
L 2
t h eir army h ere to watc h us but t h e bulk of ,
it is wit h drawn to give battle to t h e force

coming up to re l ieve us and it ,
is as yo u
near t h at you will ru n t h e greatest danger .
You h ad better spe n d t he afternoon con

c e rti n g a simple code of flas h es wit h C ham
b e rl ai n ; h e seems to understan d t h e h elio
grap h better t h an an
y one else ,
and to
t h oroug h ly estab l is h com mu n ication is , of
”
co u rse t h e c h ief obj ect
,
.
A nd wit h a quiet nod t h e commandant

dis m issed E nderby for t h e present .
A s for M aurice h e left t h e roo m i n se arc h

,
of C h amberlain as gay as a lark . A some

w h at h a zardous p iece of service it mig h t be ,
but it may be doubted w h et h er t h ere w as an

o fficer in t h e garrison w h o woul d not h ave
been delig h ted to c h ange places wit h h im .
I n war m en are ca l led u p on t o ri s k t h eir

lives day by day to die wit h t h eir face to t h e
,
fe e , wi t h t h e brief e p itap h t h at t h ey h ave

force S h ould h e only succeed in reac h ing it

,
.
T h at done h e j ea l ously superintended t h e

,
doing -u
p of hi s h orse ,
and t h en ,
h aving
finis h ed h is own sup p er t h rew h imself ,
On
his pallet to snatc h a few h ours rest before ’
S t arting on hi s perilous ride .

C I I APT E R X .
A P ERILO U S RIDE .
IT wanted considerably over an h our to day

break w h en Maurice was aroused from h is
s l u m bers an d to l d t h at t he c h ief w as a w ait
in g h im . A toi l et is a brief an d h asty cere
m on y at suc h tim es an d a very few
,
m in u te s
e l a p sed before h e fo l lo w ed t h e order l y across

t h e o p en Sp ace to t h at wi n g of t h e miss i on
’
h ou s e w h i c h served as t h e c o nn n an d an t s
q uarters .
“
I h a v e n ot h ing muc h m o re t o sa y t o
1 52 A FA LS E S TAR T .
”
you ,
said t h e v eteran ,
as h e ackn owledged
M au rice s salute t h an t o w ish you G od
’
S p eed an d s h ake h ands

,
. You wi l l tell h ow
it is wit h us h ere to w h oe v er com m an ds t h e
r e l ie v ing column . Say we can last on the
h alf rati o n for t h ree weeks
-
e t, an d t h at
y
t h ey will ne v er turn u s out of the for t
ex cept by st arvatio n T ake old h an d s
’
. an
a dvic e —S pare yo u r h orse on t h e early part

of yo u r road s o as to keep al l t h e powder you
c an i n h im for t he tim e w h e n you wi l l h a v e
to t rust to hi s h eels . L et t h e first flas h you
c an send us annou n ce your own s afety . Th e
picket report t h at t h ey can g e t n o touc h of

t h e e n emy as far as t h ey h a v e been alon g
t h e r oad ; and n ow G od b l ess you and send
you safe t h roug h ; t h e sooner you are in t h e
sad d l e t h e b e tter ,
”
an d as h e concl uded t h e
v eteran extended hi s h an d an d exc h anged a
h earty h a n d grip wit h Ma u rice
-
.
E n d e rb y s
’
fin al preparations w ere soon
troubled t o h ave i n creased h is speed muc h

at prese n t for ,
it was j ust as muc h as he
cou l d do to m ake out t h e track w h ic h eve n ,
i n broad dayl i g h t was bv n o means very

wel l de fi ned . M ore t h an once h e turned in
h is sadd l e and ch ecked his h orse w h ile h e
,
looked back t o se e if t h ere w as any stir at

E t show e , but no —a l l w as still . He h ad
been t ra v e lli ng n ow as far as h e cou l d guess
for about an h our ,
an d , t h oug h t h e fort w as
l ong l ost to sig h t yet ,

his ear must h ave
caug ht t h e s h ar p ratt l e of musketry an d t h e
fi erce ye ll s of t h e foe h ad t h ere been an y
attack up on it
H e h ail ed t h e first streaks of dawn wit h
no lit t le satisfactio n If t h e Zu l us were
m ore likely to catc h S ig h t of h im by day
lig h t ,
h o, on t h e ot h er h an d , was more
l ike l y to b l under i nt o t h eir midst i n t h e
darkness . T h en , again wit h l ig h t it woul d
,
b e p oss ib l e to t r av e l ‘
c o n s i d e r ab l
y faster . AS
A PE R I LO U S R IDE . 1 55
far a s h e cou l d gue s s h e wa s now some four

miles from t h e fort an d h e h o p ed h ad tra
,
ver sed a four t h or so of h is j ourney . An d

now t h e su n peeps above t h e h orizon ; the
stars h ave faded away ; a f ew minutes m ore
an d anot h er day h as b egun . Maurice pul l s
u
p h is h orse an d gazin g around takes stock
,
of t h e situation . He can see E t sh ow e b e
h ind h im an d i n t h e clear m orn i ng air can

,
almos t make out t h e sentri es on i ts ramparts ;

but w i t h t h at exce p tion t h ere is n ot a S ig n
of a h uman being . H e can see t h e track
p l ain l y enoug h n ow an d j ust at p resen t it,
S eems to b e pretty fair going . P utting h i s

h orse into a h and cant o r h e r i des gai l y for
-
,
ward ,
an d is h a l f i nc l ined to a l rea dy deem
t h e d anger s of h is ex p edi t ion overrated .
S t ill , h e h ad s een too muc h o f t h e cunn i ng

of t he Zulus to re l ax h i s vigi l ance ,
an d
kn ows t h at as y et h e h as n o t com e t o w h ere ,
in t h e op ini o n of h i s c h ief h e ,
m igh t ex p e c t
t o be way l aid by t h e enemy . He h as g ot
over ano t h er t h ree mi l es in easy fas h ion ,
and is ap p ro ac h ing a pl ace w h ere t h e road

bends consi d erab l y t o t h e rig h t . R ound t h at
bend h e t h inks it quite possible h e may c atc h
sig h t of t he d i s t an t l aager of the re l ieving
co l umn . S udden l y h e fancies h e sees a
b l ack h e ad a ppear for a secon d above t he
crop i n a m ealie fie l d to t h e ri g h t . It dis

a pp ears al m ost instanta n eously but anot h er ,
m i nu t e convinces h im h e was not mist aken ,
as i n h alf a dozen p laces t h e dark h e ads

a pp e ar for an instan t abo v e t h e cres t of t h e
c orn an d t h e n
,
as sudden l y vanis h . Yes h e
,
h as com e upon t h e enemy n ow and t h en it ,
flas h es across h im w h at is h appening . The

Z u l us h ave caug h t sig h t of h im and ,
ar e
h urrying under co v er of t h e m e alies to i nter

ce p t h im j ust be yon d t h e ben d . H e knows
n ow t h at t h e crisis h as rrive d
a ,
and t h a t
1 58 A F ALSE S T A R T .
most h e s h ould easily outstrip t h e remainder

,
.
T h ese were straining every nerve to i n ter

cept h im j ust belo w t h e be n d . S h ould t h ey
fai l to arrest h im t h ere B ay ,
R obi n would
speedily bear hi m beyond t h eir reac h .
T h ere ll be a tussle for it my h orse

’
, ,
muttered Mau rice ,

as h e bent forward in
t h e saddle and patted t h e animal s neck ;
“
we re tai l ing t h e m
’
o ff nice l y but t h ey
,
’
h a v en t near so far t o go as we h a v e and ,
t h ose l eading fellows wi l l be in tim e to

t h row t h eir assegais at us . We must C h ance
it and take v er y good care t h at if t h e i r
, ,
assegais don t h it us t h e first time t h ey

’
”
h av e no c h ance to t h row a second .
It t u rned out eve n better t h an Maurice

h ad anticipated . He is round t h e bend ,
and t h en it becomes ev i dent t h at h e wi ll

h ave to dea l wit h n o more t h an t h ree of h i s
en emies . Two of t h em emerged from t h e
me al ie fi eld and gained t h e edge of t h e
A PE R I LO U S R I D E . 1 59
track j ust a s E n derby com es we l l roun d

t h e b end . T h ey are sti l l some h undred
and fifty yar d s from h im w h i l e t h e t h ird ,
m an h as not as y et e merged from t h e corn .
Drawing h is s abre and setting spurs to h is ,
h orse wit h a w il d c h eer Maurice das h es

,
straig h t at t h em . B reat h l ess wit h t h eir

l ong run t h e two Z u l us are n ot as accurate
,
as usua l i n t h eir a i m . A couple of as s egais

w h iz z h armles s ly p ast t h e h orseman . O ne
of t h e two a big p o w erful fe l lo w makes a
, ,
desperate s na t c h at B ay R obin ’
s brid l e ,
on l y to go down before a s w as h ing sabre

eu t t h at l ays h is rig h t c h eek open in grizz l y
f as h i on .
Bu t s a b rc s s h a ll sw ing ,
An d h e pd
ai e ces r i n
-
g ,
u t h e g al l a n t s o f E n
\t gl a n d
Are u
p fo r t h e i r K i n g .
muttered Maurice wit h a grim l aug h in al l

t h e i n toxication of batt l e a s h e and Bay ,
1 60 A FA LS E S TA RT .
R obin sped merrily onwards . F o r ward
away -
o n w ard o n ward t h e best p art of a
, ,
mile is past before M aurice drew bridle t h e n ,
t h e broken ground d ic tated a slackening of

sp eed . S h eat h ing h i s sabre h e looked back
and saw t h at t h e Zulus were g at h ered roun d
t h e fallen man still brandis h ing t h eir s p ears
,
at h im but t h ey h ad e v ident l y abando n ed al l

,
i dea of p ursuit . O nce m ore h e laug h ed in
hi s beard but S til l pricked

,
on as quick l y as
h e cou l d conveniently go over t h e uneven

track . O nce more he comes to a stretc h of
smoo t h er ground an d agai n presses hi s h orse,
to a h and gallop -
, Bay R obi n is barely in
hi s s t ri d e w h en h e swer v es across t h e track

so sud d enly t h at a less prac t ised h orseman
t h a n Maurice wou l d v ery like l y h a v e bee n
unseated . It w as we l l t h e gal l ant brute h ad
done so for h alf ,
-a -
dozen assegais w h iz zed
passed h is rider t h at would in all p robabi l ity
h ave take n effec t h ad it n ot bee n for Bay
pitc h es h ea v i l y forward , an d t h e n rolls over

on hi s side . It is clear enoug h n ow t h e ,
cr u el assegai is qui v ering in h is flan k , an d
’
Maurice knows t h at h is c h arger s last course
is run .
He l ooks ro u n d . S mall c h ance of hi s
escape now h e t h inks . H is fe e s can be but

a few h undred yards be h in d h im ,
an d as
S oon as t h ey see he is dismounted t h ere is ,
little likeli h ood bu t w h at t h ey wil l S tart in

h ot p u rs u it ; alt h oug h h e can se e not h ing
of t h em h e has sma l l doubt but t h at t h ey
are watc h ing h is m ovements . S ingu l ar , he
t h inks t h at a fierce ye l l of trium p h did not
,
burst from t h eir t h roats as t h ey witnessed

t h e fall o f h is h orse . He drew t h e revolver
from h is h olster loose n ed h is sabre in
, i ts
S h eat h and made up h is mind to se l l h is

,
life dearly . T h at t h ey woul d be on h im

before many m inutes h e looked u p o n as
certain ; and t h en h e cas t a despairing l ook

A PE R I LOU S R I D E . 1 63
along t h e track i n fron t of h im . Ah ! cou l d

it be p ossi b l e ? Yes ,
h e fel t s u re of it
a l ong way o ff yet but t h ere was a laager

,
?
S traig h t a h ead . Coul d h e gain i t and
Maurice strode manf u ll y for ward .
E v ery moment h e expected to h ear t h e

w h izz of an assegai ; but no ; h e trudged
a l ong a good mile and s t ill h is foes made
no Si gn . A gain an d again h e looked b ack
but could se e not h ing of t h em an d at l as t ,
t h e tru t h dawned upon hi m : t h e Zul us were

a m bus h ed wit h a vie w t o attacking t h e
relieving column as soo n as i t was once
more on its marc h ; t h ey were afraid to
fo ll ow h im furt h er for fear of di s co v ering
t h emse l ves .
’
Maurice s s pirits arose ; let h im
gain t h e l aager and t h e information h e
br o ug h t wi t h h i m was of t h e h ig h est value ,
not on l y t o t h ose w h o m h e h ad left bu t to

t h o s e h e wou l d j o i n .
He h ad n o t trudged far before h e e sp ied

M 2
a smal l part y of h orsemen ri d ing leisure l y

towards h im it was evident m oreover t h at, ,
t h ey h ad al ready caug h t sig h t of h im ;

alt h oug h some d istance o ff h e felt pretty
sure t h at t h ese were friends . A not h er
minute and two of t h em ,
d etac h ing t h em
selves from t h e group cam e gall oping to ,
wards h im . T h e foremost w as ah officer ,
and as h e rein ed u p
,
his h orse close to
Maurice h e excl aimed
, ,
“
W h o are you and w h ere do you come
from ?
“
I am a messenger from E t s ho w e , ”
re p lied Maurice ,
“
and t h e bearer of im
p ortant news for your general .
“
W h en did y ou l eav e th e fort P
A l itt l e before daybreak .
“
T h ey were all rig h t t h en asked t h e
o f fi cer eager l y .
Yes and q u ite able to h o l d out for some

,
”
t ime y et .
1 66 A FA L S E S T ART .
make out w h at you sa i d but t h ey s h owed

you were all rig h t and we re wit h in a long
,
’
’
day s marc h of t h e fort n ow . We are
ad v ancing rat h er slowly b ecause we expect
to com e in contact wit h t h e en em v every
h our Now if you will follow wit h my
’
orderly I ll gallop back to camp and report
t h at you are on your way to t h e general .
’
You ve a good t h ree miles before you
’
yet ,
but I l l send out a h orse to meet
”
you , w h ic h wi l l sa v e you a bit ,
and ,
so
say ing t h e dragoon

, se t spurs to hi s h orse
and gallo p ed o ff wit h hi s news .
A nd n o w , as Maurice n eared t h e l aager

,
it was e v id e nt t h at all t h e preparations for

t h e marc h h ad been sudden l y suspended .
His former ac q uaintance m et h im wit h a

l ed h orse .
’9
Jump on , h e cried ;
“
t h e genera l
wants to s ee you immediately . Y ou are
”
u psettin g al l t h e programme ,
h e continued
A P E R I LO U S R ID E . 1 67
l aug h ing ; t h e orders are for t h e cam p t o

stand fa s t w h ile t h e rocket troo p and h orse
-
ar ti ll ery go fo r ward an d searc h a l l t h is l ong

”
grass rig ht and left of us .
T h us adj ured Maurice swung h i mse l f into

t h e saddle and guide d by h i s new friend
, , ,
fo u nd h imse l f in less t h an a q uarter -

o f -a n
h our at t h e laager .
CH AP T E R XI .
A N I G H T A TTA CK .
E XCIT E M E NT i n E t sho w e ran h ig h t h at m orn

ing . It w as pretty well known two h ours ,
after daybreak by t h e garrison t h at Maurice

E nderby h ad been despatc h ed t o carry a
m essage to t h e relie v ing column . Woul d h e
get t h roug h , w as t h e question a t t h at m om ent
m o n ths
’
in all men s . T h ey wou l d soon know
n ow . Had n ot Captain C h amberl ain said
t h at if Mr . E nderby won h is way t h roug h
safely t h e h eliograp h of t h eir friends would
be easy to understand . A t lengt h t h e wel l
immediate necessity for reac h ing E t sh o w e
t h at nig h t ,
he determined to ad v ance
leisure l y searc h ing t h e groun d on h is front
,
and on hi s flanks rigoro u sly as h e proceeded .
H e fel t v ery li ttle doubt t h a t h e s h oul d h av e

to fig h t t h e Zulu army b efore h e reac h ed
t h e fort ; it s h ould be t o day if t h ey c h ose -
,
bu t if not h e inten ded to j oin h an d s wit h

the E t sho w e garrison on t h e morro w t h oug h ,
all Zulu l and stood i n hi s pat h .
You h a v e done your missi on very we l l ,
”
Mr . E nderby , h e said as Maurice fi nis h ed
,
hi s narrati v e ; and n ow after your riding

for yo u r life to get out of t h e place you wi l l
h a v e to take a turn wit h us an d fi g h t your
way in again . You sa
y you s aw no large
”
bodies of t h e enemy ?
Mere pickets , si r , about t h irty in t h e first
instance and not m ore t h an si x or e i g h t in t h e
second but we h ad little d oubt at
, E ts how e
t h at t h e besieging force h ad been w i t h dra w n

