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diff --git a/old/14313.txt b/old/14313.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9a05d4a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14313.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12878 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, One of the 28th, by G. A. Henty + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: One of the 28th + +Author: G. A. Henty + +Release Date: December 9, 2004 [eBook #14313] +Most recently updated: September 28, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONE OF THE 28TH*** + + +E-text prepared by Ted Garvin and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + +ONE OF THE 28TH + +A Tale of Waterloo + +by + +G. A. HENTY + +Author of _Bonnie Prince Charlie_, _With Clive in India_, _The Dragon +and the Raven_, _The Young Carthaginian_, _The Lion of the North_ + +Illustrated + +A.L. Burt Company +Publishers, New York + + + + + + + +PREFACE + +Although in the present story a boy plays the principal part, and +encounters many adventures by land and sea, a woman is the real +heroine, and the part she played demanded an amount of nerve and +courage fully equal to that necessary for those who take part in +active warfare. Boys are rather apt to think, mistakenly, that their +sex has a monopoly of courage, but I believe that in moments of great +peril women are to the full as brave and as collected as men. Indeed, +my own somewhat extensive experience leads me to go even further, and +to assert that among a civil population, untrained to arms, the +average woman is cooler and more courageous than the average man. +Women are nervous about little matters; they may be frightened at a +mouse or at a spider; but in the presence of real danger, when shells +are bursting in the streets, and rifle bullets flying thickly, I have +seen them standing kitting at their doors and talking to their friends +across the street when not a single man was to be seen. + +There is no greater mistake than to think women cowards because they +are sometimes nervous over trifles. Were it necessary, innumerable +cases could be quoted from history to prove that women can, upon +occasion, fight as courageously as men. Caesar found that the women of +the German tribes could fight bravely side by side with the men, and +the Amazons of the King of Dahomey are more feared by the neighboring +tribes than are his male soldiers. Almost every siege has its female +heroines, and in the Dutch War of Independence the female companies at +Sluys and Haarlem proved themselves a match for the best soldiers of +Spain. Above all, in patient endurance of pain and suffering, women +are immeasurably superior to men. I emphasize this point because I +know that many boys, simply because they are stronger than girls, are +apt to regard them with a sort of contempt, and to fancy themselves +without the least justification, not only stronger but braver and more +courageous--in fact superior beings in every way. + +G. A. HENTY + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER I. + Unexpected News + +CHAPTER II. + A Country Visit + +CHAPTER III. + Run Down + +CHAPTER IV. + The Privateer's Rendezvous + +CHAPTER V. + The British Cruisers + +CHAPTER VI. + Home Again + +CHAPTER VII. + A Commission + +CHAPTER VIII. + Startling News + +CHAPTER IX. + Mr. Tallboys' Visitor + +CHAPTER X. + On Detachment + +CHAPTER XI. + Still-Hunting + +CHAPTER XII. + The Cave Among the Rocks + +CHAPTER XIII. + More Startling News + +CHAPTER XIV. + The New Housemaid + +CHAPTER XV. + In Belgium + +CHAPTER XVI. + Found at Last + +CHAPTER XVII. + Quatre Bras + +CHAPTER XVIII. + Waterloo + +CHAPTER XIX. + The Rout + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +UNEXPECTED NEWS. + + +"I have written to ask Ralph Conway to come and stay for a time with +me." The announcement was a simple one, but it fell like a bombshell +in the midst of the party at breakfast at Penfold Hall. The party +consisted only of the speaker, Herbert Penfold, and his two sisters. +The latter both exclaimed "Herbert!" in a tone of shocked surprise. +Mr. Penfold was evidently prepared for disapprobation; he had spoken +in a somewhat nervous tone, but with a decision quite unusual to him. +He had finished his last piece of toast and emptied his last cup of +tea before making the announcement, and he now pushed back his chair, +rose to his feet, and said: "Yes; I have been thinking of having him +here for some time, and I suppose that as master of this house I am at +liberty to ask whom I like; at any rate I would rather have no +discussion on the subject." + +So saying, without giving his sisters time to reply, he walked hastily +to the door and went out. Miss Penfold and Miss Eleanor Penfold gazed +at each other in speechless astonishment. So accustomed were they to +settle everything that took place at Penfold Hall, that this sudden +assumption of authority on the part of their brother fairly staggered +them. Miss Penfold was the first to speak: + +"This is terrible, Eleanor! To think that after all these years +Herbert's thoughts should still be turning toward that woman. But it +is only what might be expected. The ingratitude of men is terrible. +Here we have for the last twenty years been devoting our lives to +him--not only keeping his house for him, but seeing that he did not +fall a victim to any of the designing women who would have insinuated +themselves into his good graces, and preventing him from indulging in +all sorts of foolish tastes and bringing himself to ruin; and now you +see he turns again to that artful woman, and, without saying a word to +us, invites her son to come here. It is monstrous, sister!" + +"It is monstrous," Miss Eleanor Penfold repeated, with tears in her +eyes. "It is like flying in the face of Providence, sister." + +"It is flying in our faces," Miss Penfold replied sharply; "and just +at the present moment that is of more importance. To think that that +man must have been brooding over this, and making up his mind to act +in this way for weeks perhaps, and never to say a word to us upon the +subject. I wonder he didn't ask the woman herself down!" + +"He never could have done such a shameless thing, Charlotte," her +sister said much shocked. "Of course, we must have left the house +instantly." + +"I should not have left the house," Miss Penfold said firmly. "If the +woman comes--and now he has asked the boy it is quite possible that he +may ask the mother--our duty will be to remain here. You know we have +been uneasy ever since her husband died. Herbert's infatuation +concerning her has been pitiable, and we have always believed it has +been that alone which has caused him to refuse so obstinately to enter +into our plans, or to pay even decent courtesy to the various +excellent young women we have from time to time asked down here, and +who were in every way suitable for the position of mistress of this +house--women full of sense, and who, with right guidance, would have +made him perfectly happy. And now he flies in our faces and asks the +boy down. I have had an idea for some little time that he has had +something on his mind; he has been more nervous and fidgety than +usual, and several times he has seemed to be on the point of saying +something, and then changed his mind. Of course, one can understand it +all now. No wonder he was ashamed to look us in the face when he was +meditating such a step as this. The duplicity of man is something +shocking!" + +It was not surprising that Herbert Penfold's sudden assertion of his +will was a shock to his sisters. These ladies had so long been +accustomed to rule absolutely at Penfold Hall that Mr. Penfold's +assertion of his right to act as he pleased in his own house came upon +them like an act of absolute rebellion. At their father's death they +were women of twenty-seven and twenty-six years old respectively. +Herbert was a lad of sixteen. He was of a gentle and yielding +disposition; and as their father for some years previous to his death +had been a confirmed invalid, and they had had the complete management +of the house, it was but natural that at his death they should +continue in the same position. + +Owing to weak health, Herbert had not been sent to school, but had +been educated under the care of a tutor. He had wished when he reached +the age of nineteen to enter one of the universities; but his sisters +had been so opposed to the idea, and had represented so strongly to +him his unfitness to take part in the rough sports of the young men, +and how completely he would feel out of place in such companionship, +that he had abandoned the idea, and had traveled on the Continent for +three years with his tutor, his sisters being for most of the time of +the party. Soon after his return he had fallen in love with the +daughter of Colonel Vernon, an officer living on half-pay at Poole, +which was the nearest town to Penfold Hall. The announcement of his +engagement came like a thunder-clap upon his sisters, who had agreed +that it would be in all respects desirable that Herbert should not +marry for some years. + +They had, however, been wise enough not to offer any open opposition +to the match. Three months later the engagement was broken off. How it +came about no one exactly knew. Unpleasant reports were set on foot; +there were misunderstandings which should easily have been cleared up, +but which grew until they gave rise to serious quarrels. Letters which +might have set matters straight somehow failed to come to hand; and so +at last things went from bad to worse until there was a final quarrel, +a return of letters and presents on both sides, and a final breaking +off of the engagement. A year later Mary Vernon married Mr. Conway, an +architect, resident in London. + +Mr. Penfold had before this become convinced that Mary Vernon had not +been to blame in the matter, and that he had in some way or other +taken an altogether mistaken view of the subject. He knew by the +comments of such friends as were