nd by the time the misguided, or rather the not guided at all
populace, had got halfway to Bannerworth Hall, they were being
outflanked by some of the dragoons, who, by taking a more direct route,
hoped to reach Bannerworth Hall first, and so perhaps, by letting the
mob see that it was defended, induce them to give up the idea of its
destruction on account of the danger attendant upon the proceeding by
far exceeding any of the anticipated delight of the disturbance.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER LXXI.
THE STRANGE MEETING AT THE HALL BETWEEN MR. CHILLINGWORTH AND THE
MYSTERIOUS FRIEND OF VARNEY.
[Illustration]
When we praise our friend Mr. Chillingworth for not telling his wife
where he was going, in pursuance of a caution and a discrimination so
highly creditable to him, we are quite certain that he has no such
excuse as regards the reader. Therefore we say at once that he had his
own reasons now for taking up his abode at Bannerworth Hall for a time.
These reasons seemed to be all dependant upon the fact of having met the
mysterious man at Sir Francis Varney's; and although we perhaps would
have hoped that the doctor might have communicated to Henry Bannerworth
all that he knew and all that he surmised, yet have we no doubt that
what he keeps to himself he has good reasons for so keeping, and that
his actions as regards it are founded upon some very just conclusions.
He has then made a determination to take possession of, and remain in,
Bannerworth Hall according to the full and free leave which the admiral
had given him so to do. What results he anticipated from so lonely and
so secret a watch we cannot say, but probably they will soon exhibit
themselves. It needed no sort of extraordinary discrimination for any
one to feel it once that not the least good, in the way of an ambuscade,
was likely to be effected by such persons as Admiral Bell or Jack
Pringle. They were all very well when fighting should actually ensue,
but they both were certainly remarkably and completely deficient in
diplomatic skill, or in that sort of patience which should enable them
at all to compete with the cunning, the skill, and the nice
discrimination of such a man as Sir Francis Varney.
If anything were to be done in that way it was unquestionably to be done
by some one alone, who, like the doctor, would, and could, remain
profoundly quiet and await the issue of events, be they what they might,
and probably remain a spy and a
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