A n e w A TT A C K . 171
to m eet y ou ,
and from w ha t I saw I s h ou l d
,
say you woul d com e across t h em some five

or six miles from h ere and t h en Ma u rice
was d ismissed i n c h arge of an aide de camp - -
,
w h o contrived to furnis h h im wit h a tolerab l e

breakfast w h i c h went far to cement t h eir
,
acquaintance .
T h e camp broke up an d t h e l ong co l umn ,
cre p t cautiousl y a l ong t h e track covered by ,
a c lou l d of skirmis h ers wi t h a rocket troop -
an d h orse artillery . R ig h t and lef t fl ew

t h e rockets w h ile t h e s h ells d ropped h ere
,
and t h ere into t h e mea l ie fiel d s an d now an d ,
again into t h e l ong gr ass and ,

as t h ey crept
on it became speedily a p parent t h at a l t h oug h ,
carefu ll y m asked t h e enemy were in con

,
s i d e rab l eforce i n front of t h em T h ey did .
n e t l ike t h e s h ells sti ll bore t h em wit h to l er

,
ab l e e q uanim ity but t h e rockets s eem ed to

,
demoralise t h em and m ore t h an once con

,
s i d e r ab l e n u mbers broke fr o m t h e i r cover

1 72 A FALSE S TA R T .
and retreated wi t h more ra p idity t h an mili

t ary etiquette sanc ti ons .
”
Ha ! Ha ! laug h ed t h e general as h e
caug h t sig h t of a st rong body of t h e dusky
foe retiring in a m anner t h at a l most sav oured
,
of flig h t W h at a dressing we will give

.
“
t h ese fellows to morrow morning if t h ey w ill

-
,
o n ly stand . S ignal to E t sh o w e to m ake a

sor t ie in t h ei r rear as soon as t h e soun d
of our guns tel l s t h em we are t h oroug h ly
d f
’
en a e
g g
S tea d i l y t h e ad v ance continued ,
th e Zu l us
re t iring before t h em as t h ey pus h ed on w ard .
T h at t h e enemy was in cons i derab l e force

t h ere cou l d be little doubt . He was ev i
d e n tl y extreme l y anxious to concea l h is

number s . T h e rockets and s h e ll s h ere an d
t h ere forced small bo d ies to abandon t h e cover ,
and disco v er t h emse l v es but i t was always ,
v ery temporari l y and t h e m ass of t h e foe h ad

,
c a re f u l l v refrained from ex h ibiting itse l f .

t h e nig h t . H e confided to h is sta ff t h at h is

m en would be all fres h by t h ese means for a
nig h t attack and if t h e ene m y did not t h ink
,
fit to make t h at h e would h av e a long day

before h im to fig h t hi s way t h roug h to t h e
walls of E t sh o w e . T h e camp was formed
wit h t h e greatest possible care . P ickets and
scouts were t h rown out around it an d t h e ,
strictest vigilance enj oined on all t h ose

w h ose duty it was to watc h . T h ey h ad h ad
a long a f ternoon i n w hic h to prepare an d as , ,
t h e general a t su n down made hi s fi n al rounds

i n p erson h e felt con fi dent t h at in t h e event
, ,
of a nig h t attack h is ,
fe e s woul d be so to ,
s p eak running t h eir h eads against a brick

,
wall .
Maurice stre t c h ed h imse l f under a waggon

by t h e side of hi s n ew friend w h o curious l y
, ,
enoug h turned o u t to be a younger brot h er

.
of B ob G rafto n . A m ore lig h t h earted

dragoon t h an C h arlie Grafton n e v er h e l d h er
A N I G n T AT T AC K . 175
M aj esty s com mission ’
,
an d w h en t h e two
h ad ma d e eac h ot h er out t h ey fraternized
imm ediately .
“
It s a preci ous l i tt l e
’
b it o f eart h t h is old
”
planet of ours ,
l aug h ed t h e dragoon as h e
l it h is pi p e .
“
If you re on l y a s ociabl e
’
’
beggar you can t go anyw h ere wi t h out
tumb l ing over somebody y ou kn ow . L ord !
how often I ve h eard Bob ta l k of you

’
. He
wa s n ever tire d of te ll ing t h e story of
Mr s E n d e rb y wedding p resent But I
’
. s .
sa h ow did you come out h ere ? ou were

y , y
i n a very d i fi e re n t l ine t h e l ast t i me I h eard
”
of you .
”
Yes ,
said Maur i ce as a c l oud of s mok e
,
ro l led from un d er h is m oustac h e ,

“
I
started i n t h e wrong groove . P ray don t ’
t h ink I ve a word to ’
sa
y against re li gion
sim pl y because I found I wasn t ’
fit to be
on e of its mini s ters . A s an o l d frien d of
your bro t h ers an d mine s aid ‘
Yo u may
1 76 A FALSE S T A R T .
m ake a dragoon ,
bu t you l l never mak e a
’
’
parson . A fellow must be mad e for some
t h ing in t h is worl d and I m trying to ’
se e
w h et h er h e is rig h t .
J ol l i e st life out , rep l ied t h e ot h er .
w h et h er on service or in garrison ; but you

must get into t h e regu l ars you kn ow ,
. J ust
at p rese n t I take it , ,
you belong to no
”
t h ing ?
“
No ,
said Maurice ,
“
I m a sort of h al f
’
orderly ,
h a l f aide de camp wit h n o exact
- -
,
position . However t h e c h ief is very good

to me an d u suall y fi nds me somet h ing to
,
”
do .
I suppose you can t guess w h ere t h ese ’
fel l ows wil l m ake t h eir stand

“
Well I fancy t h at t h ey did
,
m ean t h at
you s h ou l d h ave marc h ed into t h e midd l e of
t h em by t h is but t h e general is too old a
,
h and for t h at . T h e advance was muc h too

guarded to h a v e fallen into an ambuscade .
t h em , replied Maurice s p ringing to ,

hi s feet ,
an d in anot h er two or thr ee minutes h e an d

C h arlie G rafton h ad passed wit h out t h e im
p r e v ised walls of t h eir temporary citadel ,
and were stealing along t h roug h t h e rou g h ,
coarse grass t h at surrounded it .
T h e training of t h e last few weeks stood

Maurice in g ood stead . He h ad a keen eye
for t h eir s u btle en emy and was q u ick t o ,
detect t h ese dusky warriors ,

as , taking ad
v antage of every bit of cover t h ey crept

,
w i t h i n spri n ging distance of t h eir fe es .
T h ey h ad not gone far before h e suddenly

gripped G rafton s arm and t h en cro u c h ing
’
, ,
on hi s knees w h ispered
,
Hist ! t h ey re comi ng and n o m i stake

’
.
I m dreadfu ll y afraid t h ey h a v e got round

’
t h e picket . I can S wear I saw a fellow slip

be h ind t h at big boulder about fifty yards i n
”
front of us . Ah ! h e continued ,
“
the
game s begu n as t h ree or four
’
,
r i fle -
s h ot s
A Ni c A TTA C K . 17 9
rang s h arp and s h rill on t h e n i g h t ai r . A

”
h oarse cry of S tand to y our arms w as
,
h eard from t h e l aager ,

and in anot h er
ins t ant rapi d flas h ing of t h e rifles s h owed
t h at t h e pickets were in q uick retreat all
round .
Com e along , we must run for it we re ,

’
”
on l y i n t h e wa y out h ere .
T h ey didn t st art a m i n ute too soon and

’
it was we l l for t h em t h at t h ey h ad n o t far to

go for scores of t h eir active foes started
,
from t h e grass be h ind t h em and came

boun d i ng forward i n pursuit . AS t h ey
regained t h e laager t h e bugle sounded t h e
,
”
“
fire ,
and in anot h er second t h eir s i de of
t h e s q uare becam e a b l aze of m u sk e t rv . The
Z ulus now came on o p en l y and i n great
numbers . M any of t h em were armed wi t h
rifles w h ic h p er h aps rat h er served to l es s e n
,
t h e das h of t h eir a t tack i nsomuc h ,

as , under
”
standing not h ing about “
t h e S ig h ts ,
t h ei r
N 2
fire w as comparativel y innocuous ,

an d not
so muc h t o be dreaded as t h e terribl e
assegais at close q uarters . S till , m ow e d
down t h oug h t h ey were t h ey ad v anced wit h
,
unflinc h ing reso l ution ; reckless of t h e deadly

rifle fire t h at decimated t h em or of t h e
murderous disc h arges of grap e po u red in
from t h e g u ns at t h e salients t h ey foug h t ,
t h eir way determined l y up to t h e waggons ,
and sent a very cloud of assegais among t h e

defenders . So determined were t h eir rus h es
t h at m ore t h an once a smal l party obtained
a footing wit h in t h e ca m p only h owe v er to
,
peris h to a m an .
It w as in one of t h ese rus h es t h at C h arli e

Grafton w h o at t h e h ead of som e of h is
, ,
dismounted dragoons h ad been doing good

,
ser v ice on t h e like occasions came perilous l y ,
n ear m ak i ng an end of it . Ha v ing emptied

h is re v ol v er h e t h rew h imself ,
sabre in
h and in fro n t of a g igantic c h ief w h o

,
w as
1 82 A FA L S E S T AR T .
ring of killed and wo u n d ed ; “

it
’
s th e
gentlem an w h o cam e in from E t sh ow e ;
fetc h a doctor h ere some of y ou he

’
s grit ,
e v ery lnc h of h im and h as been rig h t in t h e

,
”
t h ick of it a ll along .
Confo u nd it ! P ull t h is b l ack brute

”
o ff t h e to p of me can t yo u ? exclaime d
’
,
a v oice somew h at impatiently from close

beside t h em .
“ ”
Hurra h lads ,
! cried a stalwart y oung
trooper as wit h t h e assistance of a comrade
, , ,
h e tumbled t h e dead c h ief quickly on one

’
side ;
“
it s Mr G rafton
. . May I never ; s ir ,
bu t I t h oug h t you was done . I could h a v e

sworn I saw t h at big Zulu send hi s spear
rig h t t h roug h you
D one b e d — d ! replied C h arlie
G rafton s h aking ,
h imself v ery m u c h after
the m anner of a sma l l dog w h o h as been
tumbled o v er in t h e roadside by a bigger
of h is species ; “
not but w h at I s h ould
A N I G HT A TTA C K . 1 83
h ave been if Mr . E n derby h ad n t b een a

’
l itt l e q u i cker to c h i p i n on my s ide t h an

you fe ll ows were . W h ere i s h e 9
“ ’
He s h ere ,
s ir , re pl ied t h e serj eant ;
”
b ut I dou b t h e s bad l y h urt
’
.
”
By J ove I I h o p e n ot ,
retorted C h arlie .
He saved me and ,
I trust but h ere
”
com es t h e doctor .
Young G r afton was a li ttle fe ll ow g i fted

w i t h unbounded anima l s p irits unfl inc h ing ,
pl uck and un t iring go

,
. F oremost in every
descri p tion of sport and e q ua ll y keen w h en ,
it came to cam p a i gning ,

regarding a
crum p ler after a j ackal a wet bivouac a , ,
wearisom e m ar c h , and a h ard day s fig h ting ’
as a ll i n t h e da y s work an d t h ings to be ’
ra t h er l aug h ed at t h an ot h erwise . T he
irrepre s sib l e sub . as h is brot h er o ffi cers

h ad c h r i stened t h is vivac i ous young gent l e
m an was ,
an i mmense favourite i n h i s reg i
ment . T h e m en o f h i s troo p w h om h e ,
w as
1 84 A F A L S E S TAR T .
a cc u stomed to address in a p ol it e slan g of

hi s own not , in t h e lea s t warranted by H er
Maj esty s regulations woul d
’
,
do a nyt h ing
for h im al t h oug h t h ey could ne v er quite
,
re frain from grinni n g w h en h e pitc h ed int o

t h em in hi s racy v ernacular and t h ey were
,
m os t u nmi stakeably glad n ow t h at “

li ttl e
”
c h eek y , as t h ey called h im h ad n ot come ,
to grief .
C h arlie G rafton is S ilent en oug h t h oug h

n ow . Fo r once hi s v oluble t ongue is stil l ed ,
and h e anxiously awaits w h at t h e doctor h as

to sa
y about t h is new friend of on l y som e
few h ours ago . Maurice lies v ery still ; h is
face pale and t h e blood we ll s
,
fi t fu l l y from
t h e wound in h is S ide .
! uick as t h oug h t
t h e keen surgical scissors rip open h is patrol
j acket . T h e surgeo n takes a S ponge an d ,
gen tly wipes away t h e bl ood .
”
“
A n u g l y wo u nd ,
he m a tt e rs , “
bu t ,
as
1 86 A F A L SE S T A R T .
h and fig h ting outside t h e l aager an d t h e ,
relie v i n g colum n coul d boast no b l oodless

v ictory . O ne of t h e most pop u lar c h iefs of
t he rifles h ad fallen w h ile c h eering hi s hat
talion to v ictory and se v eral o fficers of l ower

,
rank to,
sa
y not h ing of t h e rank and file ,
attested to t h e severity of t h e struggle .
AS t h e su n rose h ig h in t h e h ea v ens t h e
h eliograp h from E t sh o w e flas h ed congratu l a
tions on t h e v ictory w h ic h t h e garrison h ad
,
already rig h t ly interpreted from t h e steady

and persistent firi ng .
T h e batt l e s over ’
,
said t h e E t s h o we
commandant w h o was anxious l y watc h ing

,
fro m h i s ramparts t h e angry fl as h es of t h e

guns . No savages t h at ever were cou l d h a v e
succeeded against suc h a contin u ous ro ll of
musketry as t h at . T h e Zulus gentlemen
, ,
wil l trouble as n o longer .

CH AP T E R XII .
TI IE NEW S CO M ES n o rm .
B ESS I E h ad retired to T u n n l e t on to s p end

h er temporary widow h ood . It was ne ar
L ondon and s h e could count now upon a
few staunc h friends t h ere ; Genera l S h rew
ster ,
th e C hyl t o n s ,
and es p ecia ll y th e
M o l e c o m b e s , cou l d al l be reckoned upon to
we l come h er kindly . The Pr au n fact i on
h ad h ard l y done rubbing t h eir h and s and
c h uck l ing o v er Maurice s A scot misfortune s
’
w h e n t h ey were s taggered by t h e i n t e lli

1 88 A F A LSE S T A RT .
gence t h at h e h ad started as a v ol u nteer in

t h e Zul u war and t h oug h t h e v e t erans at
, ,
first poo h poo h ed t h e n otion and declared

-
t h at more useless lumber t h an v o l unteers ,
w h o knew not hing of t h eir d u ties ne v er ,
h ampered a general yet t h ey were rat h er ,
p ut down on t h is point by one of t h eir own

caste . Sh re w s t e r h ad h ad a turn at t h e
Cap e during t h e K affir War and t h erefore
cou l d s p eak wit h som e aut h ority upon pre
sent a ffairs in Z ululand .
al l v ery W e l l to call t h em l ive

’
“
It s
l umber ,
P r au n , but I te l l you t h at any
acti v e young fel l ow w h o can ride h as a ,
stout h eart a keen pair of eyes and brains

, ,
in h is h ead is we ll wort h h is sa l t out t h ere

,
.
I d ask for not h ing better t h an t h ree or

’
four h undred suc h f ol l o w s as Maurice

E nderby to mould into a regimen t of
’
irregu l ar h orse . T h ey d be rare scouts at t h e
end of a few mont h s and t h oug h roug h is h , ,
1 90 A FAL SE S T A R T .
h ardly h eed it it is only w h en t h e simme r

,
becomes a boil and t h e fingers of t h e cooks

w h o are managing our aff airs get grievo u sly
burnt in s h ort w h en disaster o v ertakes us
,
and we h urry out all t h e a v ailable troops we

can lay our h ands on to a v enge our out
raged au t h ority t h at we begin to recognise
,
’
we are really at war . Bessie s fate was in
on e respect h ard . Her h usband was under

n o orders but h ad proceeded to t h e banks of
t h e Tugela of h is own free will and Maurice ,
in t h is h ad been gui d ed altoget h er by G eneral

Shr e w s t e r ad v ice
’
s .
T h e great t h ing my dear , E nderby , is to

be ear l y in t h e fi e l d . B uy suc h kit as yo u
t h ink desirable ,
I s h ould s u ggest t h e follow
”
ing ,
and h ere followed a list of articles suc h
as from h is former experience G enera l
mig h t b e fo u n d u sef u l
Sh re w s t e r t h oug h t I
wi l l forward you two or t h ree l etters of in
t r o d u c ti o n to o l d friends of m ine in h ig h
THE N E W S C O M ES H OME . 191
position at t h e front . I am sure t h ey wi l l

advance your v iews and give you ev ery
c h ance L uck , and your own rig h t h and ,
”
must do t h e rest .
SO far Maurice s luck seemed to h ave ter