intimate enough to speak, and the +coolness of many others, that he was considered to have behaved very +badly toward her. And this thought was a most distressing one, for he +was deeply attached to Mary; and had he not been convinced that from +some reason or other she herself had ceased to care for him, and was +anxious to break off the engagement, he would have gone any length +towards healing the breach. When it was too late he bitterly regretted +his own weakness in submitting to the domination of his sisters, and +felt a deep though silent resentment against them for the share that +he was convinced they had taken in causing the breach between himself +and Mary Vernon; but although he resented, he had neither the will nor +firmness to free himself from their domination. + +At times he struggled feebly against it; and on two or three occasions +had suddenly gone up to town, and thence on to the Continent, and had +traveled there for weeks. On one of these occasions he had written to +them saying that he thought it would be for the happiness of them all +if they were to leave Penfold Hall and set up an establishment of +their own. But upon his return he found things going on exactly as +before, and Miss Penfold had spoken somewhat severely of the silly +letter he had written to them, a letter displaying at once such +ingratitude and folly that it had been beneath them to notice it. As +Herbert Penfold was in a way really fond of his sisters, who spared no +effort in making his home comfortable for him, and who allowed him to +have his own way in all minor matters, he could not bring himself to +repeat when face to face with them the opinion he had expressed in +writing; and so things had gone on for years. + +The Miss Penfolds were really anxious to see their brother married. +Provided only that it was to a lady who would be, in their estimation, +fitted for him, and who would also have a feeling of gratitude towards +themselves for their share in installing her as mistress of the Hall, +they were quite prepared to abdicate in her favor, and to retire to +some pretty house near a pleasant watering-place, paying visits once +or twice a year to the Hall. + +The listless life their brother led was a source of grief to them; for +they were really attached to him, and believed that they had in every +way been working for his happiness. + +They had no shadow of regret for the part they had played in breaking +off his engagement with Mary Vernon. Having once convinced themselves +that she was a frivolous girl, quite unsuited for the position of +mistress of Penfold Hall, they had regarded it as an absolute duty to +protect Herbert from the consequences of what they considered his +infatuation. Consequently, for years they were in the habit of +inviting for long visits young ladies whom they considered in every +way eligible as their successor, and had been much grieved at their +want of success, and at the absolute indifference with which Herbert +regarded the presence of these young women. When, four years after his +marriage to Mary Vernon, Mr. Conway had died suddenly they had been +seized with a vague disquiet; for they believed that the remembrance +of his first love was the real cause of Herbert's indifference to +others, and considered it probable he might still be sufficiently +infatuated with her to attempt to undo the past. + +To their gratification Herbert never alluded to the subject, never, so +far as they knew, made the slightest effort to renew her acquaintance. +In fact, Herbert Penfold was a diffident as well as a weak man. Once +convinced that he had acted badly toward Mary Vernon, he was equally +convinced that she must despise him and that he was utterly unworthy +of her. Had it been otherwise he would have again entered the lists +and tried to recover the love he had thrown away. + +Although he occasionally yielded to the entreaties of his sisters and +showed himself with them at county gatherings, gave stately +dinner-parties at regular intervals, and accepted the invitations of +his neighbors, he lived the life almost of a recluse. + +His sole companion and friend was the rector of the parish, who had +been his tutor during his Continental tour, and whom he had presented +with the living which was in his gift, to the secret dissatisfaction +of his sisters, who had always considered that Herbert's tutor had +endeavored to set him against them. This had to some extent been the +case, in so far, at least, that Mr. Withers, who had left college only +a short time before starting with Herbert, had endeavored to give him +habits of self-reliance and independence of thought, and had quietly +striven against the influence that his sisters had upon his mind. It +was not until after the Mary Vernon episode that the living had fallen +vacant; had it been otherwise things might have turned out +differently, for Herbert would certainly have sought his friend's +advice in his troubles. + +After that it was too late for his interference. Mr. Withers had +watched the state of matters at the Hall, and his young wife had often +urged him to try to induce Herbert Penfold to rouse himself and assert +himself against his sisters, but the vicar remained neutral. He saw +that though at times Herbert was a little impatient at the domination +of his sisters, and a chance word showed that he nourished a feeling +of resentment toward them, he was actually incapable of nerving +himself to the necessary effort required to shake off their influence +altogether, and to request them to leave the Hall. + +Nothing short of this would suffice to establish his independence; for +after a mere temporary assertion of authority he would, if they +remained there, assuredly speedily allow affairs to lapse into their +present state, and the vicar thought that harm rather than good would +be caused by his interference, and that, as his influence would be +sure to be suspected, there would be a breach between the Hall and the +Rectory. As it was the connection was an intimate one. Herbert was +always glad to see him when he came in for a talk in the course of his +rounds, or when he and his wife would come up to dine quietly. The +Miss Penfolds were always ready with their purses to aid him to carry +out his schemes for the good of the parish, and to sympathize with his +young wife in her troubles; for of these she had a large share--all +her children, save one girl, having been carried off in their infancy. + +Mabel Withers was as much at home at the Hall as at the Rectory. She +was chief pet and favorite with Mr. Penfold; and although his sisters +considered that the rector allowed her to run wild, and that under +such license she was growing up a sad tomboy, they could not withstand +the influence of the child's happy and fearless disposition, and were +in their way very kind to her. + +Such was the state of things at Penfold Hall when its owner's sudden +announcement that he had invited young Ralph Conway to come to stay +there had fallen like a bombshell upon his sisters. + +The invitation had caused almost as much surprise to Mrs. Conway as to +the Miss Penfolds. Her father had died a few months after her +marriage, and at the death of her husband she found herself left with +an income of about a hundred a year--the interest of the sum for which +he had insured his life. + +To her surprise she had a month or two later received an intimation +from the lawyer who managed her business that a friend had arranged to +pay the sum of a hundred pounds every quarter to her account, on +condition only that no inquiry whatever should be made as to his or +her identity. Mary Conway had thankfully accepted the gift, which had, +however, caused her intense wonderment and curiosity. So far as she +knew neither her father nor her husband had any relations who could +have afforded so handsome a gift. She knew that Colonel Vernon had +been most popular with his regiment, and the supposition at which she +finally arrived was that some young officer whom he had befriended in +difficulties had, on coming into a large property, determined +similarly to befriend the daughter of his former colonel. + +Had she been alone in the world she would have declined to accept this +aid from an unknown benefactor, but for her son's sake she felt that +it would be wrong to do so. The idea that the money might come from +Herbert Penfold had once or twice occurred to her, only to be at once +dismissed, for had she really believed that it came from him she could +not, even for Ralph's sake, have accepted it. He had, as she believed, +quarreled with her altogether without cause, her letters had been +unanswered, and she considered the quarrel to have been simply a +pretext upon the part of Herbert to break off an engagement of which +he was tired. Words dropped, apparently by accident, by Herbert's +sisters had, before the misunderstanding commenced, favored this idea, +and although she had really loved him her disposition was too spirited +to allow her to take the steps she otherwise might have done to set +herself right with him. + +At any rate she had no ground whatever for believing that Herbert, +after the breach of the engagement, entertained any such feelings +toward her as would have led him to come forward to assist her in any +way after she had become the wife of another; and so for twelve years +she had continued to receive her quarterly income. She had established +herself in a pretty little house near Dover, where several old friends +of her father resided, and where she had plenty of pleasant society +among the officers of the regiments stationed there. Although far from +rivaling Portsmouth or Plymouth in life and bustle, Dover was a busy +town during the time of the great war. The garrison was a large one, +the channel cruisers often anchored under the guns of the castle, and +from the top of the hills upon a clear day for months a keen lookout +was kept for the appearance from the port of Boulogne of the +expedition Napoleon had gathered there for the invasion of