A Dinner Of Herbs (42 page)

All around were now deeply concerned. Hal Roystan had been well known, even before

the business of

the discovery of his father’s grave and the downfall of the Bannamans. But now, at the mention of his

name, be it in Allendale, Haydon Bridge or even Hexham, people would nod their heads

to acknowledge

their acquaintance with him.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Mary Ellen stood in the kitchen of Hal’s little

farmhouse and with the

tears running down her face looked about her. Everything was neat and orderly. The

woman Annie had

just gone after tidying up where there was nothing to tidy. She too had been crying, and her last words

as she went out of the door were, “He was a lovely man, a lovely man, and kind. There’ll not be another

like him. No, there won’t.” And in her mind Mary Ellen endorsed this, for she knew now there would

never be another like him. And she asked herself why she hadn’t found it out long ago.

She must have

been blind, or just young and silly. She was about to sit down when she stopped herself, muttering

aloud, “You’ll have to get back. You’ll have to get back.” Kate was in a very low state, and Mrs.

Patterson could only stay with the child for an hour or so at a time.

She was a depressing woman, was Mrs. Patterson. Before she had got through the door

this morning

she was saying, “It’s hopeless. Four days now. They should give up. Some of the men are dead on

their feet:

they do a shift, then wander the moors, then back to their shift again. It can’t go on. “

And then she had

nodded at her, saying finally, “ Make up your mind, lass, make up your mind. Wherever

he is, there’s no

comin’ back, not after four days out there. And they’ve been over the place with a small tooth-comb.

Tis another mystery that’ll not be solved for years, just like that of his father afore him.

And they’re

sayin’ now, and it’s quite true, and it’s strange, that when his father disappeared he was ridin’ a pony.

And where was that found? Right down the river in Newcastle. And now his pony’s been

found. I tell

you it’s’uncanny. History repeats itself in cases like this, always did and always will. Her lying there’ she

had pointed to the bed ‘she could tell you that. “... Mary Ellen went into the farm sitting-room and stood

there gazing around the room. No wonder he had been proud of his home. And he had

picked up nice

odd pieces of furniture. It was a lovely little house.

It had everything. Oh, Hal, Hal.

The whining of the dog penetrated her mind, and she went out and stood in the yard

looking towards the

shed where the animal was, and she thought, poor thing; it’s as lost as I am. Going to the shed, she lifted

up the heavy latch and pulled the door open a little way, and the dog thrust its head

through and licked at

her hand. She peered into the dimness and said, “Oh, you haven’t got any water. Just a minute.” And

as she went to close the door again she felt the animal thrust itself against it, and then he was out in the

yard dancing round her. And she called to it, “Boyo! Boyo! Stay! Stay, Boyo. Here!

Boyo. “

It stood still, but as she came towards it to grip its collar, it again darted from her; then it ran to the house

door and, reaching up, scratched at the nob. And when once again she made to grab at it, it darted from

her, then turning, fled from the yard. And she cupped her face in her hands, saying, “Oh now, where will

they find him? If he roams he’ll be picked up by the gypsies again or shot by the

gamekeeper if he gets

into someone’s land.” But what did it matter? She let out a long shuddering breath. If Hal was gone, and

Hal must be gone by this time, the dog would pine; if not, he would certainly be

unmanageable, because

he obeyed nobody but Hal.

Her step was slow and weary as she made her way back to the cottage. Mrs. Patterson

greeted her

with, “I’m not gona ask if there’s any news because I know there couldn’t be, that’s

unless they find

him. But anyway, the men are calling it off the night and leaving it to the constables. It’s their job

anyway, although what that handful will do will make no difference one way or the

other.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Patterson. I’ll manage now.”

The woman put on her shawl; but before opening the door she said, The chest’s not so

good. I could

do with a drop of that cough mixture. And our Mary isn’t sleeping. Kate often used to

give me a

powder for her. “

Everything must be paid for. The words echoed through her mind as she measured out the cough

mixture and spooned some white powder on to a piece of paper. Kate was always saying

that,

everything must be paid for, even the help given by a neighbour in a kind of crisis. This was the third time

this week she had made up potions for Mrs. Patterson.

After the woman had gone she went to the basket and picked up the child. It was sucking on a pap

bag, but it was empty. So she made up another one, dipped it in the milk and placed it in the child’s

mouth.

The baby’s face was very red, and she lifted up its dress and saw that once again Mrs.

Patterson had

tightened its binder. Almost angrily now she undid the length of linen that was wound

round the child’s

middle, and the baby let out something of a sigh. And she muttered aloud, “Why must it be made so

tight? They can’t breathe But even Kate said the binder must be tight or the child’s

stomach would blow

out like a balloon. There was moderation, though, there must be. The child was always

happier and

didn’ twinge when it lay in a slack binder.

She replaced the baby in the basket, then patted its cheek before going to the bed. Kate was lying with

her eyes open and her mouth moved into the word, “Well?” but made very little sound.

She didn’t

answer her but just shook her head.

When Kate tried to speak again Mary Ellen bent down and put her ear towards the thin

blue lips and the

word she heard was, “Ban... na... man.” It sounded as if it had been split into three. She looked at Kate

and said, “But they’ve gone. There’s no one there. The house is empty.”

Kate’s lips moved again and once more Mary Ellen put her ear down.

“Ban... na... man.”

Mary Ellen looked down into the eyes that still showed conscious intelligence and she

shook her head

and said, They can do nothing, Kate. They’ve gone. The place is empty. The men were

all round there

yesterday, both those from the mill and the constables. “

“Find out.” The words were low and clear now.

“Enemy. Hal’s enemy.