’
m i n at e d wit h an assegai t h roug h h is ribs ,
but t h is news h ad not as yet reac h ed T u n n l e

ton .
T h at t h e m any warrior s at t h e c l ub
fol l owed t h e campaign wit h close interest
m ay be easi ly imagined and if t h ere was ,
one t h ing irritated t h ese critics i t w as th e

tardiness wit h w h ic h t h e di saster of I s an d hl
wana was being avenged . T h ey were l oud

in t h eir condemnation of t h e mi l itary c h ief
out t h ere an d in t h is respect t h ey differed
,
but litt l e from t h e press an d t h e rest of t h e

country . T h e war indeed was beginning to
assume p ro p ortions in t h e eyes of t h e p u bl ic
to w h ic h it wa s by no m eans entit l ed and ,
t h at t h e enem y t h oug h numerou s and after

,
1 92 A F A L S E S TAR T .
t h eir fas h ion disciplined were unskilled in ,
the u se of t h e rifle and destitute of artillery

ran som e danger of being forgotten . O ur
leaders out t h ere were no doubt in some
m eas u re afraid to risk t h eir p r es tig e till rein
forcements s h ould make success a m atter
beyond do u b t .
A t l engt h came h ome intelligence of the
relief of E t sh o w e , an d a brief acco u nt of t h e

fierce nig h t attack on t h e relie v ing column
-
by t h e Zulu arm y w h ic h h ad immediately

preceded it .
Bessie h ad good reason to belie v e t h at h er

h usband w as s h ut up in t h at fort . She knew
t h at h e h ad j oin ed number one column t h at h e ,
h ad been taken ,
as h e h imse l f described it as ,
h alf orderly h alf aide de camp by t h e o fficer

,
- -
,
c o m m an d in g t hat force w h o , w as an ol d friend

Shre w s t e r
’
of G eneral s . F rom h imself S h e h ad
recei v ed no le t ters since b u t it , w as nat u ral
to s u ppose t h at h e h ad s h ared t h e fate of
1 943 A FALS E S T A R T .
sig h t of E t sh ow e —h ow want of food was

beginning to stare t h e garrison in the face ,
an d t h at in s h ort h ad its relief been m u c h

,
l o n ger delayed ,
its defenders would h av e h ad
n ot h in g for it b u t to se l l t h eir lives as dearly
as t h ey could . T h ere was a long ro l l of t h e
cas u alties w h ic h h ad taken place during t h e
siege and also a list of t h e killed and
,
wounded of t h e relie v ing force ,

an d in
neit h er of t h ese was any m ention made of
M aurice E nderby .
B esides hi s wife an d hi s friends t h ere was

anot h er person muc h dismayed at h earing
not h ing of Maurice to wit t h e impalpabl e , ,
WE ,
who controlled a l eading L o ndon
j o u rnal .
T h e fres h brilliant letters from “

Ou r O wn
”
Correspondent in Zu l ulan d h ad j ust arrested
pub l ic attention w h en to , ,
th e e d itorial d is
gust t h ey sudden l y ceased

,
. T h e y h ad n ot
muc h doubt at t h e o ffice of t h e I I e li og rap h
—
T H E N E W S C O M ES H OME . 1 95
as to w h at h ad become of t h eir correspond

en t ; b ut t h en as t h e editor testily remarked
,
T h at s t h e worst of t h ese young h ands

“ ’
.
F res h ness and rea l power of description do

not compen s ate for t h eir ignorance of t h eir
d uties as j ourna l ists on t h e war pat h -
. His
”
first duty , continued t h i s ent h u s iast ,
“
is to
h is pa p er ; h is queen an d h is country m ust
for the t i me be a secondary consideration ,
and es p ecia lly s h ould h e be caref u l to avoi d

g etting s h ut u p in suc h p l aces as E t s ho w e .
A corres p ondent inside suc h a city as

P aris m ay be doing good work b u t w h at ,
c an t h ere be to tell abou t t h e siege of a mere

frontier for t P
Many a m ail w as destined to pass be for e

t h e ru l er of t h e He l iogra p h received ano t h er
l etter from Maurice E nderby .
B ossie s ’
fi rst news of h er h usband cam e
f rom Bo b G rafton . She wa s a sto n is h e d one
morning by h is unex p ected arriva l .
O2
“
I m ake n o apo l ogy ,
h e ex claimed , for
darting i n upon you at t h is early h o u r but ,
th e fact is I am dow n in t h e n eig h bo u r h ood

for a few d ays and h ave come to h ear t h e ,
”
l atest news Of Maurice .
I am v ery very anxious abo u t h im Mr ,

.
”
G rafton ,
sh e rej oined ; I h a v e h eard
not h ing from h im since ,
I presume h e ,
w as
s h ut up in E t sh o w e ; and t h oug h it
,
is n ow
re l ie v ed h e ,
is still silent . His n ame t h ank ,
h ea v en ! is not mention ed among t h e ki ll ed

and wounded . You are staying at Bridge
”
Court , I su p pose ?
J ust so , replied Grafton . He was not

but h e did n ot w i s h M rs . E nderby t o know
t h at h e h ad trave ll ed down from t h e nort h
express l y to te l l h er of h er h usban d s ’
m is
c h ance .
“
I can t ’
h e lp t h inking ,
M rs .
”
E n derby , h e continued ,
“
t h at my news of
Maurice m ay be l ater t h an yours . You
h as d i s
’
d on t see m to be aw are h ow h e
1 98 A FALSE S T A R T .
cared about my scalp but a v ery long Zul u

,
m ost decided l y w ent for my midri ff t h e

ot h er day ,
and but for your old friend
,
Maurice E nderby , woul d h ave probably

extinguis h ed one of t h e dawning l ig h ts of
t h e Britis h a rmy . By Jo v e ! t h at fe l low s
’
born to good luck . He ’

s don e a t h ing t h at
h as set e v eryon e s tongue w aggi ng ’
. It
seems t h ey were getting rat h er h ard up for
g rub in E t sh ow e , and not being able to
,
u nderstand our S ignals t h ey ga z etted ,

En
derby h onorary postman and sent h im fort h

’
to tell us to ‘
h urry up . Well ! das h ed if
’
h e didn t ride c l ean t h roug h t h e Zulu army ,
an d com e Off wit h on l y t h e loss of h is h orse .
It was a p l ucky t h ing to d o , no doubt ; and

h e s h owed p l enty of h ead an d j udgment in
doing it but it was luck after al l t h at pulled
,
h im t h ro u g h . O f course a m an w h o started
,
wit h h alf t h e Wandering Nun ‘ ’

as a wed
ding gift is boun d to t h row S ixes . He h a d
THE N Ew S COM E S H OM E . 1 99
on e or t wo turn s u p wit h t h e Zulus o n h i s

way an d from t h e l itt l e h e
, , h as said about
h i s ri d e , t h ey w ere bad for t h e Zulus .
H owe v er ,
p oor fel l ow ,
j ust n ow he h as
t hr own deuce ace .
“
I m u s t tel l you h ow it was ,
B ob
E n d erby told us w h en h e cam e i n t h at t h e ,
Z u l us were swarming bet w een us an d

E t sh o w e ; and t h at weren t like l y to get
’
we
t h ere wit h o u t a fig h t . Well we cou l dn t

,
’
bring em to book all t h at

’
m orning . T h ey
ke p t on retreating s l owly before u s ; and ,
at last our general m ade up h is m ind to

,
h a l t for t h e nig h t and h ave it out wit h t h em

t he next m orning . A litt l e before daybre ak
t h ey cam e on l ike wol v es ; and alt h oug h
,
we ro l led t h em o v er in scores before t h ey

c o uld c l ose t h ey weren t to be denied
,
’
. A
few of t h em b roke i nto o u r l aager four or
fi ve tim e s an d it ,
w as i n stop pi ng on e of
t h e s e ru s h e s t h at your d ist i ngui s h ed brot h er
200 A F A L SE S TAR T .
n early c am e t o gri ef . He w as too big B ob , ,
an d I oug h t to h a v e left h im to some one

n earer hi s own weig h t ; but in spite of t h e ,
lickings I used to get at sc h ool ,

I a l ways
pique myself u pon my science and t h oug h t ,
I co u ld pink t h e fellow before h e could close .
T h at w as no t destined to be decided for my ,
foot slipped and before ,

I knew w h ere I w as
I was d as h ed to t h e gro u nd ,
saw a S pear
gleam h ig h in t h e air and felt t h at ,
I was
abo u t to be spitted l ike a cockc h afer w h en ,
M aurice suddenly c h ipped in wit h hi s sabre ,
and m ost Obligingl y drop p ed my big fr

iend
on t h e top of m e . B eing un d ermost ,
I s aw
no m ore , but conclude it w as a s h arp and

merry mill w h ile it lasted . W h en it ended ,
I am sorry to sa
y , p oor E nderby w as at t h e
top of t h e h eap h a v ing recei v ed a v ery
, aw k
ward poke in t h e ribs from on e of our black

e n tertainers .
“
J oking apart , I am sorry to sa
y t h at
L ike m ost men t h ere was not h ing d i sc om

,
’
posed B ob G rafto n m ore t h an a woma n s
tears and it w as in somew h at cl u msy fas h ion
,
h e s e t h imself to consol e t h e stricken woman

before h im .
O f course I ll h elp you M rs

’
,
. E nderby ,
but you mustn t take t h at v ie w of it Men

’
.
get serious l y h u rt on t h ese occasions no

doubt b u t m ost of t h em r e cover an d in a
,
m ar v ellously s h ort time too . By t h e ti m e

you reac h M ari e t zb u rg you will find t h e on l y
t h ing t h e matter wit h Maurice will be t h at
h e cannot get enoug h t o eat . Your con
”
v al esce n t s are always very cormorants .
”
God grant it m ay be so ,
said B essie ,
smiling sadl y t h roug h h er tears . I s h all

’
tru st e v ery t h ing to you and yo u l l lose , no
time wi l l you
,
Im o ff to town by t h e n ext train said

“ ’
G rafton ,
to take yo u r passage if possib l e , ,
i n t h e next S h ip t h a t sa il s . Make your pre

T H E N E W S C O M ES H O M E . 203
ara t i o n s at once so as to be i n readiness to

p
j oin me in L ondon as soon as I write t o
”
yo u ; and now for t h e present goo d bye
, ,
-
.
”
“
By Jove ! t h oug h t G rafton ,
“
I do
h ope Ma u rice i s a l l rig h t . It would be an
a wfu l t h in g for t h i s poor l itt l e woman if
s he s h ould get u p to M ar i e t z b u rg on l y to find
t h at h er h usband is dead and s h e l eft a l l
”
alone in t h e wor l d ,
and looking m ore
,
serious t h an was h is wont Grafton mad e ,
h is way rapid l y to t h e station .

CH A P T E R XIII .
C O N VA L E S C E N C E .
T HE su n is po u ring d own upon t h e dusty

streets of M ari e t zb u rg ; t h e queer littl e
colonial town is swarming wit h a tumult
nous perspiring crowd wanting apparently
, ,
every t h ing . In busy searc h of accomm oda

tion for m an or beast of food of tobacco
, , ,
and of strong waters ; muc h curiosity mani

fe sted , indeed , abo u t t h i s l atter ,
as t h e
mi l itary aut h orities h a v e inter p osed some
restrictions on t h eir sal e . Blu ff teamsters ,
206 A FA LS E S TAR T .
receipt of telegrap h messages from t h eir

friends at h ome . T h e great democracy of
E ng l and h ad risen in it s wrat h like t h at of
,
A t h e n s of old or like t h at later sterner d emo

,
cracy w h ic h in its deat h struggle of nearly

a q uarter of a centur y ago ch an ged its
generals p retty near l y as soon as t h ey were
beaten . T h ere was no more singular feature
in t h e gigan tic civil w ar in A merica t h an
t h e rapidity wit h w h ic h t h e Nor t h ern S tates
discarded t h eir unsuccessful l eaders . In lik e
manner our military c h iefs in Z ululan d were
told by t h eir frien d s in E ng l an d t h at t h eir
successors were on t h eir way t h at t h e public ,
were weary of t h ei r inacti v ity ,

t h at t h e
E ng l is h p eo pl e in t h ese days of telegrap h s
were i mpatient of reverses to t h eir arms ,
u nless speedily avenged . It was r u moured

t h at a wire h ad come to t h e E ng l is h general
from a distingui s h ed relati v e to t h is e ffect
F ig h t ! abo v e all fig h t You d better
“ ’
!
C O N VA L ESCEN C E . 207
take a licking t h an cont i nue t h is strategy

w h ic h is j eered at as an a r m e d n eu t r a l i ty .
T h at S ir Garnet Wolse l ey an d a b and of

h is favoured h enc h men were on t h eir way
was we l l known in t h e colon y
-
. Al ready t h e
war correspondents h ad pronounced Zu l u
l and t h e gra v e of mi l itary re p utations ; one
an d al l from t h e genera l down to t h e j unior
,
brigadier fe l t t h at it was i ncumbent to

,
strike a fatal b l ow before t h e new m en cam e

u pon t h e scene . T h e waves f av oure d t h em ,
and t h anks to t h e s u rf at D ur b an t h e victory

, ,
of U lundi took place in tim e to re h abi l itate

m any a bespattered mi li tary nam e .
A t a window on t h e fi rst fl oor of a sort of

h a l f vi ll a h alf farm h ouse i n t h e suburbs
,
-
,
l ooking out over the burnt -u

p ro l ling prairi e
ground sat Ma u rice
,
E nderby . The p al e
face and sunken eyes s h owe d t h at it h a d

g o ne h ard wi t h h im an d ,
the t h ick bl ack
b eard t h at now garni s h ed h i s c h in wou l d
208 A F A LSE S TAR T .
h ave made t h e good peo pl e of T u n n l et on
stare at t h eir late curate . Not t h at t h e

bret h ren of t h e surp l i ce by any means
esc h ew beard and moustac h e in t h ese days ,
but T u n n l e t on was an old world place ful l of

-
o l d world prej udices and about a q uarter of

-
,
a cent u ry be h ind t h e times an d one of its ,
ax iom s was t h at its di v ines s h ould be clean

s h a v ed . Maurice is c h afi ng terribly at h is
enforced idleness . He knows t h at h e has
distin guis h ed h imself but h e knows e q ually

,
well t h at if t h e first step in life is to attrac t

,
t h e eyes of t h e c h iefs of yo u r v ocation t h e ,
second i s t o keep yourse l f constantly before

t h em . But no — t h e doctor says it will be
i
s x good weeks befo re h e wi ll be able to take
t h e saddle again ; and w h at is worse , ,
he
feel s t h at it is true .
A lig h t step be h ind h im arrests h is atten

tion and Bessie glid e s q uiet l y to h is S ide
,
wit h a tray containing no u ris h ment of some

21 0 A F A LSE S T AR T .
Ah ,
B essie , B essie you will ne v er make
,
’
a soldier s wife .
”
“
I don t know ’
about t h at , replied
B essie , as t h e tears wel l ed u p in h er eyes ;
’
I don t t h ink I h a v e made a v ery bad
beginnin g . I made w h at you call a forced
m arc h o u t h ere an d e v en t h e doctor says ,
”
I am a capabl e nurse .
”
“
Capable nurse ! exclaimed Maurice ,
I S h o u ld t h ink you were indeed . Why the

doctor tol d m e t h e ot h er day t h at I owed
my l ife to your unceasing v ig il ance .
”
I did my best ,
sh e re p lied meek l y ,
“
but ,
ah ,
Maurice ,
after snatc h ing you
from t h e v ery j aws of deat h can you wonder
t h at t h e brine comes i nto my eyes at t h e
idea of your going to t h e front again ? S top ,
”
l et m e finis h ! S h e con t inued , as h e was
abo u t to speak ;
“
do not t h ink t h at I wis h
to diss u ade you from it . We made a fa l se
start b u t you
,
h a v e now begun a new
C O N VA L E S C E N C E . 21 1
c areer an d I know t h at i f a soldier i s to

,
make h is m ark in h is profession h e m u st

”
n ot neglect h is op p ortunities .
“
S p oken like a sensible litt l e wom an ,
h e rej oined , an d you ll promise ’ H
Not to be m ore foolis h t h an I can h e lp ,
s he interru p ted but Maurice I cann ot

“
; , ,
be a S p artan m atron , and am afraid I S h all

a l ways cry a l ittl e w h en you go fort h to
”
batt l e .
”
“
P oo h ! h e s ai d laug h ing, ,
you m u st
l ook u p on m e as insured . I h a v e bee n h it
’
once and t h e odds are t h ey won t h it m e
,
”
ag u nu
T h ere s very littl e consolation in t h at
’
,
S h e rep l ie d smiling , ,
“
but on e com fort is ,
t h at y ou re not fit t o st art yet and it is

’
po ssi bl e al l t h is m ay be over before you
are in the s add l e again .
”
“
A nd i f i t i s ,
s a i d M aurice a l i t tl e ,
bitterl y ,
“
I s h a l l h ave com e a l l t h is w ay
r 2
21 2 A F A L SE S TA RT .
for not h ing —and I know now Shr e w st e r