England. + +The white sails of the English cruisers as they sailed up or down the +channel were clearly visible, and occasionally a privateer could be +seen making its way westward with a prize it had picked up off Texel. +Military and naval matters were the sole topics of conversation, and +by the time he was fifteen Ralph had fully determined to follow in his +grandfather's footsteps and to become a soldier. Having passed almost +all her life among military men Mrs. Conway had offered no objections +to his wishes, and as several of her father's old friends had promised +to use their influence on his behalf, there was little doubt that he +would be enabled to procure a commission as soon as he reached the +regulation age. + +It was not often that the postman called at Mrs. Conway's with +letters; for postage was expensive, and the people in those days only +wrote when they had something particular to say. Mrs. Conway had just +made breakfast when Ralph came in with a letter in his hand. + +"Here is a letter for you, mother; but please don't open it until you +have given me my breakfast. I am very late now, and shall barely have +time to get through with it and be there before the gates close." + +"Your porridge is quite ready for you, Ralph; so if you are late it +will be your own fault not mine. The eggs will be in before you have +eaten it. However, I won't open the letter until you have gone, +because you will only waste time by asking questions about it." + +Ralph began his bread and milk, and Mrs. Conway, stretching out her +hand, took the letter he had laid beside his plate, and turning it +over glanced at the direction to ascertain from which of her few +correspondents it came. For a moment she looked puzzled, then, with a +little start, she laid it down by the side of her plate. She had +recognized the handwriting once so familiar to her. + +"What is it, mother? You look quite startled. Who is it from?" + +"It is from no one you know, Ralph. I think it is from a person I have +not heard from for some years. At any rate it will keep until you are +off to school." + +"It's nothing unpleasant, I hope, mother. Your color has quite gone, +and you look downright pale." + +"What should be the matter, you silly boy?" Mrs. Conway said, with an +attempt to smile. "What could there be unpleasant in a letter from a +person I have not heard from for years? There, go on with your +breakfast. I expect you will hear some news when you get down into the +town, for the guns in the castle have been firing, and I suppose there +is news of a victory. They said yesterday that a great battle was +expected to be fought against Napoleon somewhere near Leipzig." + +"Yes; I heard the guns, mother, and I expect there has been a victory. +I hope not." + +"Why do you hope not, Ralph?" + +"Why, of course, mother, I don't want the French to be beaten--not +regularly beaten, till I am old enough to have a share in it. Just +fancy what a nuisance it would be if peace was made just as I get my +commission." + +"There will be plenty of time for you, Ralph," his mother said +smiling. "Peace has been patched up once or twice, but it never lasts +long; and after fighting for the last twenty years it is hardly +probable that the world is going to grow peaceful all at once. But +there, it is time for you to be off; it only wants ten minutes to nine +and you will have to run fast all the way to be in time." + +When Mrs. Conway was alone she took up the letter, and turned it over +several times before opening it. + +What could Herbert Penfold have written about after all these years? +Mrs. Conway was but thirty-six years old now, and was still a pretty +woman, and a sudden thought sent a flush of color to her face. +"Never!" she said decidedly. "After the way in which he treated me he +cannot suppose that now--" and then she stopped. "I know I did love +him once, dearly, and it nearly broke my heart; but that was years and +years ago. Well, let us see what he says for himself," and she broke +open the letter. She glanced through it quickly, and then read it +again more carefully. She was very pale now, and her lips trembled as +she laid down the letter. + +"So," she said to herself in a low tone, "it is to him after all I owe +all this," and she looked round her pretty room; "and I never once +really suspected it. I am glad now," she went on after a pause, "that +I did not; for, of course, it would have been impossible to have taken +it, and how different the last twelve years of my life would have +been. Poor Herbert! And so he really suffered too, and he has thought +of me all this time." + +For fully half an hour she sat without moving, her thoughts busy with +the past, then she again took up the letter and reread it several +times. Its contents were as follows: + + "Dear Mrs. Conway: You will be doubtless surprised at seeing my + handwriting, and your first impulse will naturally be to put this + letter into the fire. I am not writing to ask you to forgive my + conduct in the old days. I am but too well aware how completely I + have forfeited all right to your esteem or consideration. Believe + me that I have suffered for my fault, and that my life has been a + ruined one. I attempt to make no excuses. I am conscious that + while others were to blame I was most of all, and that it is to my + own weakness of will and lack of energy that the breach between us + was due. However, all this is of the past and can now interest you + but little. You have had your own sorrows and trials, at which, + believe me, I sincerely grieved. And now to my object in writing + to you. Although still comparatively a young man, I have not many + years to live. When last in London I consulted two of the first + physicians, and they agreed that, as I had already suspected, I + was suffering from heart disease, or rather, perhaps, from an + enfeebled state of my heart, which may at any moment cease to do + its work. + + "Naturally then, I have turned my thoughts as to whom I should + leave my property. My sisters are amply provided for. I have no + other near relatives, and therefore consider myself free to leave + it as I choose. I have long fixed my thoughts upon the daughter of + a dear friend, the rector of Bilston; she is now thirteen years + old, and half my property is left her. I have left the other half + to your son. The whole subject to an annuity to yourself; which + you will not, I trust, refuse to accept. I have never thought of + any woman but you, and I hope that you will not allow your just + resentment against me to deprive me of the poor satisfaction of + making what atonement lies in my power for the cruel wrong I + formerly did you. + + "Were I strong and in health I can well imagine that you would + indignantly refuse to receive any benefits from my hands, but + knowing your kindness of heart, I feel sure that you will not + sadden the last days of a doomed man by the knowledge that even + after his death his hopes of insuring the comfort of the one woman + on earth he cared for are to be disappointed. + + "I should like to know your son. Would it be too much to ask you + to spare him for a while from time to time so long as I live? I + have a double motive, I say frankly, in thus asking him to come + here. I wish him and my little pet, Mabel Withers, to come to like + each other. I wish to divide my property between them, and yet I + should be glad if the whole estate could remain intact. + + "I should not be so foolish as to make a proviso that two persons + who are as yet so young, and who may not in any way be suitable to + each other, should marry, but nothing would please me so much as + that they should take a fancy to each other; and thrown together + as they would be here, for Mabel is constantly at the house, it is + just possible that one of those boy and girl affections, which do + sometimes, although perhaps rarely, culminate in marriage, might + spring up between them. Whether that may be so in the present case + I must leave to fate, but I should at any rate like to pave the + way for such an arrangement by bringing the young people together. + I need not say that it will be best that neither of them should + have the slightest idea of what is in my mind, for this would be + almost certain to defeat my object. + + "If the proposal is agreeable to you, I hope that you will let + Ralph come to me at the beginning of his holidays; which must, I + fancy, be now near at hand. I think it will be as well that he + should not know of my intention as to the disposal of my property, + for it is better he should think that he will have to work for his + living; but at the same time there would be no harm in his knowing + that it is probable I shall help him on in life. This will make + him bear better what would otherwise be a dull visit. But I leave + this matter entirely in your hands. You know the boy and I do not, + and you can therefore better judge what will be best for him to + know. And now, dear Mary, if you will pardon my once again calling + you so, + + "I remain, + + "Your affectionate friend, + + "HERBERT PENFOLD." + +It was characteristic of Mrs. Conway that at the first reading of this +letter she thought rather of the writer than of the bright prospects +which his offer opened to her son. She thought rather of Herbert +Penfold, her first love, now ill, if not dying, of the days of their +engagement and its rupture, than of the fact that her son was to +inherit half the Penfold estates. She had been sorely hurt at the +time; and even after all these years it was a pleasure to her to know +that the quarrel was not as she had often thought at the time, a mere +pretext for breaking off the engagement, but that Herbert had really +loved her, had cared for her all these years, and had been the +mysterious friend whose kindness had so lightened her cares. + +"I did not throw away my love after all," she said to herself, as with +her eyes full of tears she stood at the window and looked out towards +the sea. "He cared for me enough to be faithful