Rodney Stone | Page 9

He has never
been seen since, but it is said that he reached America."
"And the ghost walks?"
"There are many who have seen it."
"Why is the house still empty?"
"Because it is in the keeping of the law. Lord Avon had no children,
and Sir Lothian Hume--the same who was at the card-party-- is his
nephew and heir. But he can touch nothing until he can prove Lord
Avon to be dead."
Jim lay silent for a bit, plucking at the short grass with his fingers.
"Roddy," said he at last, "will you come with me to-night and look for
the ghost?"
It turned me cold, the very thought of it.
"My mother would not let me."
"Slip out when she's abed. I'll wait for you at the smithy."
"Cliffe Royal is locked."
"I'll open a window easy enough."
"I'm afraid, Jim."
"But you are not afraid if you are with me, Roddy. I'll promise you that
no ghost shall hurt you."
So I gave him my word that I would come, and then all the rest of the
day I went about the most sad-faced lad in Sussex. It was all very well
for Boy Jim! It was that pride of his which was taking him there. He
would go because there was no one else on the country side that would
dare. But I had no pride of that sort. I was quite of the same way of
thinking as the others, and would as soon have thought of passing my
night at Jacob's gibbet on Ditchling Common as in the haunted house of
Cliffe Royal. Still, I could not bring myself to desert Jim; and so, as I
say, I slunk about the house with so pale and peaky a face that my dear
mother would have it that I had been at the green apples, and sent me to
bed early with a dish of camomile tea for my supper.
England went to rest betimes in those days, for there were few who
could afford the price of candles. When I looked out of my window just
after the clock had gone ten, there was not a light in the village save

only at the inn. It was but a few feet from the ground, so I slipped out,
and there was Jim waiting for me at the smithy corner. We crossed
John's Common together, and so past Ridden's Farm, meeting only one
or two riding officers upon the way. There was a brisk wind blowing,
and the moon kept peeping through the rifts of the scud, so that our
road was sometimes silver-clear, and sometimes so black that we found
ourselves among the brambles and gorse-bushes which lined it. We
came at last to the wooden gate with the high stone pillars by the
roadside, and, looking through between the rails, we saw the long
avenue of oaks, and at the end of this ill-boding tunnel, the pale face of
the house glimmered in the moonshine.
That would have been enough for me, that one glimpse of it, and the
sound of the night wind sighing and groaning among the branches. But
Jim swung the gate open, and up we went, the gravel squeaking
beneath our tread. It towered high, the old house, with many little
windows in which the moon glinted, and with a strip of water running
round three sides of it. The arched door stood right in the face of us,
and on one side a lattice hung open upon its hinges.
"We're in luck, Roddy," whispered Jim. "Here's one of the windows
open."
"Don't you think we've gone far enough, Jim?" said I, with my teeth
chattering.
"I'll lift you in first."
"No, no, I'll not go first."
"Then I will." He gripped the sill, and had his knee on it in an instant.
"Now, Roddy, give me your hands." With a pull he had me up beside
him, and a moment later we were both in the haunted house.
How hollow it sounded when we jumped down on to the wooden floor!
There was such a sudden boom and reverberation that we both stood
silent for a moment. Then Jim burst out laughing.
"What an old drum of a place it is!" he cried; "we'll strike a light,
Roddy, and see where we are."
He had brought a candle and a tinder-box in his pocket. When the
flame burned up, we saw an arched stone roof above our heads, and
broad deal shelves all round us covered with dusty dishes. It was the
pantry.
"I'll show you round," said Jim, merrily; and, pushing the door open, he

led the way into the hall. I remember the high, oak- panelled walls,
with the heads of deer jutting out, and a single