"
was rig h t : I h a v e t h e makings of a decent

”
d ragoon in me .
“
We l l crowed ,
Mr . E nderby , sai d a
v oice from t h e doorway ; “
w h en men feel
’
t h at way t h ey are bad to kill and I m ,
’
t h inking ye ll do now but , ,
as for m aking a
d ae e n t dragoon I d ,
’
me doubts as t o your
e v er doing t h at some few weeks back . Ah ,
Mr s E nderby , your patient s a c redit to ’

.
him w i th
'
’
yo u ! F eed h im ,
n i a am , feed fles h ,
fow l an d good red wine

,
. A ll we v e got ’
to do now is to re- m ake t h e blood t h e Zulus

”
l et out .
“
Well Dr ,
. G ab b e t , said Bessie ,
“
he
can t com p lain about t h at and h e
’
,
is b e
coming now a capital patient ,

for he ’
s
always ready to e at .
It s t h e way wit h t h e m al l ma am
“ ’
,
’
t h ey re always anxious to m ake up for t h e

’
time t h ey lost during t h e fe v er ; but you ll ’

’ ”
it l l be all o v er doctor e h , ,
? said Mrs ;
E nderby .
“
Tear an ages m a am don t t h ink S O
’
,
’
,
’
m anely of t h e n ati v e s ! T h ey ’
re l ike me
own co u ntrymen t h ey can t get on wit h out

,
’
t h eir d i v arsi on s , and ,

as soon as th e fi ght
’
ing s don e in on e p l ace t h ey j ust ,
s et it
going agai n in anot h er . T h ere s a brot h ’
of a boy called Sik u k u n i w h o h as been

trailing hi s coat t h ese last t h ree years and ,
we h av e to polis h h im o ff as soon as we
”
h a v e time to do so .
’
“
Ah , t h at s t h e fe ll ow we
’
ve never su c
c ee d e d in doing anyt h ing wit h He

’
s ot
.
g
a tremendous strong h o l d of h is own ,
I
belie v e h asn t h e ,
’
’ ”
“
T h at s j ust it ,
said t h e doctor wit h a
’
wink ;
“
we v e taken out a j udgment sum
mons and tried to put i n a ‘
man -
in - posse s
S ion ’
a goo d many times but h e s as h ar d ,
’
to deal wit h as a G alway s q uire ; and now

C O N VAL E S C E N C E . 21 5
Im ’
o ff . F eed h im u p Mrs ,
. E nderby , feed
h im u
p, and h e l l soon be strong on h is
’
”
l egs again .
It wa s du l l work t h i s conv alescence at

M a r i e t z b u rg , bu t Maurice s h ook Off h is
weariness considerab l y w h en D r . G ab b e t
at l eng t h san ctioned h is going for a s h ort
aftern oon ride . F rom t h at out t h e h orses
came round every aftern oon and aecom , ,
p an i e d by B essie Maurice indulged in a

,
g oo d canter w h en t h e su n began to sink .
A nd now came t h e news Of t h e fierce fig h t

of Ul und i w h ere t h e Zu l us foug h t t h eir
,
l ast b at tl e in defence of t h eir capital . T h at

t h eir defeat was crus h ing , t h eir power
broke t h eir army dispersed and t h eir k ing
, ,
a fugitive ,
was speedi l y apparent as t h e
se q uence of t h is victory . Carping critic s
u rged t h at it mig h t h a v e been don e before ,
and t h ere were cynics w h o c h uck l ed wit h

am u s em ent b e c a u s e fo r o nce S ir G a rnet h ad
21 6 A F A LSE START .
been too l ate . But alt h oug h t h e Zulus

,
were e ffectual l y con quered t h ere was plent y ,
of work to be done in restoring order

t h roug h t h e land ,
an d it was said pretty
Openly t h at our own troops fl us h ed wit h ,
t h eir triump h s and successful cam p aign h ad ,
n ot yet been able to di v est t h emsel ves of

’
t h e idea t h at t h ey were in an enemy s
country and t h oug h
, ,
t h ey h ad recrossed
t h e Tugela were levying sup pl ies wit h a
,
h ig h h and . T h ere were rumours too of , ,
coming troubles i n t h e Transvaa l . The

B oers w h o h ad n e v er been satisfied wit h
,
annexation ,
were h olding mass m eetings
-
,
at w h ic h t h e speakers once m ore claimed

t h eir independence . S ik u k u n i , wit h w h om
we h ad been carrying on a desu l tory war
for m ont h s , was getting m ore restless and
encroac h ing t h an usual . T h is marauder ,
w h o was a sort of S out h A frican R ob R oy ,
displayed laudabl e impartiality in h is raids .

21 8 A FALSE S TAR T .
restored and t h oug h h e looked a bit pulled

, ,
down dec l ared h e was as good a m an as

,
e v er . He h ad written to h is old c h ief ,

r e
ported h imse l f quite fit for ser v ice ,

an d
begging to be al l owed to resume h is former
post on h is p ersonal staff an d in due tim e ,
recei ved a letter w h ic h occasioned h im no

litt l e e l ation .
“
DEAR E N D E RBY -
it ran
I am delig h ted to h ear you are a ll rig h t
again . W h en I last s aw you outside
E t sh o w e t h e doctors spok e grave l y of your
case an d I was sorry to h ear t h at you h ad
,
a bad attack of fever conse q uent on your

woun d afterwards . Howe v er I am truly
g l ad t h at you are at l ast safe out of t h e
wood . I s h ou l d be onl y too g l ad to h ave
you back wit h me but it is al l o v er up h ere
,
.
Ul undi com pl ete l y crus h ed t h e Zul u nation ,
at a l l events for t h e time . T h e so l e t h ing

doing is t h e pursuit of C e t e wa
y o, and ,
C O N V A L E SC EN C E . 21 9
t h oug h no doubt y ou wou l d ask n ot h i n g

better we h ave d o zen s of vo l u nteers for t h at
,
work ,
and h e wi l l probab l y be ca p tured
b efore you cou l d po ss ib l y arrive h ere . NO
I can do better for you t h an t h at ; t h e m an

w h o cut h i s way t h roug h t h e Z u l u army i s
never l ike l y to want em pl oyment . I h ave
m anaged to get you tran s ferred to G enera l
W staff w h o w ill be s h ort l y s ettling wi t h
’
. s ,
t h at very trou bl esome c h i ef Si k u k u n i . He

i s j u s t t h e man to a pp reciate a bi t Of da s h
like yours ,
an d y ou need never fear you
won t see fi g h ting under h im
’
; h e reve l s in
i t and wi ll work h is br i gade into t h e t h ick
,
of i t some h ow .
Make your w ay to h im at once ; he s ’
s omew h ere now I t h ink , ,

in t h e neig h bour
h ood of L une b erg but h e i s not t h e m an to
dawd l e w h e n h e h as got h is force toge t h er .
G ood bye I wi s h you every l u c k

-
,
.
Yours s in c ere l y ,
F . P .
220 A F A LS E S T A RT .
Your name is m entioned i n despatc h es ,
an d I am glad to y
sa your exploit t h oug h t
h ig h ly of by e v ery one .
A t t h is moment Bessie entered t h e room .
O ne glance at h er h usban d s delig h ted face

’
,
anot h er at t h e letter h e h el d in hi s h an d to l d ,
h er all . She knew t h at sh e h ad again to

wi s h h im good bye -
.
222 A FALSE S T AR T .
G eneral Shre w s t e r and E dit h M ol e c o m b e ,
n obody h ad h eard t h e details contained in

G rafton s letters
’
. But Maur i ce s ’
brot h er
correspondents were proud to put on record
—
suc h a deed of daring ac h ieved too by one , ,
of t h eir gui l d . Individual h eroism is alway

telling i n a war correspondent s letter and it ’
real ly was extraordinary t h e m anner i n

w h ic h Maurice h ad made hi s way t h roug h
t h e Zulus .
T h ere is a great deal of t h e P umb l ec h ook

e l ement about in t h is world ! and T u n n l e t on ,
w h ic h not a year ago h ad cast h im out from

among t h em now alm ost claimed
, E n d erb y
as a fellow citizen -
. It is astonis h ing w h en
you h ave s u cceeded in t h i s wor l d t h e numbe r
Of people w h o are always convinced you
“
h ad it in y ou . It is true t h ey h ad kept
t h is knowledge careful l y to t h emselves in
t h e early p art of y our career but t h ey ,

re
mi n d yo u of it n ow yo u h a v e ac h ieved fame ,
T U N N L ET ON C H A N G E S I TS O P I N I O N . 223
all t h e oftener it is to be presumed by , ,

w ay
Of m aking up for l ost time . T u n n l e ton h as

q uite made its m in d now to regard Maurice
as one of h er own sons and p eop l e ,
v ie wit h
eac h ot h er in exc h anging reminiscences of
t h e ex curate s sayings and d oings w h ile
-
’
re s ident am ongst t h em . A lt h oug h a reticen t

man ,
G enera l S h re w s t e r cou l d not refrai n
from crow i ng a l ittle over t h e expl oits of
h is p r o / eye .
”
“
Aha ! Braun , h e exclaimed ,
“
did n t I ’
alway s te l l you young E nderby wou l d m ake

a ra tt ling d ragoon
”
“
I d on t
’
know t h at you did ,
s n a p ped
t h at irascible warrior ,
“
bu t I am sure t h a t
I n ever said anyt hing to t h e contrary . I
o n l y s aid t h at h e was gui l ty of great i m p ro
p i
r et
y of c onduct as a curate . T h ere are
p eop l e h e continued
,
’
sn app i s h l y who ,
“
don t s ee any h arm

’
i n gamb l ing an d
— ”
h orse racing I do , and to a v oid rej o inder
-
224 A F A LS E S T AR T .
G eneral Pr au n left t h e club m orning room a -
little precipitately .
It soon fur t h er leaked ou t t h at t h e S pirited

letters of so m e few weeks back in t h e Helio
grap h were from t h e p e n of t h e das h ing
young vol u nteer ,
who h ad carried t h e
message from E t sh ow e , and t h en th e
R e v erend Mr Jarrow could n o l onger con
.
tain h imself . T h e rector positive l y g l owed

wit h ent h usiasm and in t h e course of two or
,
t h ree days h ad t h oroug h ly p ersuaded h im

self t h at h e h ad no little to do wit h t h eir
composition .
E xcel l ent , S ir S O fu l l of fire and v igour

,
.
I am p roud to t h ink t h at I first guided h is

steps in t h e pa t h of l iterature ; I l ooked over
his early efforts w h en h e was h ere and gave
h im t h e benefit o f m y advice and suggestions ; I
lent hi m t h e V erity L etters to read and I don t
‘ ’
,
’
know n ow does it s trike you ? —

b t it seems
u
to m e t h at h e caug h t my style a good deal .

226 A FALSE S T A R T .
into T u n n l e t on two or t h ree times to call on
Miss M ol e c o m b e ,
G enera l Sh r e w s t e r , and
two t h ree ot h er friends h e ha d made of
'
or
late in t h e litt l e town . He h ad oft en walked

in from Bridge C o u r t before an d , T u n n l e t on
sc arcely h eeded h is presence in fact barely ,
kne w h im by S ig h t . B ut n ow, m u c h to hi s
surprise he w as constantly st e ed by
, pp
p eople strangers to h im anxious t o know if
, ,
h e h ad any news of Mr . E nderby . The

’
firs t n ews of Ma u rice s misc h ance h ad com e
from h im ,
an d T u n n l e t on ver y natural l y
t h oug h t t h ere was muc h like l i h ood of his
—
h earing again an d T u n n l e t o n was rig h t .
It was during h is sta y at Bridge Co u rt

t h at t h e next n e w s of M au r ice c am e across
the s e a, and t h e l etter w as once m ore
to B ob G rafton . T h is time it w as Mrs .
E nderby w h o wrote T h ere was a brief .
record of h er j ourney out t o begin wi th and ,
w h at kindness sh e h ad recei v ed in making

T U N N L E T ON C H ANC ES I Ts OPINION . 227
he r way u p to M ari e t z b u rg ; ho w Sh e h ad
f o un d Maurice s l owly struggl ing b ack to life
af ter a severe at t ack of fever h ow t h at h e
w as no w a l most h imse l f again ; and , w h et h er
t h ey kn e w i t or not in E ng l an d , t h at h e w as
reckoned a h ero out t h ere .
An d n ow
,
M r G rafton
.
,
”
s h e continued ,
comes t h e terrible h ards h ip of being a
s o l dier s w i fe I h ave nursed h im ti ll h is

’
.
s te p i s as fi rm an d h i s figure as erect as
e v er it was ; and n ow h e is once m ore going
to b id me good bye -
. He h as got w h at h e
ca ll s anot h er c h ance an d I su p pose h e oug h t
,
to take it but we poor women kn ow w h at

,
s uc h c h ances are and w h at a , w ai l i n gg t h c
resu l t of t h em means to us . I s h a l l bear it ,
t h i s t ime wor s e t h an I did before for

, ,
t he
e vil I dreaded h a s already once befallen m e ,
an d I s h al l t remb l e at t h e t h oug h t t h at i t
m ay d o s o aga i n . O ne comfort i s t h at t h i s ,
t i me I s h a l l be H I
ar at h a n d s h o u l d h e com
o 2
to h a rm . Tell General Shr e ws t e r t h at

M a u rice i s going wit h a column to beat up
S ik u k u n i ’
s quarters . He is n o t exactly a
Zulu as far as I can make o u t but seems to
, ,
be an indepen dent freebooter w h o r e v els i n

little wars on hi s own account ; at all events
h e h as been giving a deal of t ro u ble and , ,
so far seem s to h ave got t h e best

, of t h ose
w h o h a v e been despatc h ed to bri n g h im to
account . Good bye -
. Love from us bot h
to all Ol d friends especially t h e
, C hyl t on s ,
E dit h M o l e c o m b e , and G eneral Shr ew st e r .
S incerely yours ,
BE SS I E E NDE R B Y .
A n idea flas h ed across B ob G rafton w h en

h e h ad finis h ed t h is epist l e and t h at , w as ,
t h at h e cou l d n ot do better t h an cal l u pon

Miss M o l e c om b e an d rea d h er Mrs . Eh
derby s l etter
’
. He h ad got rat h er into t h e
way of dropping into t h e banker s about ’
lunc h eon time of late ,

and t h e Misses
factory preparation for t h e struggle on t h e

t own moor . T h e m are alt h oug h it was
,
w h at is cal l ed t h e mares m ont h ’

,
was not
a fa v o u rite wit h t h e genera l pub l ic ; t h ey
could not forget h er defeat in t h e O aks or ,
u nderstand h er miserable display at A scot .
B ut amongst t h e s h rewdest men on th e

t u rf sh e was a strong fancy and t h ere ,
w ere
v ery few of t h em w h o did not b a ck the

”
Wandering Nun for the St . L eger .
G rafton h imse l f was in t h is category and ,
h ad taken a p retty l ittl e bet about t h e mare

at G oodwood .
However pu tting h is racing cares on one

,
S ide Bob G rafton stro l led on t h roug h Tun

,
n l et on until h e arri v ed at t h e M ol e c o m b e s ’
h ouse . Y e s , M rs M ol e co m b e
. was at h ome ,
and he was S h own into t h e draw i ng room -

,
w h ere h e foun d E dit h and h er mot h er ,

an d ,
t h e first greetings o v er at once proceeded ,
’
to read t h e m B essie s letter .
T U N N I E T ON C H AN G E S ITS OP I N I O N . 23 1
”
How very terrib l e for M rs . E nderby !
said t h e banker s wi fe a s B ob G ra fton con

’
cluded . If h e i s a h ero I ,
d eclare I t h ink
s he i s a h eroine F ancy h er— p oor t h ing !
s h e h as no sooner cured h er h usband t h an

s h e is l ef t a lo n e i n t h e midst o f al l t h at
bust l e and turmoi l t o take care of h erse l f .
”
It is ra t h er roug h ,
said G raf t on ; “
but
I do n t see
’
ho w M aurice cou l d h e l p it .
“
O f course h e couldn t and t h oug h we ’
, ,
a l l wronged h im and told h orrible stories

,
ab o u t hi m h ere — I was a s b ad as anybody

—
h e h as m a d e us feel mean enoug h n ow .
A s for Be s sie i t ,
is h ard u p on h er ,
’
S aid
E dit h , p as s ionate l y ; but w h at woman ,
w ort h t h e name of one would not wis h to ,
be w it h i n rea c h of h er h u s ban d w h en s h e
k new h e was carrying h is l i fe in h is h and
G raf t on gazed at t h e girl wit h n o l itt l e
”
admiration a s s h e s po ke .
“
B y J ove ! he
t h ou g h t ,
“
ho w h er f ace l i g h t s u p w h en sh e
23 2 A F A L S E S TA R T .
is m o v ed S h e looks quite h andsome at t h is

,
” ”
m oment .
“
Yes, h e repl i ed ,
“
t h at s a l l very
’
E n d e rb y
’
wel l but i t was a mi s take Mrs
,
. s
going o u t It w as n o use attempting t o