all this time and to +think of me constantly, while I had almost forgotten the past. I ought +to have known all the time that he was acting under the influence of +others--those sisters of his, of course. I was always certain they +hated me--hated the thought of my becoming mistress of Penfold Hall. I +knew the influence they had over him. Herbert had no will of his +own--it was the only fault I ever saw in him--and they could twist him +round their little fingers. And now he is going to make Ralph his +heir, or at least his heir with the girl he speaks of. It is a grand +thing for Ralph; for the estates were worth, he told papa, eight +thousand a year, and if Herbert's little romance comes off Ralph will +have all." + +Then she thought over the years he had been befriending her, and +wondered what she should do about that. Finally, being a sensible +woman, she decided to do nothing. Had she known it before, or learned +the truth by other means, she would have refused absolutely to touch +Herbert Penfold's money; but it would be indeed a poor return for his +kindness were she now, when he was ill and feeble, and was about to +bestow still further benefits upon her, to refuse to permit him any +longer to aid her. She wished, as she read the letter over again, that +he had expressed some desire to see her. She should have liked to have +thanked him in person, to have told him how grateful she felt for his +care and kindness, to have taken his hand again if but for a minute. + +But he had expressed no wish for a meeting, had never all these years +made an effort to see her. She could read in the wording of the letter +that he had been principally deterred from making any attempt to see +her by the feeling that he had entirely forfeited her regard, and had +offended her beyond chance of forgiveness. And had she been asked the +day before she would doubtless have replied that she had no wish +whatever ever again to meet Herbert Penfold; whereas now she felt +almost aggrieved that he should express no wish to meet her, should +have stayed away so long without making one effort to bring about +reconciliation. + +"Of all faults that a man can have," she said pettishly, "I do not +think there's one so detestable as that of self-distrust. Why could he +not have said ten years ago, 'I behaved badly, Mary; I treated you +abominably; but forgive me and forget. I was not wholly to blame, +except that I allowed others to come between us?' If he had come and +said that, we could at least have been good friends. I have no +patience with men who cannot stand up for themselves. Now, how much +shall I tell Ralph?" and she again read the letter through. + +"Ralph," she said when he came in to dinner, "you remember that letter +I had this morning?" + +"Yes, I know, mother; the one that made you turn so white. You said it +was from an old friend, though why a letter from an old friend should +upset any one I can't make out. What was it about, mother?" + +"Well, my boy, it contains a pleasant piece of news. Mr. Penfold, that +is the name of the writer, was a friend of my family. He knew me long +ago when we were young people, and at one time it seemed likely that +we should be married. However, as you know, that never took place. +However, it seems, as he says by his letter, that he has never +altogether forgotten me, and he intends to help you on in life if you +turn out as he would like to see you. He wishes you to go down to stay +with him when your holidays begin." + +"That sounds nice," Ralph said; "and if he has got any boys about my +own age it will be pleasant." + +"He has no children, Ralph. He is what you may call an old bachelor, +and lives with his sisters--or, rather, they live with him." + +"That does not sound very cheerful, mother. An old gentleman with two +old ladies alone in the house can't make much fun." + +"He is not an old gentleman, Ralph," Mrs. Conway said almost angrily. +"I told you we were young people together. Still it may not be very +lively for you, but you must put up with that. He evidently means to +be very kind to you, and it will be of great advantage to you going +down to stay with him." + +"But what are you going to do with yourself, mother, all alone here? I +think he might have asked you as well as me." + +"I shall do very well, Ralph. I have plenty of friends here." + +"Where does Mr. Penfold live, mother?" + +"Down in Dorsetshire. It is a very nice place, and only about a mile +from the sea. But, as I say, I do not expect you will find it lively; +but that you mustn't mind. It will be a very good thing for you, and +will be well worth your while putting up with a little dullness for a +time. Mr. Penfold is one of the kindest of men, but I do not think you +will like his sisters much. Certainly you will not unless they are a +good deal changed from what they were as I remember them. Still you +must try to get on with them as well as you can, and I dare say you +will find some pleasant companions in the neighborhood. I am sure you +will do your best when I tell you that I am most anxious for many +reasons that Mr. Penfold should like you." + +"Of course I will do my best, mother, though I must say that the +lookout is not, according to your description, a very cheerful one, +and I would a deal rather stop at home with you." + +"We can't always do exactly as we like, Ralph; though that is a lesson +you have as yet to learn. What day did you say your holidays began?" + +"Next Monday week, mother. But I do hope I may have two or three days' +sailing with Joe Knight the fisherman before I go." + +"Mr. Penfold says he will be glad to see you as soon as your holidays +begin, Ralph; still I suppose a day or two will make no difference, so +we will settle that you shall go on Friday. As you go down to school +this afternoon you had better tell Rogerson the tailor to come up this +evening to measure you for a suit of clothes. You must look decent +when you go down; and you know except your Sunday suit, you have got +nothing fit to wear in such a house as that." + +"I am afraid it's going to be a horrible nuisance altogether," Ralph +said ruefully. "However, I suppose it's got to be done as you say so, +mother; though it's hard breaking in on my holidays like that. He +might just as well have asked me in school-time. One could have put up +with it ever so much better if it took one out of old Harper's +clutches for a bit. How long am I to stay there?" + +"I expect the greater part of your holidays, Ralph. I think he wants +to get to know all about you." + +Ralph groaned loudly. "He may intend very kindly," he said; "but I +wish he would keep his good intentions to himself." + +"You think so now," Mrs. Conway said with a smile. "You won't think so +when you are in the army, but will find a little extra allowance or a +tip now and then very welcome." + +"I dare say I shall, mother," Ralph said, brightening. "Anyhow, if the +old gentleman--that is to say, the gentleman--takes it into his head +to make me an allowance, it will take me off your hands, and I shall +not be always feeling that I am an awful expense to you. All right, +mother. I think I can promise that I will be on my best behavior, and +will try hard to get on even with his sisters. I wish he had asked +Phil Landrey to go down with me. Two fellows can get on anywhere." + +"I should have very little hope of your making a good impression if +you went there with your friend Phil," Mrs. Conway said, smiling. "I +can believe in your good conduct while you are alone, but I should +have no hopes whatever of you if you and he were together." + +"But how am I to go, mother? It seems such a tremendous way from here +down into Dorsetshire." + +"I have not thought anything about it yet, Ralph; but probably Mr. +Penfold will give some instructions as to your journey when he hears +from me that you are coming." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +A COUNTRY VISIT. + + +When Ralph had gone off to school again Mrs. Conway sat down to answer +the letter--by no means an easy task--and she sat with the paper +before her for a long time before she began. At last, with an air of +desperation, she dipped her pen into the ink and began: + + "MY DEAR HERBERT PENFOLD: It is difficult to answer such a letter + as yours--to say all one feels without saying too much; to express + the gratitude with which one is full, but of which one feels that + you do not desire the expression. First, a word as to the past. + Now that it is irreparable, why should I not speak freely? We were + the victims of a mistake! You were misled respecting me. I + foolishly resented the line you took, failed to make sufficient + allowances for your surroundings, and even doubted a love that + seemed to me to be so easily shaken. Thus my pride was, perhaps, + as much responsible for what happened as your too easy credence of + tales to my disadvantage. At any rate, believe me that I have + cherished no such feelings as those with which you credit me + toward you. Now that I know the truth, I can only regret that your + life has been, as you say, spoiled, by what can but be called a + fatal misunderstanding. + + "Next, I must thank you, although you make no allusion to it in + your letter, for your kindness during past years. Of these, + believe me, I never suspected that you were the author; and I need + hardly say how deeply I have been touched at finding that the hand + to which I and my boy owe so much is that of Herbert Penfold. Of + this I will say no more. I leave you to picture my feelings and my + gratitude. Also, most warmly I thank you for your intentions + regarding my boy. He will be ready to come to you on Friday week. + I suppose his best way will be to go by coach to London and then + down to you, or he could take passage perhaps in a coaster. He is + very fond of the sea. + + "We had settled that he should enter the army; but of course I + consider that nothing will be decided on this or any other point + as to his future until I know your wishes on the matter. Lastly, + dear