Lair of the White Worm , livre ebook

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101 pages

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. Adam Salton sauntered into the Empire Club, Sydney, and found awaiting him a letter from his grand-uncle. He had first heard from the old gentleman less than a year before, when Richard Salton had claimed kinship, stating that he had been unable to write earlier, as he had found it very difficult to trace his grand-nephew's address. Adam was delighted and replied cordially; he had often heard his father speak of the older branch of the family with whom his people had long lost touch. Some interesting correspondence had ensued. Adam eagerly opened the letter which had only just arrived, and conveyed a cordial invitation to stop with his grand-uncle at Lesser Hill, for as long a time as he could spare.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	23 octobre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819910497
Langue	English

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CHAPTER I – ADAM SALTON ARRIVES
Adam Salton sauntered into the Empire Club, Sydney,and found awaiting him a letter from his grand-uncle. He had firstheard from the old gentleman less than a year before, when RichardSalton had claimed kinship, stating that he had been unable towrite earlier, as he had found it very difficult to trace hisgrand-nephew's address. Adam was delighted and replied cordially;he had often heard his father speak of the older branch of thefamily with whom his people had long lost touch. Some interestingcorrespondence had ensued. Adam eagerly opened the letter which hadonly just arrived, and conveyed a cordial invitation to stop withhis grand-uncle at Lesser Hill, for as long a time as he couldspare.
"Indeed," Richard Salton went on, "I am in hopesthat you will make your permanent home here. You see, my dear boy,you and I are all that remain of our race, and it is but fittingthat you should succeed me when the time comes. In this year ofgrace, 1860, I am close on eighty years of age, and though we havebeen a long-lived race, the span of life cannot be prolonged beyondreasonable bounds. I am prepared to like you, and to make your homewith me as happy as you could wish. So do come at once on receiptof this, and find the welcome I am waiting to give you. I send, incase such may make matters easy for you, a banker's draft for 200pounds. Come soon, so that we may both of us enjoy many happy daystogether. If you are able to give me the pleasure of seeing you,send me as soon as you can a letter telling me when to expect you.Then when you arrive at Plymouth or Southampton or whatever portyou are bound for, wait on board, and I will meet you at theearliest hour possible."
Old Mr. Salton was delighted when Adam's replyarrived and sent a groom hot-foot to his crony, Sir Nathaniel deSalis, to inform him that his grand-nephew was due at Southamptonon the twelfth of June.
Mr. Salton gave instructions to have ready acarriage early on the important day, to start for Stafford, wherehe would catch the 11.40 a.m. train. He would stay that night withhis grand-nephew, either on the ship, which would be a newexperience for him, or, if his guest should prefer it, at a hotel.In either case they would start in the early morning for home. Hehad given instructions to his bailiff to send the postillioncarriage on to Southampton, to be ready for their journey home, andto arrange for relays of his own horses to be sent on at once. Heintended that his grand-nephew, who had been all his life inAustralia, should see something of rural England on the drive. Hehad plenty of young horses of his own breeding and breaking, andcould depend on a journey memorable to the young man. The luggagewould be sent on by rail to Stafford, where one of his carts wouldmeet it. Mr. Salton, during the journey to Southampton, oftenwondered if his grand-nephew was as much excited as he was at theidea of meeting so near a relation for the first time; and it waswith an effort that he controlled himself. The endless railwaylines and switches round the Southampton Docks fired his anxietyafresh.
As the train drew up on the dockside, he was gettinghis hand traps together, when the carriage door was wrenched openand a young man jumped in.
"How are you, uncle? I recognised you from the photoyou sent me! I wanted to meet you as soon as I could, buteverything is so strange to me that I didn't quite know what to do.However, here I am. I am glad to see you, sir. I have been dreamingof this happiness for thousands of miles; now I find that thereality beats all the dreaming!" As he spoke the old man and theyoung one were heartily wringing each other's hands.
The meeting so auspiciously begun proceeded well.Adam, seeing that the old man was interested in the novelty of theship, suggested that he should stay the night on board, and that hewould himself be ready to start at any hour and go anywhere thatthe other suggested. This affectionate willingness to fall in withhis own plans quite won the old man's heart. He warmly accepted theinvitation, and at once they became not only on terms ofaffectionate relationship, but almost like old friends. The heartof the old man, which had been empty for so long, found a newdelight. The young man found, on landing in the old country, awelcome and a surrounding in full harmony with all his dreamsthroughout his wanderings and solitude, and the promise of a freshand adventurous life. It was not long before the old man acceptedhim to full relationship by calling him by his Christian name.After a long talk on affairs of interest, they retired to thecabin, which the elder was to share. Richard Salton put his handsaffectionately on the boy's shoulders – though Adam was in histwenty-seventh year, he was a boy, and always would be, to hisgrand-uncle.