.
p ersuade h er to stay h ere g o sh e would ; -
and all one co u ld do was to m ake t h in gs

”
as smoot h as possibl e .
“
I don t agree wit h you Mr G ra fton
’
,
.
;
I t h ink it i s m ore t h an likely s he saved he r
”
h u sban d s life ’
.
“
I grant yo u t h at h er nursing per h aps
contributed a good de al to h is reco v e ry ,
but I h a v e n o doubt Maurice wis h es now

t h at S h e was safe in T u n n l e t on . A m an
goes campaignin g wit h a lig h ter h ear t w h en
h e kno ws t h ose dear to h im are safely h ar
”
boured .
“
Had I been in Mrs . E n d e rb y s ’
place ,
I S h o u ld h a v e done as Mrs . E n d erby h as

”
done ,
replied E dit h , defiantly .
W h ic h by no m eans follo w s you would

23 4 A F ALSE S T A R T .
suc h a terrible tim e as we h ad in J une . I

h ave trusted our Old friend T h e Wandering
Nun ’
w it h my v enture and expect to ,
se e
h er turn out a v ery di ffere n t m are from

w h at s he was at A scot .
“
Ah ! h ow nice it wou l d be if t h e En
derbys were on ly safe back from t h e Cape ,
an d w e were all going up to Yorks h ire to

’
see B essie s mare win . It makes m e s ad to
”
t h i nk about it ,
sig h ed E d it h .
“
A nd w h en Miss Mol e c om b e take s to
suc h wild castle bui l ding as t h at I feel it is-
,
time for m e to go ; b esides I h a v e told you ,
”
a l l my n ews .
“
B ut we s h al l see
y ou again be fore you
”
lea v e Bridge Court ? said E dit h , as S h e rose
to sa
y good bye -
.
”
“
Yes ,
m ost like l y ,
replied G rafton .
“
Certa i nly ,
s h o ul d I h ear an
y more of
”
Maurice t h oug h t h at i s h ard l y probable
,
.
A nd t h en B ob took h is de p art u re .
T U N N L ET ON C H A N C E S ITS OP I N I O N . 23 5
He h ad j ust reac h ed t h e gard en gate w h en -
h e h eard h is nam e ca l l ed two or t h ree times .
Turning to w ar d s t h e d irection f rom w h i c h

t h e voice cam e ,
h e saw Mis s Mo l e c o m b e
w h o h ad sl ipp ed out of one of t h e drawing
ro o m W indo w s ,
h urrying to meet h im .
“
Mr .
”
G r aft o n ,
s h e exc l aim ed ,
“
on e word b efore
you g o . I real l y can t h e l p it ’
You see it s ’
B ess i e s m are an d
’
,
it
’
s on l y once in a way ,
y ou kn o w ,
an d I mu s t h ave fi ve pound s on
it for the L eger . I Vi l l you do it for m e ‘
9
”
Certain ly ,
h e re pl ied l aug h i ng ,
.
“
Jo h n
Mad i ng l ey h as mu c h to answer for . H is
Wan d ering Nun seems to h ave turned a l l ’
y our h ea d s ,
an d deve l oped t he s p irit of
gamb l ing w h erever i t wa s latent . Maurice
fi r st an d n o w you Mi s s M o l e c o m b e
, ,
. How
e ver I wi l l do your biddi n g at once and d o
, ,
”
t h ink t h i s ti me we s h a l l be vi c t o riou s .
”
T h ank you SO mu c h ,
re pl ied Edit h ,
”
and wi t h a q uick l i t t l e nod of
,
g oo d by e -
,
236 A F A L SE S T ART .
sh e turned an d wa l ked back towards t h e

h ouse .
“ ’
She s a rat h er nice girl t h at ,
remarked
G rafton to h imself ,
as h e tr u dged h ome
wards ,
“
and I ve n o doubt
’
Ol d M ol e c o m b e
can give h er a very tidy bit of money if h e
likes . W h at an escape sh e h ad from t h at
precious scoundrel Dick Madingley if indeed ,
”
t h at be his name . A nd singular enoug h
.
,
before h e h ad gon e anot h er h alf mi l e t h at -
point was destined to be cleared up for h im .
A s h e passed t h e T u n n l e ton Club G eneral

Shr e w s t e r was j ust coming out .
By Jo v e G rafton ! ,
h e said ,
h a v e yo u
h eard t h e news T h ere
’
s o n e of t h e cle v erest
turf frauds you e v er h eard of j ust come to
l ig h t . A gang of fe ll ows representing t h e m
sel ves t o be be t ting agen t s h ave got h old of
a F ren c h l a dy of tit l e and h a v e swindled
,
h er out of cl ose upon t h irty th o u sand po u nds .
T h e y ve a l l two
’
or t h ree aliases ,
and
CH AP T E R X V
T H E L EG ER .
W H E N Grafton opened h i s p aper t h e next

morning it was to read on e of t h ose as
tounding stories w h ic h exem p lify t h e bound
l e s s credulity of h uman nature in t h e
pursuit of wea l t h . A pl ausible set of ad
venturers ,
under th e names of Bulow ,
Crofton ,
C O , h ad by s p ecious and per
,
!
sisten t adverti s ing , seduced ,

doubt l ess ,
number l ess minn ows into t h eir net ,

but
t h ey h ad a t last h ooked a big fis h and t h is ,
TII E L EC E R . 23 9
latter in its a go n ies pr o mised t o p ro ve too

, ,
m uc h for its c ap tors . Me s srs . Bu l ow ,
Crofton ,
Co continu all y a s serted
. in th e
j o u rnal s t h at t h ey were in p osses s ion of
suc h exten sive an d v a l uab l e inform ation
as m ade winning on t h e turf an ab s ol ute
certainty . T h ey advert i sed m ore l arge l y
i n t h e foreign pa p ers t h a n i n t h e E ng l is h ,
an d at l engt h attracted t h e a ttention of t h e

C o mte ss e de M o m b e l an e l der l y ,
F ren c h
lady w i t h a pa s sion for s pecu l ation . It did

n ot occur to t h e Comtesse t h at under suc h ,
C i rcum st an ce s Messrs Bu l o w and Crofton

,
.
would probably work t he gold mine t h e y

-
h ad d i s covered wi t h out call i ng in th e

genera l pub l i c to h e l p t h em . She a p p eared
to h ave bl ind ly trusted t h ese a dven turer s ,
of w h om s h e knew n ot h ing an d i t was n ot ,
t il l s h e had been actual ly m ulcted of t h irty

t h o u s and pounds t h at s h e b l en c h ed ,
an d
c o n fi ded t h e story of h er l o ss e s to an ol d
and tru sted friend . He being a man of

,
t h e world immediately p ut h imself

,
in com
m u n i c at i o n wit h the F renc h p o l ice ; but
Messrs B ulow and Crofton were n o prentice
.
’
h ands an d h ad for
,
s om e time anticipated
some suc h result as certain to follow t h e
plucking of t h e plumpest pigeon t h ey h ad
e ver h ad in t h eir nets . T h ey got wi n d of
t h at t h e aut h orities were on t h eir track ,
and at once transferred t h emsel v es across

t h e C h annel , w h ere t h eir p artners w ere
doing t h e best t h ey coul d wit h t h e Briti s h
p ublic . It seemed incredible h ow t h e
Comtesse could h a v e been duped to t h e
extent S h e h ad ,
h ow sh e could h ave been
persuaded to l ose sum after su m , but t h e
ol d lady was a t h oroug h gambler at h eart ,
and knew w h at it was to fig h t t h e ba n k at

M onaco ; S h e was , h owever vengefu l in
,
h er w rat h ,
and like a s h rieking M aenad now
, ,
t h at h er eyes were open ed to t h e way in

24 2 A F A LSE S TAR T .
s h o u l d ne v er h av e gi v en hi m credit for
being capabl e of suc h a gigantic fraud as
t h is . Howe v er t h e evidence
,
so far goes to
S h ow t h at h e was q u ite one of t h e m inor
actors in t h e dram a ; but I s h oul d t h ink t h e

w h ole lot are certain to be committed for
”
trial .
T h at t h e case excited extraordinary in
t e re s t in T u n n l et o n it is needless t o sa
y;
an d to m any t h ere it w as a source of con
s id e r ab l e a nnoyance . Nobody per h aps felt
, ,
it m ore t h an t h e unfortunate Mol e c o m b es ,
w h o were conscious of h ow narrowly t h ey

h ad escaped connection wit h one of t h e
criminals . How n arrowly E dit h only knew ,
and sh e grew h ot wit h S h am e to t h ink t h at

h er name h ad e v er been coupled wit h suc h
an one as D ick Madingley .
T h e papers all remarked on t h e p l a u sibl e

m anners of t h e prisoners and pointed out ,
t h at t h ey seemed to be of s u perior education .

T II E
-
L E OE R . 243
S t ill E dit h f e l t t h at , t h oug h s h e really h ad on ly

b een im p osed u p on l i ke m an y ot h er p eop l e
in T u n n le ton , y et s h e cou l d n ot go about
w h il e R ic h ard Mad i n g l e y ’
s nam e was u p on
e verybody s l i ps ’
.
Al t h oug h Bob G rafton was agai n i n

T l
u n n eton b efore h is departure for t h e
n ort h , h e abstained fro m call ing on t h e
Mo l e c o m b e s . He fe l t t h at t h e w h o l e of t h is
ex p osure m u s t be very an noying to E dit h ,
and t h at to mee t on e w h o l ike h imse l f was , ,
so t h oroug h l y conversant wit h all the in s

an d outs of Mr . R ic h ard M ad i n gl e y s ’
career
would be on l y painfu l . H e contented h im
s el f w i t h a brief note in w h ic h h e informed
,
h er t h at h e h ad obtained t w enty pounds t o

”
fi ve for h er about t h e "
Wandering Nun for
th e L eger . I t was a p o i nt more t h an t h e
odds ,
for t h ey h ad grown very S h or t of
l a t e ; b ut m an i s weak ,
an d, w h en t h e com
m i s s ion i s g iven h im by a y oung and good .

24 4 A FALS E S T A RT .
looki n g woman is sure to ret u rn a liberal

,
p rice . T h en B ob G rafton started f or York

s h ire . He h eard l ots of S out h A frican
gossip as h e went t h roug h L ondon . How
Ul undi h ad been fou g h t and h ow T h esiger ,
h ad prompt l y was h ed h is h an d s of t h e w h ol e
business t h is victory h aving been vouc h
,
S afed h im ; h ow t h ere were man y tangled skeins

yet to unra v el ; an d h ow th e S out h A frica n
business genera ll y p romised to keep o u r
people employed for some time to come .
H e went to t h e W ar O ffi ce to try if h e
could h ear any t h ing of Maurice but , ,
E nderby
being on l y a v olunteer t h ey cou l d give no ,
accurate information concerning h im . T h en

G rafton bet h oug h t h imself of t h e Hel i o
”
grap h o ffice ,
an d t h ere t h ey to l d h im t h at
t h eir v alued correspondent w as quite h imself
again and on ce more on
,
hi s way to t h e front .
B ut al l t h is am ounted to l ittle more t h an

Mr s E n d e rb y s l etter h ad told h im
’
.
,
so
24 6 A FA L SE S TAR T .
”
T h e Wandering Nun . S h e w as a m are
trained in t h eir own county and t h ey vowed ,
S h e looked fi t to run for h er life . S h e be
cam e a h otter fa v o u rite e v ery h o u r . A ll

Yorks h ire bets fr om t h e
,
L ord L ieutenant of
t h e county to t h e p orters of t h e S h akespeare
siding an d a l l Yorks h ire was t h rowing in its

,
lot wit h Jo h n M ad i n gl e y s mare ’

.
T h ere was a h um of applause as t h e mare

walked dow n t h e co u rse preparator y to h er
prelimin ar y canter an d G rafton w h o h ad
, ,
seen h er in a l l h er races was fain to admit h e

,
h ad n e v er seen h er in suc h condition before .
Her coat s h one like satin an d ,

sh e p aced up
t h e course q uite cool and co ll ected l ooking ,
proudly aroun d as if to c h a ll enge any com

p etitor to try conclusions wit h h er to d ay ,
w h ile t h e winner of t h e D erby ,

w h o was
also backed for a l arge su m, was fretfu l ,
un
easy and lat h ered free l y

,
.
“
If e v er I s aw a winner t h at s one,
’
! ”
T II E L E G E R . 24 7
m u ttered G rafton . I t h ink ,

Mis s Mo l e
com b e you and I are going to wi n our
,
m on ey t h is time .
I l l tak anyone s t h ree croons to two t h e

’ ’ ’
”
mare wins ,
s h outed a burly farmer wit h i n
a few yards of h im .
A s for t h e story of t h e race i t is soon

to l d . Never was a L eger ga l lo p ed in w h ic h
t h ere were fewer vicis s itudes —i t mig h t be
said , none .
“
T h e Wan dering Nun g et
we ll o ff, l ay o v er h er fie l d t h e w h ol e way to
the R ed House T urn w h en ,
S he came away ,
and despite a resolute c h al l enge by t h e

,
Derby winner h alf way up t h e s traig h t won ,
easi l y by a coup l e of lengt h s .
come o ff h andsome l y t h is time

’
It s ,
muttered B ob .
“
T h is w il l s q u ar e up M aurice ;
i t s bonnets for Miss M ol e c o m b e or s h e
’
, c an
go for a sea l ski n if s h e l ikes it better an d

for m ys e l f wel l I s h all enj oy t h e luxury of
, ,
24 8 A F A LSE S TA RT .
betting t h e ring t h eir o wn money back at

”
Newmarket .
He stro l led into Tatt ersa l l s ring in t h e ’
course of t h e afternoon w h en h e fell across ,
Hampton .
Well Mr G rafton
,
.
,
exclai med t h e bo o k
’
m aker , wit h a beaming face ,
“
you v e h ad
”
a good race of it n o do u bt .
“
V ery fair in my little way ,
re pl ied
”
B ob ,
“
and you P ‘
si r,
’
“
A rare good un ,
replied t h e book
m aker ; I w as sure t h e summer form was all
wrong and I took all t h e long S h ots about
,
The Wandering Nun ’

I cou l d lay my
h ands on after sh e w as beat at A scot an d ,
co v ered my money by laying it back at t h e ,
s h or t odds t h ey h av e been taking t h is week .
A ny h orse of Mr Mad in gl e y s y ou .
’
,
S ee ,
Sir, one knew wo ul d be run straig h t an d ,
’
t h at mare w h e n s h e s rig h t is t h e best of h er
250 A FAL SE S T A R T .
E n d e rb y ’
s h ealt h was ent h usiastically drunk
i n t h e G rand S tand at D oncaster .
It was from G eneral Shr e w s t e r E dit h first

learnt of Jo h n M ad i n gl e y s v ictory ’
. He h ad
not known muc h of Miss M ol e c o m b e pre
v i o u sl but h ad become interested in h er
y,
from t h e ent h usiastic friends h ip Sh e h ad de
v el o e d of late for t h e E n d erb ys E dit h
p .
h ad gradually wormed o u t of Bessi e before

S h e left h ow muc h S h e h ad owed to Maurice s ’
interference ,
and t h e girl s gratitude was ’
u nbounded . Sh r e w s t e r h ad taken a great

fancy to h er ; an d , like all m en w h o are
c h oice in t h eir friends h ip s was all t h e more ,
prized by t h ose w h om t h ey took t h e trouble

t o culti v ate ,
and w h ere h e pleased t h ere
were few men cou l d make t h emse lv es more
agreeable t h an coul d t h e genera l . A we l l
read man w h o h ad li v ed m u c h of h is l ife
,
i n t h e great L ondon wor l d of w h ic h h e h ad

,
ne v er al toget h er l ost touc h ,

h e h ad pl enty
T —
II E LEGER . 251
to s ay about p re t ty we l l e veryt h ing an d

every b ody ,
and E dit h M o l ec o m b e n ever
tired Of sitting at t h e feet of G amal ie l .
T he genera l was ver y p l eased w h en t h e

resu l t of t h e race becam e known i n T un nle
ton . He l iked to h ear of h is Ol d friend

winn i ng and c h uck l ed a s h e t h oug h t Of w h at
,
a stake h e w o u l d h ave won over i t h imse l f in

t h e o l d days w h en h e used to bet so h eavi l y .
He h ad given u p al l t h at sort of t h ing now

and was never seen u p on a race course but -
,
h e s ti l l took t h e greatest interest in th e

fortunes of h is p ersona l friends w h o sti ll
continue d t h eir favourite p as t ime . Meeting
Mi ss M o l e c o m b e t h at afternoon h e to l d h er ,
t h e new s trium p h ant ly and was astoni s h ed ,
at t h at y o ung l ady s clapping h er h ands ’
and exc l aim i ng

I knew s h e wou l d ; I fe l t s h e wou l d .
Mr . G raf t o n said The \Va n d e r i n g Nun ’
”
wa s s ure to w i n .
Well ,
replied t h e general laug h ing , ,
I t h ink M r Grafton is too Ol d a h and to

“
.
express h imself quite so positi vely but I ,
suppose you won a lot of m on ey 9
”
I won twenty pounds genera l , ,
replied
”
E dit h M r Grafton made my bet for m e
. .
“
A n d t h is after your A scot experiences ?
M ark
”
me ,
continued t h e genera l ,
wit h
m ock solemnity ,
“
t h e turf will be your
ruin
Not t h is tim e anyway , ,
rej oined t h e
young l ady as ,
she n odded a m erry good
bye and t h en tripped lig h t l y on h er way .
“
H a principal turf adviser to a young
,
l ady ! A very comfortab l e appointment .
T h ere s only one t h ing M aster B ob :

’
, re
member t h at racing often le ads to m atc h

m aking and by Jove if it does in your
, , ,
’
case I s h all sa
y you v e n ot don e bad l y on
”
t h e turf ,
an d , wit h a smi l e at h is own j oke ,
t h e general strolled h omewards .