Find out. “

More to soothe her than anything else, Mary Ellen said, “All right, Kate, all right.I’ll tell them to find out

where they. are, the Bannamans. Yes, I’ll tell them.”

She watched the old woman’s eyes close, and only the slight rise and fall of the hap

indicated that she

was still breathing. It was late afternoon when the scratching came on the door. She

opened it, and in

amazement saw the dog standing there. And she looked down on it, saying, “Why! Boyo.

Oh, Boyo,

you’ve come back. Come away, come on, that’s a good dog.”

But the dog did not come into the room, it turned round and walked half-way down

towards the gate

before stopping and looking back at her, as if trying to tell her something. And she knew it was trying to

tell her something: it wanted her to follow him. In an agony of mind, she looked back up the room to the

bed and then to the child. Then grabbing up the big shawl that used almost to envelop

Kate, she put it

over her head and tied it round her waist in a tight knot; then lifting the child up, she put her into the folds

of the shawl between her breasts, and hurried out, closing the door behind her. And when the dog saw

her he moved on, running now straight across the field towards the quarry top. When she reached the

top of the bank she was gasping for breath. But the dog was only a few yards in front of her, and she

thought for a moment, He’s going to the tunnel. But that was silly. She had been there.

The first thing

she had done after she finally realized he was missing was to make herself go there, while trying to forget

it was from there he must have dragged Feeler and made him hang himself.

But the dog turned down the road. She thought it might be making for the mine, but no, it went straight

on. But with the mine in sight she saw two miners looking up towards her and she

beckoned them while

she still kept walking following the dog. She saw them hesitate and she called to them,

“Here a minute!

Here a minute!”

One of them hurried towards her, saying, “What is it, lass?”

“The dog.” She pointed to the dog.

“It got out early this morning, but it’s come to the cottage and it wouldn’t come in. It wanted me to

follow it. I ... I think it must have ... well’she shook her head ‘it could have found him, or... or

something.”

The man shouted back to his mate, “Here a minute. Come on,” and began to walk by

Mary Ellen’s

side.

When the other man joined them, he said, “Look there, the animal knows something. It

came down to

Mary Ellen’s place. Got out this mornin’, she said. Looks as if it’s going straight on for Whitfield.”

But the dog wasn’t making for Whitfield. Where the three paths joined, it turned off left and one of the

men said, “Wild goose chase, if you ask me anything. That road leads to Bannaman’s

place, a good mile

and a half along there. And they’ve been over that with a riddle,” “It ... it mightn’t be there, it might be

somewhere around.”

Both men looked at her; then one said, “The country’s as flat as a pancake for some

distance there. It

doesn’t start dropping until you get near Whitfield down to the river, the same as here.”

He was making

a sweeping movement with his right hand.

The men had slowed their pace to accommodate Mary Ellen’s for with the weight of the

child she was

finding difficulty in hurrying. And once when she stopped to ease the stitch in her side, the dog, some

yards ahead, stopped too. And one of the men remarked, “That beast knows where he’s

goin’ all right,

and he wants us to go along of him.”

“My God!” A few minutes later the man was pointing.

“The animal’s turned off to the farm. Look, there it is ahead. And it’s runnin’ now.”

When they reached the opening to the yard they could not see the dog, but they could

hear him barking,

and when they went through the arch there was the dog, clawing at the barn door.

“I’ve been in there.” The man’s voice was very low.

“There’s nothin’ but a bit of straw above. I even went up the ladder, so what’s he after?”

The other man had hurried forward and had pulled the door open, and the dog rushed in

and began

sniffing around the bottom of the barn.

Then stopped at the foot of the ladder and, looking upwards, started to bark, loudly,

harshly.

“There’s nowt up there.” The other man shook his head.

When the dog attempted to climb the ladder, Mary Ellen said, quietly, “Lift him up.” And one of the

men did this. He put his arm round the animal and hoisted him up the rungs, and once on the platform the

dog seemed to go mad.

The other man had begun to climb the ladder when Mary Ellen called to him, “Will ...

will you take

her?” And she stood on the bottom rung and held the child up to him, and the man,

bending down, took

the child from her arms and slowly ascended, with Mary Ellen following. At the top,

taking the baby

from the man, she stood watching the dog clawing at the hay.

“There’s something in there, at the back, there must be,” she said.

Both men now started pulling the loose hay aside, and then of a sudden they stopped and gazed at the

dog that was pawing at the huddled figure tied to the beam.

“Christ Almighty’ “ In the name of God! “

“Oh! Hal. Hal.” It was an agonized cry wrenched up from the depth of her, and thrusting the child

down on to the straw she flung herself forward and she pulled the scarf from around his face and closed

her eyes for a moment to shut out the grotesque sight of the stiff gaping mouth. The men were now

loosening the ropes that tied him to the beam;

but once they had undone them the huddled form just toppled on to its side, and one of the men

muttered, “He’sagonner.”

“No, no.” She looked up at him.

“Do something. Get the doctor. Get the doctor. Go on, go for the doctor.” The two men

looked at

each other for a moment, and one of them said, “Aye, aye. Go on, Bill. And bring the

constables an’

all.”

As Bill scampered away, she looked at the other man and said, “Can ... can you untie

him?”

When the man attempted to unlooosen the knots, he muttered, “My God!

Whoever did this knew how to tie a knot. “

The dog now was lying to the side of Hal’s head, licking his forehead and making a

sound like a child

softly crying, and Mary Ellen, putting her hand on the animal said, “Oh! Boyo. Oh!

Boyo. If I’d only

let you out before. If only. If only.”

Still struggling with the knots, the man muttered, “Aye, it might have saved him, but