"I am so glad to find you as you are, my dear boy –just such a young man as I had always hoped for as a son, in thedays when I still had such hopes. However, that is all past. Butthank God there is a new life to begin for both of us. To you mustbe the larger part – but there is still time for some of it to beshared in common. I have waited till we should have seen each otherto enter upon the subject; for I thought it better not to tie upyour young life to my old one till we should have sufficientpersonal knowledge to justify such a venture. Now I can, so far asI am concerned, enter into it freely, since from the moment my eyesrested on you I saw my son – as he shall be, God willing – if hechooses such a course himself."
"Indeed I do, sir – with all my heart!"
"Thank you, Adam, for that." The old, man's eyesfilled and his voice trembled. Then, after a long silence betweenthem, he went on: "When I heard you were coming I made my will. Itwas well that your interests should be protected from that momenton. Here is the deed – keep it, Adam. All I have shall belong toyou; and if love and good wishes, or the memory of them, can makelife sweeter, yours shall be a happy one. Now, my dear boy, let usturn in. We start early in the morning and have a long drive beforeus. I hope you don't mind driving? I was going to have the oldtravelling carriage in which my grandfather, yourgreat-grand-uncle, went to Court when William IV. was king. It isall right – they built well in those days – and it has been kept inperfect order. But I think I have done better: I have sent thecarriage in which I travel myself. The horses are of my ownbreeding, and relays of them shall take us all the way. I hope youlike horses? They have long been one of my greatest interests inlife."
"I love them, sir, and I am happy to say I have manyof my own. My father gave me a horse farm for myself when I waseighteen. I devoted myself to it, and it has gone on. Before I cameaway, my steward gave me a memorandum that we have in my own placemore than a thousand, nearly all good."
"I am glad, my boy. Another link between us."
"Just fancy what a delight it will be, sir, to seeso much of England – and with you!"
"Thank you again, my boy. I will tell you all aboutyour future home and its surroundings as we go. We shall travel inold- fashioned state, I tell you. My grandfather always drovefour-in- hand; and so shall we."
"Oh, thanks, sir, thanks. May I take the ribbonssometimes?"
"Whenever you choose, Adam. The team is your own.Every horse we use to-day is to be your own."
"You are too generous, uncle!"
"Not at all. Only an old man's selfish pleasure. Itis not every day that an heir to the old home comes back. And – oh,by the way. . . No, we had better turn in now – I shall tell youthe rest in the morning."
CHAPTER II – THE CASWALLS OF CASTRA REGIS
Mr. Salton had all his life been an early riser, andnecessarily an early waker. But early as he woke on the nextmorning – and although there was an excuse for not prolonging sleepin the constant whirr and rattle of the "donkey" engine winches ofthe great ship – he met the eyes of Adam fixed on him from hisberth. His grand-nephew had given him the sofa, occupying the lowerberth himself. The old man, despite his great strength and normalactivity, was somewhat tired by his long journey of the day before,and the prolonged and exciting interview which followed it. So hewas glad to lie still and rest his body, whilst his mind wasactively exercised in taking in all he could of his strangesurroundings. Adam, too, after the pastoral habit to which he hadbeen bred, woke with the dawn, and was ready to enter on theexperiences of the new day whenever it might suit his eldercompanion. It was little wonder, then, that, so soon as eachrealised the other's readiness, they simultaneously jumped up andbegan to dress. The steward had by previous instructions earlybreakfast prepared, and it was not long before they went down thegangway on shore in search of the carriage.
They found Mr. Salton's bailiff looking out for themon the dock, and he brought them at once to where the carriage waswaiting in the street. Richard Salton pointed out with pride to hisyoung companion the suitability of the vehicle for every need oftravel. To it were harnessed four useful horses, with a postillionto each pair.
"See," said the old man proudly, "how it has all theluxuries of useful travel – silence and isolation as well as speed.There is nothing to obstruct the view of those travelling and noone to overhear what they may say. I have used that trap for aquarter of a century, and I never saw one more suitable for travel.You shall test it shortly. We are going to drive through the heartof England; and as we go I'll tell you what I was speaking of lastnight. Our route is to be by Salisbury, Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham,Worcester, Stafford; and so home."
Adam remained silent a few minutes, during which heseemed all eyes, for he perpetually ranged the whole circle of thehorizon.
"Has our journey to-day, sir," he asked, "anyspecial relation to what you said last night that you wanted totell me?"
"N