254 A FA L SE S TAR T .
against h im ,
and ,
t h oug h we h ad once
worked our way wit h in a m i l e of hi s cit adel ,
S i ckness droug h t and want of p rovisions h ad

, ,
compel l ed us to fall back an d t h e

,
e n t e r p ri s
i n g Si k u k u n i h ad m ade t h at retreat very

bitter to u s h anging
,
on t h e trail of h is in
vaders wit h t h e pertinacity of a bull dog

“
-
,
an d making t h e m feel for m an y a mil e on

t h eir way back t h at t h e y h ad stirred u p a
’
h orn et s nest . B ut if settlem e n t wit h S ik u
kuni h ad been postponed t h e Britis h au t ho ri
ties h ad by n o means for g otten h is o ffending ,
a pretty accurate record h ad been kep t of h is

r aiding an d plun d ering an d n ow t h e tim e ,
h ad come to c l ose acco u nts wit h h im .
L ounging roun d t h e bi v o u ac fire wrapped ,
in all t h e dreamy e n j oyment of t h e e v eni n g

pi p e were t h ree m en lazi l y discussing t h e
,
p rospects of t h e next t wo or t h ree d ays ,
’
D o you t h ink h e l l m ake a stand ?
asked Ma u rice E nderby . T h ese fellows
T u E E I V O U AC . 255
can fig h t we al l know but

, ,
S ik u k u n i mu s t
h ave h eard all about t h e battl e of U lundi by
t h i s time an d kn ows t h at
,
C ete wa
y o is a
prison er an d t h e Zul u army a t h ing of t h e
”
past .
You needn t fret yourself on t h at point

’
,
re p lied a stout t h ickset littl e officer of t h e

, ,
Nata l contingent . I ve been u p h ere before

’
,
an d I l l tel l you h is citadel is a pretty h ard

’
nut to crack “ 70 h ad a good look at it last

tim e , t h o u g h we h ad to retreat wit h o u t
attem p ting it but h e h un g on our skirts for
,
many a mi l e as we fell back an d m ade ,
t h ings pretty live l y for us . In f ac t it was

a case of desultory fig h ting for some days .
We s h a ll h ave it Of course t h is tim e ; w e v e ’
pl enty of force an d S ir G arnet m ean s i t but ,
’
it l l be a h ottis h fig h t you m ay take your ,
”
oat h .
A tramp of h orses h oofs an d t h e j ing l e of

’
a sabre caused a l l t h ree men to rai s e t h em

256 A F A LSE S T A RT .
selves on t h eir elbows and t h en a dragoo n ,
j og g ed quiet ly into t h e fi re -
lig h t reined up
,
h is h orse and exclaimed in easy n onc h alant

,
tones ,
“
D on t let m e disturb you gentlemen
’
, ,
but per h aps you can tell m e w h ere Mr .
G eneral W sta ff is spen d ing

’
E nderby , on s ,
h is evening
”
“
C h arles G rafton ! exclaimed Maurice ,
as h e sprang to hi s feet and rus h ed eagerly

,
forward to s h ake h ands wit h t h e new comer .
“
W h at h ave all your people got u p
,
Y e s, ol d man we v e pus h ed a l ong pretty

,
’
s h arp to j oin you . O ur colonel h ad no idea

of a ro w com i ng o ff wit h out our being near
’
it . A nd w h e n you ve dri v en t h e beggars
,
out of t h eir eart h s we S h all give a v ery tidy

,
account of t h em in t h e open ,
you ll’
se e .
Bless you you can t t h ink w h at a lot of em

,
’
us L ancers poked o u t of t h e grass after

”
U lundi .
258 A F ALS E S T A R T .
we v e been in t h e sadd l e a good many h ours

’
”
to day
-
. G ood nig h t gentlemen
-
, ,
and turn,
in g h is h orse t h e l ancer disappeared in t h e

,
g l e am i n g .
’
Having satisfied hi s companions curiosity
as to w h o t h e newcomer w as , an d explained
t h at h is appearance w as t h e anno u ncemen t
t h at t h e —t h L ancers h ad j oined t h e camp ,
Maurice proceeded to Open hi s letter . T h is

c ontained an account of t h e L eger , w h ic h
B ob described wit h all t h e gusto of an
ent h usiast .
“
It w ill enab l e you ,
continued the
writer ,
“
to square u
p comfortab l y w it h
Hampton . I s aw h im at D oncaster an d
tol d h im as muc h and h e i n sisted on our ,
h av ing a bott l e of c h ampagne to drink your

h ealt h in and vowed t h at after reading
, ,
t h e accou nt of your fam ous ride from

E t sh ow e , h e wou l d willingly cry quits over
t h e w h ole affair . It w as a h ot aftern oon ,
TI I E BI VOUAC . 259
Maur i ce ; h e h ad h ad a good race and

’
‘
wetted it i n fac t h e h ad attained to t h e
,
acme of geniality . As for your ride ,

i
S r,
you can t t h ink h ow it h a s been talked of

’
.
T h e usua l version i s t h at you c h arged ,
stra i g h t t h roug h the w h o l e Zu l u army an d ,
p eo pl e wrangle tremendously about t h e n um

b er t h at you sa b red wit h your own h and ; I
on ly k n o w t ha t S h a w t h e L ife Guard s man s inks
i n t o utter i n s ig n i fi c an c e w h e n h is h o l ocau s t
is com p ared wi t h y ours . As fo r T u n n l e t o n
i t h a s adopted you it c l aims y ou as a son

I am n ot s ure t h ere were n ot t h ou g h ts of
canon is i n g you but you rea lly m ay expect
t h e freed o m of t h e t own in a go l d box w h en
you return ; as for t h e R everend Mr .
J a rr o w , h e s mi l e s sweet ly an d says h e made

you ,
an d on i nves t igation I found it was
n ot i n yo ur m il itary ca p aci ty but i n y our
li terar y one for ,
th a t you are w ar cor
e spo ndent f o r t h e I I c l i o g ra p h h a s l eaked
‘ ’
r
26 0 A F A L S E S T AR T .
out and yo u r spirited letters h a v e taken us

,
a l l muc h by surprise . G o on ,
my boy and ,
prosper . B ear in mind my dear Maurice, ,
’
t h at you h ave a wife and t h erefore I don t ,
t h ink , in j u stice to h er you o u g h t to

,
fig h t t h e Zulu army again S ingle h anded -

.
E xc u se all my rubbis h . Good bye and G od

-
bless yo u . We S h all all be delig h ted to

—
take you by t h e h and agai n t h e sooner
t h e better .
E v er yours ,
BOB G RA F T O N
K indest regards to Mr s . E nderby .
By t h e way I send yo u a cou p le of papers

,
t h at I t h ink wi ll interest you . T h ey con

tai n a conclusion of t h e R ic h ard Madingley
”
romance .
“
Ah ! t h ey must wait for t h e morning ,
muttered Ma u rice . I am v ery glad t h at I

am now able to sett l e all my liabilities .
The seque l of t h at sc a mp M ad i n g l e y s ’
26 2 A F A L SE S TAR T .
of all t h e prisoners and t h ey were wi t h out

, ,
exception men of good education and in

, , ,
t h e case of two of t h em certainly endowed ,
wit h tal ents t h at s h ould h ave guaranteed

t h em success in any h onest calling . B ut ,
n atura l ly ,
t he biogra p h y t h at interested
Mauri ce m ost w as t h at o f t h e s oi d i s cm i
R ic h ard Madingley .
He w as th e s on of a wel l to do auctioneer
- -
in a country town about four miles fro m

Bi n g w e l l , and consequen tl y from a boy h ad
known t h e w h ole h istory of Jo h n M adingl ey .
AS h e grew up ,
hi s fat h er associated h im
wit h h imself in t h e business but ,
D ick h ad
already taken to h ors e ' o
i g
r ac n and d i sso l ute
courses . H i g h words p assed b etween fat h er
an d son in consequence of t h e way in w h ic h
t h e latter neg l ected h is duties . His i n at t e n
tion ,
in fact , was serious l y a ffecting t h e
business and t h e fat h er soon found t h at i t
,
was h o p eless to leave anyt h ing to D ick . A

T I I E B I VO U A C . 203
v i o l en t q uarre l ensued b etween t h em at

l a st .
r
FlI O youn g man was attend i ng a ne i g h
b o u ri n g race m ee t ing w h en h e
-
oug h t t o
h ave b een “
knock i ng down l ots in t h e big
room o f t h e G eorge Hote l . The fa t h er a

,
stern v i o l ent m an in h is wrat h to l d Dick

,
t h a t h e mig h t get h is l iving h ow an d w h ere

h e p leased b ut t h at h e wou l d mainta i n h im
,
n o l onger in id l ene s s . Dick h ad a bit of h i s

f at h er s wayward tem p er and l eft Becking
’
,
te n t h e nex t day and wis h ing to sever

, ,
al l
con ne c t ion w i t h t h at pl ace — for w h ic h h e

h ad good and su ffi cient reasons of h i s own
d etermined to c h ange h is name . W h il e h e
wa s a b out i t h e re s o l ved to do it h andsomel y ,
and i t occurred to h i m t h at h e cou l d not d o

b et t er t h a n a ss ume t h e name of Mading l e y .
It wa s t h e young man t h oug h t

, ,
a go o d
trave l ling tit l e . He knew t h at Jo h n
Mad i ngl ey rare l y s e t f oot u p on a ra c e cour s e -
,
264 A FA L S E S TA RT .
and t h at if h e passed h imse l f off as a distant

r elation of h is h e was n ot l ike l y to meet
wit h exposure .
’
T h e police h ad traced Dick F renc h s
career wit h m arve l lous accuracy . T h ey h ad
fo l lowed h im t h roug h v ario u s situati o ns in ,
al l of w h ic h h e wou l d h a v e don e well coul d

h e h ave m ade u p h is mi n d to stick to h is
work ; b u t j ust as h e h ad l ost t h e ca p ital
,
bert h of superintendent of the Bristol

restaurant ,
from p erpetually reque s ting
l ea v e t o absent h imse l f from h is du t ies ,
so h ad been t h e case i n a ll h is ot h er emp l oy

ments . T h ere h ad n e v er been anyt h ing
against h im and it was n ot ti l l h e h ad lef t
,
t h e B ristol t h at h e h ad avowed l y taken to

t h e turf t h oug h t h at h ad been t h e c h ief
,
cause in rea l ity of h is so constantly absent

ing h imself from h is employm ent .
Bu t Maurice h ad no t i m e to read m ore ,

for
the c a v al r were s o u n d in b boot
“
t ru n n c ts rr
Y
”
Ye s, laug h ed t h e ot h er ; we h a v e n o
time for yarning j ust now ; I on l y cantered
over j ust to look at you by daylig h t before
we started— t h e w ork wi l l b e warm from all
”
I h ear .
I fancy so , rep l ied Maurice ; an d th e

two rode away in Opposite directions .
It was a pretty sig h t— t h e advance t h at

—
clear autumn m orning t h e cava l ry scouring
t h ose big ro ll ing plains far in ad v an ce di ,
v erging h ere and t h ere on eit h er flank to

make good bits of b u s h or to peer roun d t h e,
kopj es w h i c h occasion a l ly cropped u p T h e .
en emy s skir m is h ers could be seen falling

’
back and firing before t h e steady advance of

our own p eop l e . A t l ast t h ey reac h t h e
mout h of th e defi l e w h i c h l ed i mmediately
,
to Sik u k u n i s strong h old an d now t h e ca v alry

’
,
were prompt l y ca l led in . In t h at broken

ground w h ic h h ad now to be trav ersed ,
com manded by t h ose quai n t masses of rock

T I I E B I VO U A C . 26 7
an d b ou l der s ca ll ed i n ,
t h e l angu age of t he
country k o pj es t h ere was n o opportunity

,
for t he h or s emen , an d t he infantry skir

m i s h e rs n ow sp read out i n a c l oud i n t h eir
s tead . T h ey were no s oon er we l l into t he
d efi l e t h an t h at the enemy m eant a stubborn

re s is t ance becam e a f ac t p ast a l l doubt .
E very one of t h ese s i ngu l ar h ills running ,
m any of t h em to som e h undred feet i n

h eig h t were crowned wit h
,
t he enemy w h o,
ke p t u p a s h ar p fi re on the advan cin g

c ol umn ,
and o n l y yie l ded t h ei r position
upon be i ng fairl y turned out b y our skir
m i s h e rs .
S tead il y an d p ersi s tent l y t h e force woun d

i ts way t h roug h t he de fil e but t h e advance
,
wa s s l ower t h an h ad been an ti c i pated . T he

enem y s fi xed determination was b eyond al l
'
prai s e . N ot on l y d id t h ey fig h t every

k o pj e ,
b u t t h ey di sp uted e ver y bo u l der .
S cience ,
and even p er h a p s numbers , w e re
268 A FALSE S T A RT .
against t h em ; but on t h e ot h er h and t h e

country gave t h em great natural advantages
for defen ce and t h ey avai l ed t h emselves of
,
it as dexterously as i f l ed by a sk il led
E uropean . S tubborn l y t h e y resisted ,
nu
fli n c hi n g l y t h ey foug h t for every quarter of

,
a mi l e of t h at d efi l e ; but t h e A ng l o S axon -
won h is wa y at l ast and emerged wit h in ,
s i g h t of Si k u k u n i citadel A nxious l y t h e
’
s .
mi l i tar y c h iefs bent t h eir fi el d -

gl asses on
t h is famous strong h o l d and t h ere cou l d be ,
no d oubt t h at s h ould t h e resistance be as

,
s t ub b orn as t h at t h roug h t h e p ass w h ic h

t h ey h ad j ust foug h t t h eir way t h roug h t hey ,
h ad a t o l erab l y sti ff j ob b efore t h em .
S om et h ing l ike a m i le of open p l ain n ow

i ntervened between t h em and t h e pl ace t h ey
h ad com e to ca p ture dotted by t h e skir ,
m i sh e rs , al ready h alf a mi l e a h ead and ,

n ow
t h e guns w h ic h h ad
,
d on e good service i n
forcing t h e passage emerged from t h e d efile
, ,
27 0 A FA LSE STA RT .
t h e defenders ou t of t h eir kraal before de

livering t h e attack . Nevert h eless t h e ca v es
, ,
t h e bus h clot h ed crags and t h e rocky ter

-
,
races gave promises of furnis h ing a toug h is h

,
j ob t o t h e invader .
Wel l Mr , . E nderby , said t h e general ,
after a stead y look at it , I mean h aving it

and Sik u k u n i h imself to boot ; but it wi ll cost
u s dear if t h ese fel l ows fi g h t as we ve every ,
’
reason to su p pose t h ey wi ll . Just ride for

war d te l l Colonel
,
‘
R um f ord h e i s m aking
ca p ita l practice an d t h at
,
I want t h at kraal
cleared b efore I s l ip t h e infan t ry . I wis h to
goodness I knew w h et h er t h ose fel l ows can
retreat down t h e back of t h eir mounta i n ,
”
but I su pp ose t h ere is no doubt t h ey can .
Maurice s et spurs to h is h orse and can ,
gaily o ff to w h ere Co l onel R umford s

’
t er e d
guns wit h perfect accuracy were dropping

, ,
s h e l l after s h e l l i nto t h e town ; but as h e

Tun m v o U Ac . 27 1
remarked upon receiving t h e general s m o s ’
sage :
Te l l t h e c h ief ,
i
s r, I m not p roducing s o
’
m uc h e ffect a s I expected . T he town i s

evi dent l y occu p ied by n ot h ing b u t t h eir
warriors and even,
t h e y, I can t h e l p fanc y
’
ing don t h o l d it
,
’
in any force . My m en
h ave got th e range exact l y and t h oug h I ve
, ,
’
a l ready kn o cked down som e h al f score of -
t h eir h uts yet t h e result h as been t h e dis

,
t u rb an c e of very few of t h em . N ew and

agai n a s h ell m akes a few of t h em s h ift t h e ir
’
q uarters but ,
I can t t h ink t h ere are many
of t h em t h ere .
“
I wi ll tell t h e general w h at you sa y ,
i
s r, re pl ied Maurice as h e tou c h ed h i s ca p
, ,
and turning h is h orse s h arp l y round