Herbert, believe me that the news that you have given me + concerning your state of health has caused me deep sorrow, and I + earnestly hope and trust that the doctors may be mistaken in your + case, that you may have a long life before you, and that life may + be happier in the future than it has been in the past. + + "I remain, + + "Your grateful and affectionate + + "MARY CONWAY." + +A fortnight later Ralph Conway took his place on the outside of the +coach for London. As to the visit to this unknown friend of his +mother, he anticipated no pleasure from it whatever; but at the same +time the journey itself was delightful to him. He had never during his +remembrance been further away from Dover than Canterbury; and the trip +before him was in those days a more important one than a journey half +over Europe would be at the present time. In his pocket he carried a +piece of paper, on which his mother had carefully written down the +instructions contained in the letter she had received in answer to her +own from Herbert Penfold. Sewn up in the lining of his waistcoat were +five guineas, so that in case the coach was stopped by highwaymen, or +any other misfortune happened, he would still be provided with funds +for continuing his journey. + +Under the seat was a small basket filled with sandwiches, and his head +ought to have been equally well filled with the advice his mother had +given him as to his behavior at Penfold Hall. As his place had been +booked some days before, he had the advantage of an outside seat. Next +to him was a fat woman, who was going up to town, as she speedily +informed her fellow-passengers, to meet her husband, who was captain +of a whaler. + +"I see in the _Gazette_ of to-day," she said, "as his ship was +signaled off Deal yesterday, and with this ere wind he will be up at +the docks to-morrow; so off I goes. He's been away nigh eighteen +months; and I know what men is. Why, bless you, if I wasn't there to +meet him when he steps ashore, as likely as not he would meet with +friends and go on the spree, and I shouldn't hear of him for a week; +and a nice hole that would make in his earnings. Young man, you are +scrouging me dreadful! Can't you get a little further along." + +"It seems to me, ma'am, that it is you who are scrouging me," Ralph +replied. "This rail is almost cutting into my side now." + +"Well, we must live and let live!" the woman said philosophically. +"You may thank your stars nature hasn't made you as big as I am. +Little people have their advantages. But we can't have everything our +own way. That's what I tells my Jim; he is always a-wanting to have +his own way. That comes from being a captain; but, as I tells him, +it's only reasonable as he is captain on board his ship I should be +captain in my house. I suppose you are going to school?" + +"No, I am not. My school is just over." + +"Going all the way up to London?" + +"Yes." + +"That's a mercy," the woman said. "I was afraid you might be only +going as far as Canterbury, and then I might have got some big chap up +here who would squeeze me as flat as a pancake. Men is so +unthoughtful, and seems to think as women can stow themselves away +anywheres. I wish you would feel and get your hand in my pocket, young +man. I can't do it nohow, and I ain't sure that I have got my keys +with me; and that girl Eliza will be getting at the bottles and +a-having men in, and then there will be a nice to-do with the lodgers. +Can't you find it? It is in the folds somewhere." + +With much difficulty Ralph found the pocket-hole, and thrusting his +hand in was able to reassure his neighbor by feeling among a mass of +odds and ends a bunch of keys. + +"That's a comfort," the woman said. "If one's mind isn't at ease one +can't enjoy traveling." + +"I wish my body was at ease," Ralph said. "Don't you think you could +squeeze them a little on the other side and give me an inch or two +more room?" + +"I will try," the woman said; "as you seem a civil sort of boy." + +Whereupon she gave two or three heaves, which relieved Ralph greatly, +but involved her in an altercation with her neighbor on the other +side, which lasted till the towers of Canterbury came in sight. Here +they changed horses at the Fountain Inn. + +"Look here, my boy," the woman said to Ralph. "If you feel underneath +my feet you will find a basket, and at the top there is an empty +bottle. There will be just time for you to jump down and get it filled +for me. A shilling's worth of brandy, and filled up with water. That +girl Eliza flustered me so much with her worritting and questions +before I started that I had not time to fill it." + +Ralph jumped down and procured the desired refreshment, and was just +in time to clamber up to his seat again when the coach started. He +enjoyed the rapid motion and changing scene much, but he was not sorry +when--as evening was coming on--he saw ahead of him a dull mist, which +his fellow-passenger told him was the smoke of London. + +It was nine in the evening when the coach drove into the courtyard of +the Bull Inn. The guard, who had received instructions from Mrs. +Conway, at once gave Ralph and his box into the charge of one of the +porters awaiting the arrival of the coach, and told him to take the +box to the inn from which the coach for Weymouth started in the +morning. Cramped by his fourteen hours' journey Ralph had at first +some difficulty in following his conductor through the crowded street, +but the stiffness soon wore off, and after ten minutes walking he +arrived at the inn. + +The guard had already paid the porter, having received the money for +that purpose from Mrs. Conway; and the latter setting down the box in +the passage at once went off. Ralph felt a little forlorn, and +wondered what he was to do next. But a minute later the landlady came +out from the bar. + +"Do you want a bed?" she asked. "The porter should have rung the bell. +I am afraid we are full, unless it has been taken beforehand. However, +I will see if I can make shift somehow." + +"I should be very much obliged if you can," Ralph said; "for I don't +know anything about London, and am going on by the Weymouth coach in +the morning." + +"Oh, might your name be Conway?" + +"Yes, that is my name," Ralph said, surprised. + +"Ah, then there is a bedroom taken for you. A gentleman came three +days ago and took it, saying it was for a young gent who is going +through to Weymouth. Tom," she called, "take this box up to number 12. +Supper is ready for you, sir. I dare say you would like a wash first?" + +"That I should," Ralph replied, following the boots upstairs. + +In a few minutes he returned, and a waiter directed him to the +coffee-room. In a short time a supper consisting of fish, a steak, and +tea was placed before him. Ralph fell to vigorously, and the care that +had been bestowed by Mr. Penfold in securing a bedroom and ordering +supper for him greatly raised him in the boy's estimation; and he +looked forward with warmer anticipations than he had hitherto done to +his visit to him. As goon as he had finished he went off to bed, and +in a few minutes was sound asleep. At half-past six he was called, and +after a hearty breakfast took his seat on the outside of the Weymouth +coach. + +Sitting beside him were four sailors, belonging, as he soon learned, +to a privateer lying at Weymouth. They had had a long trip, and had +been some months at sea; and as their ship was to lie for a fortnight +at Weymouth while some repairs were being done to her, they had +obtained a week's leave and had ran up to London for a spree. Weymouth +during the war did a brisk trade, and was a favorite rendezvous of +privateers, who preferred it greatly to Portsmouth or Plymouth, where +the risk of their men being pressed to make up the quota of some +man-of-war just fitted out was very great. + +The sailors were rather silent and sulky, at first at the cruise on +land being nearly over, but after getting off the coach where it +changed horses they recovered their spirits, and amused Ralph greatly +with their talk about the various prizes they had taken, and one or +two sharp brashes with French privateers. Toward evening they became +rather hilarious, but for the last two hours dozed quietly; the man +sitting next to Ralph lurching against him heavily in his sleep, and +swearing loudly when the boy stuck his elbow into his ribs to relieve +himself of the weight. Ralph was not sorry, therefore, when at ten +o'clock at night the coach arrived at Weymouth. The landlord and +servants came out with lanterns to help the passengers to alight, and +the former, as Ralph climbed down the side into the circle of light, +asked: + +"Are you Master Conway?" + +"That's my name," Ralph replied. + +"A bed has been taken for you, sir, and a trap will be over here at +nine o'clock in the morning to take you to Penfold Hall." + +Supper was already prepared for such passengers as were going to sleep +in the hotel; but Ralph was too sleepy to want to eat, and had made a +good meal when the coach stopped at six o'clock for twenty minutes to +allow the passengers time for refreshments. At eight o'clock next +morning he breakfasted. When he had finished the waiter told him that +the trap had arrived a few minutes before, and that the horse had been +taken out to have a feed, but would be ready to start by nine. Ralph +took a stroll for half an hour by the sea and then returned. The trap +was at the door, and his trunk had already been placed in it. The +driver, a man of twenty-three or twenty-four, was, as he presently +told Ralph, stable-helper at Penfold Hall. + +"I generally drive this trap when it is wanted," he said. "The +coachman is pretty old now. He has been in the family well-nigh fifty +years. He is all right behind the carriage-horses, he says, but he +does not like trusting himself in a pair-wheel trap." + +"How far is it?" + +"A matter of fifteen miles. It would be a lot shorter if you had got +off last night at the nearest point the coach goes to; but the master +told the coachman that he thought