how the plot was discovered by xit, and disclosed
by him to magog.
meantime, magog, with whom lovel had parted at the entrance of saint thomas’s tower, had gone in, and made his way through the side-passage, previously described, to the interior of traitors’ gate. he found the chests lying upon the platform, just as they had been laid there by himself and his brothers, and sitting down upon one of them, presently fell asleep, and made the vaulted roof resound with his deep breathing. how long he remained in this state he could not say, but he was roused by feeling something crawling, as he thought, over his face, and supposing it to be a gigantic water-rat—the place being infested with such vermin—he put out his hand, and catching hold of the noxious creature, as he deemed it, was about to throw it into the water, when a shrill cry admonished him that the fancied water-rat was no other than xit.
“wouldst drown me, magog?” shrieked the dwarf, clinging to him.
“drown thee—not i!” replied the giant, laughing. “but i took thee for a rat or an otter.”
“none but a sleepy dolt like thyself would have made such a mistake,” said xit. “i could not waken thee without plucking thy beard. call’st thou this keeping guard over the treasure? i call it gross negligence.”
386“well, well, i am vigilant enough now,” rejoined magog. “what hast thou to say to me?”
“something that will keep thee wakeful, i trust,” said xit. “lend me thine ears, and i will disclose it to thee. i have discovered a plot.”
“poh! thou art always making some silly discovery that leads to nothing,” rejoined magog.
“but this will lead more than one man to the scaffold,” pursued xit, mysteriously. “’tis an important discovery i have made.”
“indeed!” exclaimed magog, with some curiosity. “what is it? let me hear and judge.”
“it relates to the chests on which thou art sitting,” replied xit. “there is a plot to carry them off. master lovel, the keeper of the treasure, is concerned in it, but the principal contrivers are osbert clinton, sir henry dudley, sir anthony kingston, udal, and the others connected with the late outbreak.”
“ah, this is indeed important!” cried magog. “and how didst thou make this discovery?”
“you shall hear,” replied xit. “suspecting all was not right, i followed lovel to his lodging, and by listening at the keyhole, managed to overhear a conversation between him and osbert clinton, who is at present concealed in the jewel house. from this i learnt that the treasure is to be carried off by the traitors, in order to assist them in getting up another insurrection of a far more formidable character than the last. their plan is to bring a boat to traitors’ gate at nine o’clock to-night, when, feigning to be officers sent by the king to remove the treasure to the exchequer, they will present a warrant, and master lovel, being their accomplice, the coffers will be delivered to them—so at least they calculate.”
“a well-devised plan, i must own,” observed magog, “and like enough to have succeeded.”
“it would infallibly have succeeded but for my shrewdness in detecting it,” said xit.
“well, thou wilt, doubtless, receive due credit for thy penetration from sir henry bedingfeld, to whom the matter must be forthwith communicated,” observed magog, getting up.
387“what art thou about to do, thou foolish giant?” cried xit. “we can manage this affair without sir henry bedingfeld’s assistance. recollect that a heavy price is set upon the heads of all these offenders, and if we can effect their arrest—as we shall do if my counsels be followed—the reward will be ours. we must take them all, like fish in a net. not one must be allowed to escape. listen to me, and i will show thee how it can be done. the moment the barge is admitted into this place, traitor’s gate must be closed by thee or by thy brothers, and we shall then have them like rats in a trap. though they may offer some resistance at first, they will soon be forced to surrender. osbert clinton is sure to be on the spot with lovel, and we can arrest them both at the same time. what think’st thou of my plan?”
“by my faith, it promises well,” replied magog.
“we shall need assistance,” pursued xit; “and besides og and gog, i propose to call in the aid of captain bittern and his friends. they are men of discretion, and can be relied on. care must be taken not to awaken lovel’s suspicions, or our plan will be defeated. and now let us quit this damp place. i am half choked by the mist. i wonder thou couldst sleep in it. come! there is no fear of the treasure being carried off just yet.”
upon this magog arose, and they adjourned to the guard-chamber.
xit’s plan was carried out. about eight o’clock in the evening, og tore himself from his bride, promising faithfully to return to supper, and, accompanied by gog, rodomont bittern, holiday, and simnel, to all of whom the dwarf’s important discovery had been communicated, repaired to saint thomas’s tower, and mounted to an upper chamber overlooking the river, where they held themselves in readiness for whatever might occur, beguiling the tedium of waiting with some flasks of wine which they had brought from the stone kitchen.
xit, meanwhile, had kept watch over lovel’s movements. he saw the keeper of the treasure return from his errand to tower hill, and cautiously following him, and adopting the same plan of espionage which he had previously employed, he heard him inform osbert clinton that he had seen 388sir henry dudley and the other conspirators, who were well pleased with the arrangement, and undertook to bring a barge to traitor’s gate at the appointed hour that night.
“the coffers once secured,” pursued lovel, “your friends propose to take them up the river to chelsea and land them there. no time must be lost in disposing of the treasure, for the moment it becomes known that it has been carried off, a general search will be made.”
“once in our possession, the treasure will never find its way to the royal exchequer—of that you may be quite certain, lovel,” replied osbert. “but what do you propose to do? your connection in the affair will assuredly be suspected.”
“i shall provide for my safety by flight,” said lovel. “this very night i shall quit the tower secretly, and remain in concealment till your proposed insurrection will enable me to appear with safety.”
“if we succeed, as i trust under heaven we shall, your services shall not be forgotten, lovel,” observed osbert. “you shall have a better post under elizabeth than that which you now occupy under philip and mary.”
“i have said that i do not seek reward,” rejoined lovel; “but since, in abandoning this post, i shall sacrifice all, it is but just that i should have some compensation.”
“you shall have compensation in full, doubt it not, lovel,” said osbert. “and now let us finally arrange our plans for to-night. how many persons are there in saint thomas’s tower?”
“only three,” replied lovel. “croyland, the keeper of the gate, his man, and a sentinel. stay! i had forgotten. one of the gigantic warders, magog, is there at this moment, but i do not think he will remain there till night, and if he should, he will be no hindrance to us, since all will be conducted with so much formality that suspicion will be disarmed. we will go together to saint thomas’s tower, and if my instructions to sir henry dudley are carefully carried out, no difficulty will be experienced.”
what answer was made to this by osbert, xit could not tell. fancying he heard a movement towards the door, he beat a hasty retreat, and left the jewel house, perfectly content with the information he had obtained.