, ,
he
ga ll oped b ack to h is c h ief .
C H A P T E R X V II .
T H E S T OR M I N G OF T H E KRA A L .
’
BE F OR E Maurice h ad regained t h e general s
sta ff t h e infantry were advancing steadily
across t h e plain towards t h e kraal . S iku
kuni s people m ade no sign t h at i s in t h e

’
, ,
town t h at lay at t h e foot of t h e mountain ;

still it was evident l y n ot deserted for as
, , ,
Co l one l R u mford h ad said h is s h ells e v ery

,
n ow and t h en uneart h ed a few of t h em and ,
sent t h em scampering e l sew h ere for s h elter ;

but on t h e rocky terraces abo v e t h e enemy
27 4 A F AL S E S TAR T .
fire till you are u p to t h e h ed ge . F orward
C h arge ! and wa v ing hi s sword h e das h ed

f orward at a steady r u n .
The K afi r s h ad by no means abandoned

t h e town b u t were formed up be h ind t h e
,
h edge w h ic h now becam e t h e scene of a

,
desperate h and to h an d struggl e - -

. S e v eral
of t h e m en h ad been armed wit h axes wit h ,
a v iew to h ewing t h eir way t h roug h t h e

barrier ,
an d s u cceeded in making a gap
w h ic h t h ey soon enlarged su ffi cient l y to
enable t h e greater part of t h eir companies
to f orc e t h eir way t h roug h .
S ti l l , inside t h e garrison m ade a m ost

,
stubborn resistance but t h e supports were ,
promptly h urried up an d after a q uar t er o f ,
’
an h our s fierce fig h ting t h e kraal was i n
t h e h an ds of t h e E nglis h ; t h e enemy re
treating u
p t h e m o u ntain . T h e battle h ad
n ow be g un i n earnest ; large gaps were
speedily Opened t h roug h t h e pear and c actus
T HE ST U NN IN G 01" T H E KRAAL . 27 5
h e d ge . The i nfantr y were p oured ra pi d l y

in t o t h e p l ace on l y to fi nd t h emselves under
,
a h eavy fi re from t h e terraces immediate l y

a b ove t h em . N0 tim e was l o st and s p eedi ly
,
t h e victor s were swarming up t h e mountai n

i n p ursuit of t h eir obst i nate fo e . \V h en
t h ey gained t h e fi rst terrace w h i c h t h e y ,
d id wit h con s iderab l e loss it was on l y to ,
en c ounter as ob s tinate a re s i st ance as t h ey

ha d don e down be l ow ; and it was c l e ar
t h at t h e storm i ng of t h ese succe s sive ter
rac e s , e n fi l ad e d as t h ey were in m any in
s t ance s by cave s t h e w h ereabouts of w h ic h

,
were unknown to t h e assa i lants was a v er y ,
toug h bus i ness . T h e genera l s a i des rode

’
f a s t and f ar t h a t da y fo r h e ra pi d l y rec o g
,
n is e d t h e ex c e p t i ona l s trengt h o f t h e pos i

tion , and f oresaw if h e m ean t t o make
, ,
t o use a h ome ly p h ra s e ,
“
a good j ob o f
”
it ,
it w o ul d be nece ss ary to em plo y al l
h i s in fantr y .
27 6 A FA L S E S TART .
S lowly , b u t steadily t h e Britis h

,
w on t h eir
way u p t h e m ountain t h oug h e v ery terrace
,
w as des p erate l y contested . The su n was

n ew h ig h in t h e h eaven s and t h e troo p s ,
h ad been more or l ess engaged since ear l y

, ,
morning but t h e general

,
s aw n ow t h at i t
w as a question of a s h ort t i me on l y . The
defence began to wax som ew h a t weaker .
You cannot dri v e a fe e before you for h ours

wit h out more or less demor al ising h im and ,
t h e last terrace taken h ad not been defe n ded

to t h e bitter end as t h e pre v ious ones h ad
been .
”
“
Mr . E nderby , exc l aimed t h e general ,
ride down t o Maj or Car l ton and te ll h im to

take h is l an cers round t h e m ountain so as
to cut o ff t he enemy if h e endeavours to
escape on t h e ot h er S ide and t h en make your ,
”
way up yonder ,
and h e pointed to t h e
m ountain “
and bring me back word w h at
t h e y t h ink of t h ings in front . It looks t o
27 8 A FA L SE S TAR T .
b u siness of it before ano t h er couple of h ours

are over if we only fi nd ga ll o p ing groun d
,
”
w h en we get round by t h e h ill .
Maurice nodded good bye -

,
an d t h en
pus h ed rapid l y on to t h e kraal . He en
t e re d t h roug h on e of t h e ga p s t h at h ad
been h ewn in t h e prick l y t h orn h edge ,
d is
m ounted and giving h is h orse in c h arge

,
to some of t h e ambu l ance peo pl e w h o were ,
busy am ongst t h e h u ts ,
commenced t h e
ascen t of t h e m ountain . T h e spattering
rifle fi re was going on above h im as t h e
ski rmis h ers p us h ed forward from rock to
rock p re p aratory to storming t h e l ast ter
,
race but on e E re Maur i c e cou l d reac h

t h em h e h eard t h e c h eer w h ic h tol d t h at
t h ey h ad closed in , and h eralded t h e final
rus h ; h e pus h ed on as ra pi d l y as h e could ,
but t h e y were a good b it above h im an d ,
t h oug h h e gained ra p id l y u p on t h em t h e
yel l s an d s h outs to l d hi m t h ey were al ready
T I I E S T OR M I N G or T I I E KRAAL . 27 9
at c l o s e q uarter s ,
and h e knew t h at t h e
strugg l e would be m o s t l ike l y over before
h e got u p . It turned out a s h e expected ,
and w h en h e arrived t h e assai l ants were in

fu ll p os s ession of t h e terrace and pausing ,
for a few m i nutes p revious to attacking t h e

l as t o ne .
W h a t i t s you in com mand Maitla n d

,
’
h e exc l aime d as h e exc h anged h and grips ,

-
wi t h t h e sturdy Hig h l ander w h o was in

command of t h e p arty .
”
“
Yes ,
h e answered g l ancing down at
,
t h e crimsoned b l ade of h is C laym ore ,

“
t h ese
fe ll ow s h ave fo ug h t l ike wil d cats and it ,
h a s cost us dear . But it is about over n ow ,
we
’
ve on ly t h at on e m ore terrace to carry
an d t h ey don t mean m aking muc h of a stan d
’
’
t h ere ; see t h ere s lots of t h em going over
,
t h e cres t of t h e h i l l n ow . Now my l ads, ,
s p read out in s kirmi s h ing order and p us h ,
on as b efore . S ound t h e advance bug l er ; ,

28 0 A FA L S E S TART .
an d again t h e Hig h landers pus h ed on u sing ,
t h eir rifles b u t little t h is time and bein g ,
m et by only a spattering des ul tory fire

from t h e fi n al t errace . T h e s h ort space of
gro u nd w as quickly skirmis h ed over ; the
b u gle so u nded t h e close and Maitland wit h a
,
c h eer led hi s m en in t h eir rus h . T h e fi g h ting

on t h is terrace w as all o v er in two or t h ree
m inutes ; a h andful of t h e K afi rs peris h ed
grim l y in t h eir obstinacy sooner t h an yie l d
to t h e in v ader ; and it was now ob v ious
’
t h at t h e w h o l e of Si k u k u n i s strong h o l d
was in t h e h ands of t h e E ng l is h , h is tribes
scattered and dis p ersed o ver t h e crest of
t h e h ill .
“
A v ery pretty eye t h is same Sik u k u n i
h ad for a military position ,
said Maitland .
“
It
’
s been a rare toug h n u t t o crack and , ,
if t h e arti ll ery h ad n ot dispersed t h em a

good dea l in t h e kraal it would h a v e cost,
”
us still m ore li v es t h an i t h as .
282 A FAL S E S TAR T .
”
Y e s, rej oined Mait l an d ;
“
away wi t h
you D ona l d and h urry up t h e doctor as
, ,
q uickly as y ou can . We must get h im down

t h is confounded p l ace as soon as we c an ,
but t h e surgeon h ad better see h im first .
T h e cor p ora l das h ed down to t h e terrace

belo w h im w h ere h e soon foun d t h e surgeon
,
busy in t h e exercise of hi s duties . The

doctor responded promptly to t h e s u mmons
qu ick as t h o u g h t h e w as on his kn ees an d
tearing open t h e p atrol j acket c u t away t h e ,
s h irt an d gazed anxious l y into t h e

,
t wo
sm a l l wo u nds from w h ic h t h e b l ood w as
slow l y oozing .
’
T h at s not h ing ,
h e said p ointing to t h e
,
’
u pp er one ; “
but t h ere s troub l e in t h i s ! of
w h at nature it is di fficult to sa
y, ti l l I v e
’
used t h e probe ; but it m ust h ave h it some

of t h e vita l organs . We must g e t hi m down
’
of course , but if y ou re a friend of h is ,
T H E S ro u M l N o o r
'
T I I E KRAAL . 28 3
Ma itl and i t s n o u s e disgui si ng from

,
’
y ou
”
t h at i t s a b ad case
’
.
I ve n ot kn own h im very l ong

’
,
repl i ed
t h e ot h er ,
“
but h e s a rig h t good fe l l ow
’
. It
’
s
E nderby , t h e man w h o did t h e fam ous r i de

from E t s h o w e , yo u kn o w . I can t s t ay any
’
l o nger for I mu st sco u r t h e cres t of t h e h il l

,
wi t h my s k i rmis h ers . H e is not in inn u e
d i ate danger i s h e ,
”
No ,
re pl ied t h e doctor ; h e i s recover
ing ne w fr o m t h e fi r s t s h ock and cur i ou s l y ,
enoug h i t s more t h a t u pp er wound t h an t h e

’
l ower w h ic h h a s stre t c h ed h im sense l e ss .
He ll s oon come t o w h en I administer h i m a

’
l
s t i n n i an t .
M ait l and h ad time for no more .

“
F or
w ard , my l ad s ,
’
h e exc l aimed ,
and v ery
s oon h e and h is H i g h l ander s h ad cr o wn ed
t h e c rest of the h i ll fro m w h ence t h ey c ou l d
d e s cry t h eir b roken f o e retrea ti ng p e ll m e l l ,
down t he n arrow and p re c ip it a t e r o a d t h a t

284 A F A L S E ST A RT .
led to t h e pla i n on t h e ot h er side . A

stretc h er p arty m eanw h i l e bore Ma u rice
down to t h e kraa l . A temporary h ospital
was estab l is h ed t h ere ,

and ,
after a tabl e
s p oonfu l or so Of brandy h ad been forced
down h is t h roat ,
h e Opened h is eyes an d ,
began slowly so recover h is senses .
D on t talk —don t try to

’ ’
ta l k . Yo u are
badly h it but we ve given t h ese
,
’
K afi rs an
awful d usting . W h at I want you to do is
to l ie as still as you can . A nyt h ing you
want j ust w h isper to m e as s h ortly as you
”
possib l y can .
Maurice nodded assent an d t h en i n tones , ,
bare l y above a w h isper murmured , ,
”
“
C h ar l ie Grafton .
I kn ow ,
replied t h e s u rgeon .
“
He s’
in t h e — th L ancers . H e s h a ll be sent for

at once and n o dou b t wi l l turn u p
,
as soon
”
as h e can .
28 6 A FAL S E S T ART .
’
tain h ad fallen or not in t h e day s b attle ,
Maj or Carlton knew not w h en h e reca ll ed ,
h is squadrons t h eir l ances red wit h carnage

,
.
T h at Si k u k u n i was not his p risoner was al l

h e could sa
y positivel y on t h at point . S l ow l y
t h e wearied L ancers j ogged back towards

t h e cam p w h ic h ,
w as a l r e ady formed in t h e
p l ain fronting th e m ountain w h ic h h ad been
t h e Obj ect Of suc h fi erce contention during
t h e day and t h ey h ad h ard ly arrived t h ere
,
before a m essenger from t h e genera l m ade

h is a pp earance wi t h an intimation t h at h e
,
wis h ed a re p ort sent to h im a t once Of W h at
t h ey h ad don e on th e ot h er s id e o f t h e h i ll .
T h e m e s senger furt h er b roug h t a note for

L ieutenant G rafton w h i c h b riefl y i nformed
,
h im t h at Maurice E nderb y was bad ly

wounded and anxious to see h im ,
( C
so
”
b ad l y ,
added t h e writer ,
“
t h at t h ere is not
very muc h t i me to b e lost .
C h arl ie w as muc h distressed at t h e i n t e l li

THE S l OR M l N U o n
' ‘ “
THE KRAAL . 28 7
genee and went at once to h i s command i n g

,
O fficer ,
for l eave to ride across to h ead
q uarters a s soon as t h ey h ad got t h e men
,
camped down fo r t h e nig h t .
“
All rig h t Graf t on , ,
replied t h e Maj or ,
“
I ve go t t o sen d one of you wit h t h is
’
report of our da y s doings to t h e genera l ’

.
H e wi l l probably ask you a few q ues t ions

about w h at we d id . P oor E nderby I h op e
y ou wi ll not fi nd hi m q uite s o bad as you
ex p ect . Most p romising y oung fe ll ow t h at

and I s h ou l d l ike to h ave h ad h im on e of us .
Graf to n touc h ed h is cap and wit h ou t

fur t h er word st arted on h is errand . H e h ad
n ot s een muc h Of M aurice it was true but
, ,
t h ere are circum stances under w h ic h a s t rong

friend s h ip s p ring s u p in a few h ours s u c h a s
m i g h t take m on t h s in t h e ordinary cour s e o f
t h i ngs . T he l i g h t h ear t ed
- d ragoon h ad
t aken a s trange f ancy t o Maur i ce fr o m t h e
fi rst and i t must b e remembered t h a t h e h ad
,
28 8 A FAL S E S T A RT .
h ear d a great deal of E nderby from h is

b rot h e r and t h en t h ere
, w as n o m anner of
doub t t h at Maurice s sabre h ad saved hi s
’
life
on t h e occasion Of t h e nig h t attack outside
E tsh ow e .
”
“
T h ere can be no h ope ,
h e t h oug h t ,
p oor fe ll ow
h e must h a v e got h is deat h
!
wound I suppose—t h e doctor would h ardly

h ave sa i d no time to be lost unless it h ad ’
”
been pretty we ll all over . He made h is
way in t h e first p lace to t h e general s tent ’
and gav e his report .
I h ad some h opes ,
Mr G rafton yo u
.
,
mig h t h ave broug h t m e word t h at you h ad

capt u red Si k u k u n i h imself ; t h e prisoners
sa
y h e was commanding i n person but I , am
afraid now h e h as esca p ed u s . Howe v er I

am g lad tO h ear t h at t h e casualties in your
”
corps are slig h t ,
an d a nod Of farewe l l to l d
Grafton t h at h e was dismissed and now h e ,
was f ree to go and see E n derby . H e soo n

29 0 A FALS E STA RT .
some h ow to begin wit h and t h en ,

I began
to go wrong an d , w as afraid to trust myself
am i ds t all t h e racing . The work o u t h ere
”
k ept m e straig h t you ,
see .
”
Y es, interrup t ed G rafton ,
as h e clasped
’
t h e dying m an s h and ,
“
we all know h ow
’
well you v e don e your work t OO, and are
proud of you .
’
A smi l e came o v er Maurice s face at t h e
praise of h is young comrade ,
and he
w h ispered ,
G i v e m e som e m ore Of t h at stu ff to

“
drink . I h av e one favour to ask Of you ;

I know it ’
s granted al read y if wit h in y our
”
p ower .
”
“
You re letting h im talk too m u c h
’
,
said
t h e quiet v oice Of t h e doctor w h o h ad ,
glided noiseless l y to t h e bedside .
I t makes very littl e di fference doctor , ,
rej oine d Maurice ;

“
a few h ours more Of
life are Of little consequence . I am ready

T HE STO RM I N G OF THE k HAAL . 291
to go a s i t must be so a s s oon
, ,
as I
h ave said w h at I wan t to G rafton . L i sten ,
C h arlie : I sh o u ld t h ink our work h ere was

fi nis h ed up t O-day , and t h at fig h ting at all ,
events is over for t h e p resent

,
. I want you
t o go down to M ar i e t z b u rg and take my
l ast message to my wi fe . T el l h er h ow I
d i ed and t h at my l ast t h oug h t was
,
Of h er .
I made a wi ll b efore I l eft E ng l and , and

yo ur brot h er i s my executor and knows al l
about everyt h ing . If you can get leav e

y ou wi ll do t h is for m e won t you and ,
’
,
see p oor Bessie Off to E ng l and as well ? If
I struck a good b l ow for you t h a t nig h t

’ ”
by E t sh o w e you ll not fai l me now .
“
I p romise y ou so l emn ly to do your
”
bidding Maur i ce , ,
re pl ied C h ar l ie as ,
he
p ressed t h e dying man s h and ’
.
“
G ood bye ! -
G ood by e -
,
do c tor !
c h oking ! It w as a ll a f a ls e s t ar t ! T h en
came a p aroxysm of c o ug h ing t h e blo od ,
U 2
292 A F A LSE S T AR T .
gus h ed fro m hi s l ips one or two con vu lsive

,
s h i v ers Of t h e strong fram e and Ma u rice ,
E n d erb y s ’
co u rse w as ru n .
“
He w as s h ot t h roug h t h e l u ngs ,
said
t h e doctor , as h e re v erent l y closed t h e e y es ,
“
and t h e internal h emorr h age h as c h oked
”
and killed h im .
294 A FAL SE S TAR T .
Obtaining a m ont h s leave an d t h en wit h ’

, ,
a sorrowf u l h eart h e started on h is j ourney

,
to M ari e t zb u rg .
”
P oor Maur i ce ! h e muttered ;
“
I am
’
boun d to do h is bidding but p egging one s ,
way u p t h at h ill t h e ot h er day woul d h ave

been c h i l d s p l ay compared to t h is
’
. How I
’
am to tel l t h e poor little soul t h at s h e ll
never s ee h er h u sband again I m sure I ’
don t know
’
. It s p retty bad w h en one h as
’
to break trouble to a pa l but it is no t h ing ,
to t h is !
A s far as t h e lancer s ex p eri e nce on t h is ’
point went t h e breaking to one of h is

,
brot h er -
Offi ce r s t h at he h ad smas h ed t h e
pipe or l amed t h e h orse h e h ad borrowed
was about as muc h as h e could s p eak to ,
but i ll news trave l s apace and some days , ,
before C h arlie G rafton s aw h er B essie h ad

,
h eard Of t h e capture of Sik u k u n i strong

’
s
h old and knew Of t h e price i t h ad cost h er .