it would be pleasanter for you to +come on here than to arrive there tired and sleepy after dark." + +"Yes, it will much more pleasant," Ralph said. "The road was very +dirty, and I should not like to arrive at a strange house with my +clothes all covered with dust, and so sleepy that I could hardly keep +my eyes open, especially as I hear that Mr. Penfold's sisters are +rather particular." + +"Rather isn't the word," the driver said; "they are particular, and no +mistake. I don't believe as the master would notice whether the +carriage was dirty or clean; but if there is a speck of dirt about +they are sure to spot it. Not that they are bad mistresses; but they +look about all right, I can tell you, pretty sharp. I don't say that +it ain't as well as they do, for the master never seems to care one +way or the other, and lets things go anyhow. A nice gentleman he is, +but I don't see much of him; and he don't drive in the carriage not +once a month, and only then when he is going to the board of +magistrates. He just walks about the garden morning and evening, and +all the rest of the time he is shut up in the library with his books. +It's a pity he don't go out more." + +"Are there any families about with boys?" Ralph asked. + +"Not as I knows of. None of then that ever comes to the Hall, anyhow. +It's a pity there ain't some young ones there; it would wake the place +up and make it lively. It would give us a lot more work to do, I don't +doubt; but we shouldn't mind that. I have heard it used to be +different in the old squire's time, but it has always been so as long +as I can remember. I don't live at the house, but down at the village. +Jones he lives over the stables; and there ain't no occasion to have +more than one there, for there's only the two carriage-horses and +this." + +"How far is the sea from the house?" + +"It's about half a mile to the top of the cliff, and a precious long +climb down to the water; but going round by Swanage--which is about +three miles--you can drive down close to the sea, for there are no +cliffs there." + +There was little more said during the drive. From time to time the man +pointed out the various villages and country seats, and Ralph wondered +to himself how he should manage to pass the next three weeks. It +seemed that there would be nothing to do and no one to talk to. He had +always been accustomed to the companionship of lots of boys of his own +age, and during the holidays there was plenty of sailing and fishing, +so that time had never hung on his hands; the present prospect +therefore almost appalled him. However, he had promised his mother +that he would try to make the best of things; and he tried to assure +himself that after all three weeks or a month would be over at last. +After an hour and a half's drive they passed through a lodge gate into +a park, and in a few minutes drew up at the entrance to Penfold Hall. +An old servant came out. + +"Will you come with me into the library, sir? Mr. Penfold is expecting +you. Your box will be taken up into your room." + +Ralph felt extremely uncomfortable as he followed his conductor across +a noble hall, floored with dark polished oak, and paneled with the +same material. A door opened, and a servant announced "Master Conway." +A gentleman rose from his chair and held out his hand. + +"I am glad to see you, Ralph Conway; and I hope your journey has been +a pretty comfortable one. It is very good of you to come such a long +distance to pay me a visit." + +"Mother wanted me to, sir," Ralph said honestly. "I don't think--" and +he stopped. + +"You don't think you would have come of your own accord, Ralph? No, +that is natural enough, my boy. At your age I am sure I should not +have cared to give up my holidays and spend them in a quiet house +among strangers. However, I wanted to see you, and I am very glad you +have come. I am an old friend of your mother's, you know, and so +desired to make the acquaintance of her son. I think you are like +her," he said, putting his hand on Ralph's shoulder and taking him to +the window and looking steadily at him. + +"Other people have said so, sir; but I am sure I can't see how I +can be like her a bit. Mother is so pretty, and I am sure I am not +the least bit in the world; and I don't think it's nice for a boy to +be like a woman." + +This was rather a sore point with Ralph, who had a smooth soft face +with large eyes and long eyelashes, and who had, in consequence, been +nicknamed "Sally" by his schoolfellows. The name had stuck to him in +spite of several desperate fights, and the fact that in point of +strength and activity he was fully a match for any boy of his own age; +but as there was nothing like derision conveyed by it, and it was +indeed a term of affection rather, than of contempt, Ralph had at last +ceased to struggle against it. But he longed for the time when the +sprouting of whiskers would obliterate the obnoxious smoothness of his +face. Mr. Penfold had smiled at his remark. + +"I do not like girlish boys, Ralph; but a boy can have a girlish face +and yet be a true boy all over. I fancy that's your case. + +"I hope so, sir. I think I can swim or run or fight any of the chaps +of my own age in the school; but I know I do look girlish about the +face. I have done everything I could to make my face rough. I have sat +in the sun, and wetted it with sea-water every five minutes, but it's +no use." + +"I should not trouble about it. Your face will get manly enough in +time, you may be sure; and I like you all the better for it, my boy, +because you are certainly very like your mother. And now, Ralph, I +want you to enjoy yourself as much as you can while you are here. The +house itself is dull, but I suppose you will be a good deal out of +doors. I have hired a pony, which will be here to-day from Poole, and +I have arranged with Watson, a fisherman at Swanage, that you can go +out with him in his fishing-boat whenever you are disposed. It is +three miles from here, but you can ride over on your pony and leave it +at the little inn there till you come back. I am sorry to say I do not +know any boys about here; but Mabel Withers, the daughter of my +neighbor and friend the clergyman of Bilston, the village just outside +the lodge, has a pony, and is a capital rider, and I am sure she will +show you over the country. I suppose you have not had much to do with +girls?" he added with a smile at seeing a slight expression of dismay +on Ralph's face, which had expressed unmixed satisfaction at the first +items of the programme. + +"No, sir; not much," Ralph said. "Of course some of my schoolfellows +have sisters, but one does not see much of them." + +"I think you will get on very well together. She is a year or two +younger than you are, and I am afraid she is considered rather a +tomboy. She has been caught at the top of a tall tree examining the +eggs in a nest, and in many similar ungirl-like positions; so you +won't find her a dull companion. She is a great pet of mine, and +though she may not be as good a companion as a boy would be for you, I +am sure when you once get to know her you will find her a very good +substitute. You see, not having had much to do with boys, I am not +very good at devising amusement for you. I can only say that if there +is anything you would like to do while you are here you have only to +tell me, and if it be possible I will put you in the way of it." + +"Thank you very much, sir. You are extremely kind," Ralph said +heartily; for with a pony and a boat it did seem that his visit would +not be nearly so dull as he had anticipated. "I am sure I shall get on +capitally." + +Just at his moment there was a knock at the door. It opened, and a +girl entered. + +"You have just come at the right moment, Mabel," Mr. Penfold said as +she came in. "This is Ralph Conway, of whom I was speaking to you. +Ralph, this is Mabel Withers. I asked her to come in early this +morning so as to act as your guide round the place." + +The boy and girl shook hands with each other. She was the first to +speak. + +"So you are Ralph. I have been wondering what you would be like. Uncle +has been telling me you were coming. I like your looks, and I think +you are nice." + +Ralph was taken rather aback. This was not the way in which his +schoolfellows' sisters had generally addressed him. + +"I think you look jolly," he said; "and that's better than looking +nice." + +"I think they mean the same thing," she replied; "except that a girl +says 'nice' and a boy says 'jolly.' I like the word 'jolly' best, only +I get scolded when I use it. Shall we go into the garden?" + +Altogether Ralph Conway had a very much pleasanter time than he had +anticipated. Except at meals he saw little of the Miss Penfolds. His +opinion as to these ladies, expressed confidentially to Mabel Withers, +was the reverse of flattering. + +"I think," he said, "that they are the two most disagreeable old cats +I have ever met. They hardly ever open their lips, and when they do it +is only to answer some question of their brother. I remember in a +fairy story there was a girl who whenever she spoke let fall pearls +and diamonds from her lips; whenever those women open their mouths I +expect icicles and daggers to drop out." + +"They are not so bad as that," Mabel laughed. "I generally get on with +them very well, and they are very kind in the parish; and altogether +they are really not bad." + +"Then their looks belie them horribly," Ralph said. "I suppose they +don't like me; and that would be all well enough if I had done +anything to offend them, but it was just as bad the first day I came. +I am sure Mr. Penfold does not like it. I can see him fidget on his +chair; and he talks away with me pretty well all the time we are at +table, so as to make it less awkward, I suppose. Well, I am stopping +with him, and not with them, that's one thing; and it doesn't make +much difference to me if they do choose to be disagreeable. I like him +immensely. He is wonderfully kind; but it would be awfully stupid work +if it