"What shall we do?" he cried. "I am afraid Pope, the butler, knows you.
He has said very positively to me that it is you, but I have denied it."
"We are in a dangerous strait, indeed," said Charles. "There is nothing
for it, as I see, but to trust the man with our secret. Boldness, in
cases like this, is better than distrust. Send Pope to me."
The butler was accordingly sent, and Charles, with a flattering show of
candor, told him who he was, and requested his silence and aid. He had
taken the right course, as it proved. Pope was of loyal blood. He could
not have found a more intelligent and devoted adherent than the butler
showed himself during the remainder of his stay in that house.
But the attentions shown the prince were compromising, in consideration
of his disguise as a groom; suspicions were likely to be aroused, and it
was felt necessary that he should seek a new asylum. One was found at
Trent House, in the same county, the residence of a fervent royalist
named Colonel Windham. Charles remained here, and in this vicinity, till
the 6th of October, seeking in vain the means of escape from one of the
neighboring ports. The coast proved to be too closely watched, however;
and in the end soldiers began to arrive in the neighborhood, and the
rumor spread that Colonel Windham's house was suspected.
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