C O NC L U S I O N . 295
She was s tunned by t h e b low in t h e fi r s t

pl ace b ut it i s astonis h ing h ow t h ese soft
, ,
pl i a bl e women steel t h emselves to b ear

troub l e w h en i t comes and t h e fi rst s h ock , ,
ove r Bes s ie looked h er great troubl e stead

,
i ly in t h e face . T h ere was n o m ore for h er

to do in t h i s country ; s he was a l on e in t h e
wor l d once m ore ; n o n ot q uite , ; t h ere was
h er c h il d and s h e must get back to it as
,
q uick l y a s mig h t be . She h ad n o idea h ow

s he was l eft w it h regard to wor l dly goods ;
sh e knew t h at Maurice h ad don e t h e best
h e cou l d for h er before h e l eft E ngland , an d
t h a t Mr G rafton knew all about it
. . She
would wait a l ittl e l onger on t h e miserable

c h ance t h at the news Of Maurice s deat h
’
mig h t n o t b e true but s h e h ad litt l e h o p e ;

s he knew h ow rare l y it was t h at t h ese
sini st er rumours were contrad i cted ; a su p
p l e m e n t ar
y return of ki ll ed an d wounded
wa s far m o re c on n n o n t h an a sl ig h t err o r
296 A F A L SE S T ART .
W it h regard to t h e or i g i na l list ; still ,

sh e
w as t h ere and w h ilst a glimmer

,
Of h ope
w as left she was bound to wait . It was
too h ard ! She h ad com e so far . She h ad
n ursed h im back tO life once and yet ,
sh e
w as destined to be far away f rom h im w h en

h e died , n ot fated to h ave t h e s ad s at i s f ac
tio n Of h e aring hi s farewell and recei v ing

his last kiss . S h e w as seated at t h e windo w
l ooking out o v e r t h ose rolling plains a cross
w h ic h ,
but a few weeks back ,
sh e h ad
cantered so blit h ely wit h Mau rice . She was
m u sing o v er h er s h ort m arried life an d
t h inking h ow despite ,
i ts troubles w h at a
h appy time it h ad been to h er . T h e tears
welled to h er e v e s as sh e t h oug h t sadly
Of h er present desolation w h en t h e door ,
s u dden l y Opened and a serva n t announ ced ,
“
M r G rafton
. .
”
She h ad never as yet seen C h arlie b u t ,
of co u rse h ad h eard muc h Of h i m from h er

298 A F ALS E S TAR T .
s aw t h e dust fall on t h e stan c h est frien d I

e v er h ad —one w h o a l l but ga v e h is life for
mine . It was h ard ; t h e day was o v er t h e ,
batt l e won w h en poor Ma u rice w h o was in

, ,
t h e front as usua l came across four or fiv e

,
K afi r s sku l king in a cave . W h et h er t hey

were scared at finding t h emsel v es d i scovered
or w h at I d on t k n ow but t h ey all dis
’
, ;
c h arged t h eir gu n s and kil l ed poor Maurice .
It may be some sl i g h t consolation to you to

know t h at every t h ing was done for h im t h at
cou l d be done ,
an d t h at
'
h e was spared muc h

”
su ffer i ng . A n d h ere C h arlie ceased s p eak
ing ,
and B ess i e s ’
sobs a l on e broke t h e
s i lence Of t h e a p artment .
“
T h ank you very muc h Mr Grafton
, ,
.
,
s h e said as soon as
, sh e could control h er
v oice .
“
L eave me by m y self p l ease for a , ,
l itt l e to t h ink it a l l o v er . I didn t know

’
ti ll now h ow fondly I still c l ung to t h e h ope

C ON C LU S I O N .
299
t h at h e mig h t s t ill be al ive . I s h al l s ee y o u

aga i n , Of course ?
Ye s I s h a l l be q uite at your dis pos a l for
,
t h e next fe w day s and so s aying C h arl i e ,
l eft t h e room .
A fter t h e fi r s t few h ours Be ss i e once more

recovered h er s e l f and set h erse l f at once to
,
work to make preparations for h er de p arture .
She was de l ayed for s ome t wo or t h ree d ays ,
in con s e q uenc e of the n eces s ary arrange

ments f o r q uitting M ar i e t z b u rg re q uiring
s ome l i ttl e managem ent an d during t h a t ,
t i me s h e n ever tired Of h earing C h arl ie

G raft on ta l k abou t h er l ost h usband . She
h eard t h e st o ry of t h e ride from E t sh o w e
f rom a m an w h o h ad a ll but witnessed i t

h i mse l f and C h arl ie never wearied of de s
,
cant i ng on t he good q ua l ities Of t h e dea d

man .
He cou l d r i de Mr s ,
. E nderby , an d t h ere
3 00 A F ALSE S T A RT .
’
wasn t a better swordsman in t h e cavalry
”
brigade .
However ,
t h anks to t h e lancer s ex er
tions t h ey were
, Off for P ort D urban at last ,
w h ere true to h is promise

, ,
C h arlie h ad
d etermined to se e Mrs . E nderby safe on
board s h ip and ,
sh e was natura l ly only too
an xious tO leave a l and in w h ic h sh e h ad
known suc h bit t er sorrow .
The “
K angaroo
’
s anc h or was atrip t h e ,
blue p eter was flying at t h e fore an d t h e ,
”
h oarse cry Of
“
for s h ore to t h e gangway
resounded t h roug h h er decks .
G ood bye -
,
Mrs . E nderby , ”
exclaim ed
C h arlie G rafton . May fair winds and a
good v oy age be your lot . I h av e k ept it
”
ti l l to day
-
,
h e continued as h e placed a ,
sm a l l packet i n h er h and ,
“
but I broug h t
down for you Maurice s watc h rings and a ’
, ,
few t rifle s Of t h at sort ; in fact we kept all

we t h o u g h t yo u woul d like to h a v e . His
3 02 A FALS E S TA RT .
N atal coast ,
and t h eir adieux were com
p l eted .
s
a r
ae
’ ”
Wel l genera l I ve done it
, , ,
exclaimed
B ob G rafton wi t h an expression of comic
,
despair , as he burst suddenly into t he

’
genera l s sanctuary regardl ess ,
Of t h e efforts
of t h e we ll trained servitor w h o vain l y
-
,
endea v oured to annou nce h im .

“
I don t ’
want to sa
y a word against poor dear
Maurice E nderby , but t h is is j ust w h at
comes Of il l regu l ated young men w h o go
-
o ff
to t h e wars and l eave w h at t h e A mericans

,
”
would call loose c h i l dren lying around
‘
.
“
W h at on eart h do yo u mean ? ”
said
G enera l Sh r e w s t e r , as in blank astonis h ment
h e remo v ed t h e cigar from h is l i ps .
”
“
Just t h is , returned G rafton w h en
Mr s E nderby went o ff a l l in a h urry to l OOk
.
after h er h usband Mrs M o l e c om b e ,

. vo un l
teered to take care Of t h e c h i l d ti ll sh e came

CONC LU S I ON . 3 03
back . \Ve l l , you know w h a t a woman is .
under t h ose circums t ances . She swore -

ih al l
h er fr i ends to kee p an eye on t h at boy .
T h ere was a perfect syndicate of us in t h e

busines s and ,
th e end Of it i s
“
T h at two Of t h at syndicate h ave set tl ed
to b ecome one , in t er p osed t h e genera l
l aug h ing . My dear Graf t on ,
I h ear t i l y
congratu l ate you . I ve seen a good deal of
’
E dit h M ol e c o m b e l ate l y ,
and s h e is a
m ons t rous nice sensib l e ladylike gir l and
, , , ,
in a wor l d l y po i nt of view is a very fa i r ,
matc h for any man .
”
Oh it all r i g h t re pl ied B ob don t
’ ’
s ,
t h ink I ve any misgivings about t h e m atter

’
.
T h e on l y b l e s sed t h ing I don t q uite under ’
stand is h ow I cam e ,
tO do it at a ll you see
I ne v er coun ted upo n ‘

plu n ging ’
in t h at
”
way .
I dare s ay not . I fancy t h ere are a good

many fellow s w h o don t make u p t h eir ’
3 04: A F A L SE S T AR T .
minds till quite t h e last moment . A h ot
flirtation is l i ke a good t h ing to h ounds .
You take fences you would not look at in
cold blood . H owe v er I v e not h ing but con

,
’
grat ul ations for yo u . H ave yo u any n ews

Of Mrs E nderby
.
“
Y es ; I h ad a letter from C h arlie only
t h e ot h er day ,
a n d s he may be h ere an y
moment . He saw h er Off from P o rt D u rba n
and it s a
’
m ere q u estion w h et h er t h e
”
K angaroo or t h e mail steamer goes t h e
”
fastest .
’
“
She ll be m ade a g reat fuss wit h h ere ,
said Shr e w s te r quietly ,

“
w h en she does
arri v e . The feeling about poor E nderby i s
v ery strong . T u n n l e t on i s v ery pro u d Of
hi s exploits in Zululand and t h ere ,

is an idea
t h at h e w as dealt rat h er h ardly wit h abo u t
T u n n l e t on P oor fellow ’
h is doings . ! Im
afraid my ad v ice h ad somet h ing to sa
y to
sendi n g h im out to hi s doom .
3 06 A FALS E S T A R T .
a p ot cm f ew, and boil over at periodical

”
i nter v als .
As G eneral S hr e w s t e r h ad predicted
‘
Bessie s friends s h owed strong sym p at h y

’
for h er in h er trouble and t h e Mol e c o m b es ,
i nsisted upon h er m aking h er h ome wit h

t h em till as E dit h said sh e h ad ti m e
“
, ,
”
to look round and Bessie wi l lingly con
sented .
”
I h ave sh e said smiling som e
“
, , ,
businesss matters tO t alk over wit h Mr .
Grafton ,
and I S h ou l d t h ink t h ere is no
pl ace w h ere I am m ore l ikel y to com e across
”
h im t h an h ere .
”
P er h a p s n ot ,
rej oined E d it h demure l y :
”
he is h ere a good dea l .
”
“
B e s ides continued Bessie
, ,
I s h a ll
mos t p robably sett l e in T u n n l e t on . I h ave
a great man y friends h ere and I t h ink can ,
manage wit h m v slender i ncome .
But a letter from Jo h n Mading l ey very

C O N C LU S I O N . 3 07
se e n rem o ved any fear s Mrs . E nderby mig h t

entertain regarding ways an d m eans ,
for
U nc l e J o h n w h o h ad read
,
Of M aurice s ’
exp l oits wit h t h e greatest p ride and w h o ,
h ad fe l t m ost s incerely grieve d at h is un
t ime l y end promi s ed at once to

,
m ake h er
a suitab l e al l owance an d to provide for h er
at h i s deat h .
”
“
I don ’
t ask you ,
h e wrote ,
“
to make
y our h ome wi t h m e because i t wou l d be a
,
du lli s h l ife for a girl l ike you to be burie d

i n t h e country wit h an Ol d fogey w h ose
so l e v i sitors are a few ot h er Ol d gent l em en
of h is own s tanding but I h ope you l l p ay
,
’
m e a vi s it e v ery summer and stay j ust as

l ong as it pl eases y ou . Sh r e w s t e r wi ll te l l
y ou t h at I was on l y waiting for w h at a l as
,
!
wa s never to b e namely to see your p oor

, ,
h u sb an d gazette d into t h e army to a ll ow ,
h im a moderate income and t h i s , ,

my dear
Bessie w il l at once be extended to y ou
, .
3 08 A FA LSE S TA RT .
A n d now m ay G od bless and comfort

,
in your sorrow .
“
E ver your affectionate U ncle ,
JO H N M AD I N G LE Y .
”
“
It is v ery kind Of h im ,
said B essie ;
e v erybody is v ery k i nd tO me .
M aurice my dear if you could but h ave

, ,
l ived to s h are it a l l wit h m e

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W E ST M I N S T E R

N E X T week b ro u gh t two t h ings to Ma u rice

J ohn Madingley enclosing a very h andsom e

I am afraid yo u are abo u t t h e m ost

A m an w h o h as only to si t sti l l an d see

h u ndred po u n d n otes dropping into

a perfect s h ow of h er ﬁ eld on Tuesday .

By t h e way I m et young B alders at D on

caster and h e tells me t h at yo u are about

n ame —I t h oug h t t h at T u n n l e ton wou l d be

D o you know I s aw t h at precio u s yo u ng

scoundrel in t h e outer ring on the L eger

day ; h e was in close conference wit h P ic k

and one or two m ore of t h e sam e kidney ;

you may depen d u pon it h e is a regular

j acka l species but h e ,

t h an h e probab l y h as to t h e nam e of R ic h ard

Mading l ey . I s h a l l be g l ad to h ear about

it be possible t h at you h a v e made u p your

regards to Mrs . E nderby , and t el l h er h er

I admit t h e “ f an d e ri n Nun is enoug h to

As h e ﬁnis h ed t h e letter Maurice co u ld

of h ow if c h ance h ad not i ntervene d

t h at but for a v alued c l ient of h er fat h er s

h aving pro v ed rat h er lo g win ded n -

would h ave been t h e partner of Dick Ma

ton and w h en t h e rumours to Maurice s

discredit arose t h ere cou l d be no doubt

G eneral Prau n , and t h oug h t , p ro b ab l v , t h at

E n d e rb v s t o h i s h ouse . Now a reaction

n e p h ew by marri age j ust as h e kn ew t h at

Dick w as an impostor . V ery sore abou t

be i ng a t o l erab l y c l ear sig h t ed m an t h oug h t

t h at Maurice h ad p er h ap s h ad h ard j u s tice

w ou l d h ard l y h ave t aken h i s curate s p art ’

against h im were untrue ; as for t h is last

u po n a t wel v emont h in a place like T u nnle

ton wit h out t h e fact of h is frequenting

Maurice unab l e t o t h ink of any ot h er

reason for t h e banker s increased cordiality

at last attributed it t o t h e satisfactory

w as rat h er taken aback at B essie s getting ’

a note from M rs Mol e c om b e asking t h em

to wai v e cerem ony and com e an d dine i n

T h ere are w h eels wit h in w h els e v en in e

an in v itation to dinner ; and t h e conceit

cou l d we know t h e real reason w h y we

Mol e c o m b e was disposed to be m u c h more

but for t h is i nvitat i on t h ey were indebted

M o l e co m b e was m uc h depressed about t h e

S tation w h en h e h ad sli p ped h er ticket i nto

or two before hi s departure . N e w E di t h

M ol e c om b e k new very w el l t h at Ma u ric e

h ad b een rat h er pointedly excluded from

a friend t h at Maurice would call t h ere . She

fretted dreadfu l ly o v er t h is mysterious silen ce

stood w h y sh e h ad to abandon t h eir sc h em e .

c oul d h a v e n o di fﬁculty in letting h er h ear

ness mig h t h a v e been it was possibl e t h at

it mig h t t h row som e lig h t upon h er l o v er s ’

si l ence . In t h e course of t h e evening ,

accepted the i n v itation . He was quite as

curious t o h av e s om e conver s ati on wi t h

p articu l ar interest i n h er ti ll t h e event s o f