weren't for you, Mabel. I don't think I could stand it if it +were not for our rides together." + +The young people had indeed got on capitally from the first. Every day +they took long rides together, generally alone, although sometimes Mr. +Penfold rode with them. Ralph had already confided to the latter, upon +his asking him how he liked Mabel, that she was the jolliest girl that +he had ever met. + +"She has no nonsensical girl's ways about her, Mr. Penfold; but is +almost as good as a boy to be with. The girls I have seen before have +been quite different from that. Some of them always giggle when you +speak to them, others have not got a word to say for themselves; and +it is awfully hard work talking to them even for a single dance. +Still, I like them better than the giggling ones." + +"You see, Ralph, girls brought up in a town are naturally different to +one like Mabel. They go to school, and are taught to sit upright and +to behave discreetly, and to be general unnatural. Mabel has been +brought up at home and allowed to do as she liked, and she has +consequently grown up what nature intended her to be. Perhaps some day +all girls will be allowed the same chance of being natural that boys +have, and backboards and other contrivances for stiffening them and +turning them into little wooden figures will be unknown. It will be a +good thing, in my opinion, when that time arrives." + +Ralph was often down at the Rectory, where he was always made welcome, +Mr. Withers and his wife being anxious to learn as much of his +disposition as they could. They were well satisfied with the result. + +"I fancy I know what is in Penfold's mind," the rector had said to his +wife a few days after Ralph came down. "I believe he has already quite +settled it in his mind that some day Mabel and this lad shall make a +match of it." + +"How absurd, John. Why, Mabel is only a child." + +"Quite so, my dear; but in another three or four years she will be a +young woman. I don't mean that Penfold has any idea that they are +going to take a fancy to each other at present--only that they will do +so in the future. You know he has said that he intends to leave a +slice of his fortune to her, and I have no doubt that this lad will +get the main bulk of his property. I have often told you about his +engagement to the lad's mother, and how the breaking it off has +affected his whole life. It is natural that a lonely man as _he_ is +should plan for others. He has no future of his own to look forward +to, so he looks forward to some one else's. He has had no interest in +life for a great many years, and I think he is making a new one for +himself in the future of our girl and this lad. + +"As far as I have seen of the boy I like him. He is evidently a +straightforward, manly lad. I don't mean to say that he has any +exceptional amount of brains, or is likely to set the Thames on fire; +but if he comes into the Penfold property that will not be of much +importance. He seems bright, good-tempered, and a gentleman. That is +quite good enough to begin with. At any rate, there is nothing for us +to trouble about. If some day the young people get to like each other +the prospect is a good one for the child; if not, there's no harm +done. At present there can be no objection to our yielding to +Penfold's request and letting them ride about the country together. +Mabel is, as you say, little more than a child, and it is evident that +the lad regards her rather in the light of a boy companion than as a +girl. + +"She is a bit of a tomboy, you know, Mary, and has very few girlish +notions or ideas. They evidently get on capitally together, and we +need not trouble our heads about them but let things go their own way +with a clear conscience." + +At the end of the time agreed upon Ralph returned home. + +"And so, Ralph, you have found it better than you expected?" his +mother said to him at the conclusion of his first meal at home. + +"Much better, mother. Mr. Penfold is awfully kind, and lets one do +just what one likes. His sisters are hateful women, and if I had not +been staying in the house I should certainly have played them some +trick or other just to pay them out. I wonder why they disliked me so +much. I could see it directly I arrived; but, after all, it didn't +matter much, except just at meals and in the evening. But though Mr. +Penfold was so kind, it would have been very stupid if it had not been +for Mabel Withers. We used to ride out or go for walks together every +day. She was a capital walker, and very jolly--almost as good as a +boy. She said several times that she wished she had been a boy, and I +wished so too. Still, of course, mother, I am very glad I am back. +There is no place like home, you know; and then there are the fellows +at school, and the games, and the sea, and all sorts of things; and +it's a horrid nuisance to think that I have got to go down there +regularly for my holidays. Still, of course, as you wish it, I will do +so; and now that I know what it is like it won't be so bad another +time. Anyhow, I am glad I have got another ten days before school +begins." + +The following morning Ralph went down to the beach. "Why, Master +Conway," an old fisherman said, "you are a downright stranger. I have +missed you rarely." + +"I told you I was going away, Joe, and that I shouldn't get back until +the holidays were nearly over." + +"I know you did," the fisherman replied. "Still it does seem strange +without you. Every time as I goes out I says to Bill, 'If Master Conway +was at home he would be with us to-day, Bill. It don't seem no ways +natural without him.' And there's been good fishing, too, this season, +first rate; and the weather has been just what it should be." + +"Well, I am back now, Joe, anyhow; and I have got ten days before +school begins again, and I mean to make the most of it. Are you going +out to-day?" + +"At four o'clock," the fisherman said. "Daylight fishing ain't much +good just now; we take twice as many at night." + +"No trouble with the Frenchies?" + +"Lord bless you I ain't seen a French sail for months. Our cruisers +are too sharp for them; though they say a good many privateers run in +and out of their ports in spite of all we can do, and a lot of our +ships get snapped up. But we don't trouble about them. Why, bless your +heart, if one of them was to run across us they would only just take +our fish, and as likely as not pay us for them with a cask or two of +spirits. Fish is a treat to them Frenchies; for their fishing boats +have to keep so close over to their own shores that they can't take +much. Besides, all their best fishermen are away in the privateers, +and the lads have to go to fight Boney's battles with the Austrians or +Russians, or Spanish or our chaps, or else to go on board their ships +of war and spend all their time cooped up in harbor, for they scarce +show now beyond the range of the guns in their forts. Well, will you +come this evening?" + +"Yes, I think so, Joe. My mother doesn't much care about my being out +at night, you know; but as I have been away all this time to please +her, I expect she will let me do what I like for the rest of the +holidays." + +"Don't you come if your mother don't like it, Master Conway; there is +never no good comes of boys vexing their mothers. I have known +misfortune to follow it over and over again. Boys think as they know +best what's good for them; but they don't, and sooner or later they +are sure to own it to themselves." + +"I shouldn't do it if I knew she really didn't like it, Joe; but I +don't think she does mind my going out with you at any time. She knows +she can trust you. Beside, what harm could come of it? You never go +out in very rough weather." + +"Pretty roughish sometimes, Master Conway." + +"Oh, yes, pretty rough; but not in a gale, you know. Beside, the +Heartsease could stand a goodish gale. She is not very fast, you know, +but she is as safe as a house." + +"She is fast enough," the old fisherman said in an injured tone. "But +you young gentlemen is never content unless a boat is heeling over, +gunnel under, and passing everything she comes across. What's the good +of that ere to a fisherman? He goes out to catch fish, not to strain +his craft all over by running races against another. Now an hour +faster or slower makes no difference, and the Heartsease is fast +enough for me, anyhow." + +"No, she isn't, Joe. I have heard you use bad language enough when +anything overhauls and passes her on the way back to port." + +"Ay, that may be," the fisherman admitted; "and on the way home I +grant you that a little more speed might be an advantage, for the +first comer is sure to get the best market. No, the Heartsease ain't +very fast, I own up to that; but she is safe and steady, and she has +plenty of storage room and a good roomy cabin as you can stand upright +in, and needn't break your back by stooping as you have to do on board +some craft I could name." + +"That's true enough, Joe," the boy said. + +"But what's more, she's a lucky boat; for it's seldom that she goes +out without getting a good catch." + +"I think that's more judgment than luck, Joe; though there may be some +luck in it too." + +"I don't know about that, Master Conway. Of course one wants a sharp +eye to see where the shoals are moving; but I believes in luck. Well, +sir, shall I see you again before the afternoon?" + +"I don't much expect so, Joe. I have got to call at some other places, +and I don't suppose I shall have time to get down before. If I am +coming I shall be sure to be punctual; so if I am not here by four, go +off without me." + +Mrs. Conway made no objection when Ralph proffered his request. He had +sacrificed the greater part of his holidays to carrying out her +wishes, and paying a visit to Mr. Penfold; and although she did not +like his being out all night fishing, she could not refuse his +request; and, indeed, as she knew that Joe Knight was a steady man and +not fond of the bottle, there was no good reason why she should +object. She, therefore, cheerfully assented, saying at the same time, +"I will pack a basket for you before you start, Ralph. There is a nice +piece of cold meat in the house, and I will have that and a loaf of +bread and some cheese put up for you. I know what these fishing +excursions are; you intend to be back at a certain time, and then the +wind falls, or the tide turns, or something of that sort, and you +can't make the harbor. You know what a fright you gave me the very +first time you went out fishing with Joe Knight. You were to have been +back at five o'clock in the afternoon, and you did not get in until +three o'clock the next morning." + +"I remember, mother; and there you were on the quay when we came in. I +was awfully sorry about it." + +"Well, I have learned better since, Ralph; and I know now that there +is not necessarily any danger, even if you don't come back by the time +I expect you. And of course each time I have fidgeted and you have +come back safe, I have learned a certain amount of sea-knowledge, and +have come to know that sailors and fishermen are not accountable for +time; and that if the wind drops or tide turns they are helpless in +the matter, and have only to wait till a breeze comes up again." + +"I think, mother, you ought to like my going out at night better than +in the daytime." + +"Why, Ralph?" + +"Because, mother, if I go out in the daytime and don't get back until +after dark, you worry yourself, and having no one to talk to, sit here +wondering and wondering until you fancy all sorts of things. Now, if I +go out in the evening, and I don't come back in the morning at the +hour you expect, you see that it is fine and bright, and that there is +nothing to make you uneasy; or if you do feel fidgety, you can walk +down to the beach and talk to the boatmen and fishermen, and of course +they can tell you at once that there's nothing to worry about, and +very likely point the boat out to you in the distance." + +"Well, Ralph, perhaps that is so, although I own I never looked at it +in that light before." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +RUN DOWN. + + +"There's a nice breeze," Ralph said as he joined the fisherman at the +appointed hour. + +"Yes, it's just right; neither too light nor too heavy. It's rather +thick, and I shouldn't be surprised if we get it thicker; but that +again don't matter." For in those days not one ship plowed the waters +of our coast for every fifty that now make their way along it. There +were no steamers, and the fear of collision was not ever in the minds +of those at sea. + +"Where's Bill, Joe?" + +"The young scamp!" the fisherman said angrily. "Nothing will do for +him but to go a-climbing up the cliffs this morning; and just after +you left us, news comes that the young varmint had fallen down and +twisted his foot, and doctor says it will be a fortnight afore he can +put a boot on. Then the old woman began a-crying over him; while, as I +told her, if any one ought to cry it would be me, who's got to hire +another boy in his place to do his work. A touch of the strap would be +the best thing for him, the young rascal!" + +"You are not going to take another boy out to-night are you, Joe?" + +"No, Master Conway, I knows you like a-doing things. You have been out +enough with me to know as much about it as Bill, and after all there +ain't a very great deal to do. The trawl ain't a heavy one, and as I +am accustomed to work it with Bill I can do it with you." + +The Heartsease was a good-sized half-decked boat of some twenty-six +feet long and eight feet beam. She was very deep, and carried three +tons of stone ballast in her bottom. She drew about six feet of water. +She had a lot of freeboard, and carried two lug-sails and a small +mizzen. + +They got in the small boat and rowed off to her. + +"There was no call for you to bring that basket, Master Conway. I know +you are fond of a fish fried just when it is taken out of the water; +and I have got bread and a keg of beer, to say nothing of a mouthful +of spirits in case we get wet. Not that it looks likely we shall, for +I doubts if there will be any rain to-night I think there will be more +wind perhaps, and that it will get thicker; that's my view of the +weather." + +They sailed straight out to sea. Joe had fitted his boat to be worked +with the aid of a boy only. He had a handy winch, by which he hoisted +his heavy lug-sails, and when the weather was rough hauled up his +trawls. Of these he carried two, each fourteen feet long, and fished +with them one out on each quarter. When he reached the fishing ground +six miles out, Joe lowered the mizzen lug and reefed the main, for +there was plenty of wind to keep the boat going at the pace required +for trawling under the reduced sail. Then the trawls were got +overboard, each being fastened to the end of a stout spar lashed +across the deck, and projecting some eight feet on either side, by +which arrangement the trawls were kept well apart. They were hauled +alternately once an hour, two hours being allowed after they were put +down before the first was examined. + +By the time the first net came up the sun had set. The wind had +freshened a bit since they had started, but there was no sea to speak +of. The night had set in thick, and the stars could only occasionally +be seen. Joe had picked out two or three fine fish from the first +haul, and these he took down and soon had frizzling in a frying-pan +over the fire, which he had lighted as soon as the boat was under +sail. + +"These are for you, Master Conway," he said. "With your permission I +shall stick to that ere piece of beef your mother was good enough to +send. Fish ain't no treat to me, and I don't often get meat. Keep your +eye lifting while I am down below. There ain't many craft about in +these days, still we might tumble against one." + +"I should not see a light far in this mist, Joe." + +"No, you couldn't; and what's worse, many of them don't carry no +lights at all." + +"It would be a good thing, Joe, if there was a law to make all vessels +carry lights." + +"Ay, ay, lad; but you see in war times it ain't always convenient. A +peaceful merchantman don't want to show her lights to any privateers +that may happen to be cruising about, and you may be sure that the +privateer don't want to attract the attention of peaceful traders +until she is close upon them, or to come under the eye of any of our +cruisers. No, no; there ain't many lights shown now, not in these +waters. Folks prefer to risk the chance of running into each other +rather than that of being caught by a French privateer." + +Now that the trawls were out there was no occasion for any one to +attend to the helm, consequently when Joe announced that the fish were +ready Ralph went down and joined him in the cabin. The first hours of +the night passed quietly. Once an hour a trawl was hauled in and got +on board, and as the catches were satisfactory Joe was in capital +spirit. + +"You have brought good luck, Master Conway; and I notices I generally +do well when you are out with me. I am getting more fish to-night than +I have any night for weeks, and if it goes on like this till morning I +shall make a good thing of it. I wants it bad enough, for I am in +arrears a bit with my rent. The war has made everything so terrible +dear that it is as much as a poor man can do to keep his head above +water. + +"What time is it now, Joe, do you think?" + +"About two o'clock, I reckon. It will begin to get light in a couple +of hours, and at five we will up nets and make our way back." + +He had scarcely spoken when he shouted "Ship ahoy! Look out for +yourself, lad!" Startled by the suddenness of the cry Ralph looked +round. He saw a crest of white foam a few yards away in the darkness. +A moment later something dark passed over his head and a rope brushed +his cheek, and as it did so a black mass struck the boat. There was a +crash, a shock, and the Heartsease, after first heeling deeply over +under the pressure, suddenly sank down like a stone. Ralph had +staggered under the force of the collision, and would have fallen back +as the boat heeled over, but instinctively he threw up his arms and +his hand came in contact with the rope that had an instant before +touched his cheek. He seized it with both hands, and threw his legs +round it as the boat went down from under his feet, the whole thing +being so sudden that it was nearly a minute before he could realize +what had happened. Then he heard voices talking close by and, as it +seemed, above him. + +"Hullo!" he shouted. "Help!" A few seconds later the light of a +lantern was flashed down upon him. Then a figure crawled out on the +spar projecting above his head, seized him by the collar, and lifted +him from the bobstay to which he was clinging on to the bowsprit. A +minute later he was standing on the deck. + +"Thank you!" he exclaimed. "Have you seen anything of the man who was +with me? There were two of us on board. If not, please look for him at +once." + +"I am afraid it's no use," one of the men said, with a strong foreign +accent; "he has gone down and will never come up again. You come along +with me to the captain." + +An uneasy feeling seized Ralph as he listened. He could see nothing, +for the lantern had been placed in a bucket the moment that he touched +the deck. At this moment a hail came from the stern of the vessel, and +Ralph's fears were at once realized, for it was in French. The reply +was in the same tongue, and he was led aft. "Take him down below, +Jacques, and let's see what he is like. We have suffered no damage, I +hope?" + +"Not as far as I could see by the light of the lantern, but the +carpenter has gone below to see if she is making water." + +The captain led the way down into the cabin. This was comfortably +furnished and lighted by a swinging lamp. "Do you come, down Jacques, +I shall want you to interpret." + +The captain was surprised when he saw by the light of the lamp that +the person they had rescued was a lad, well dressed, and evidently +above the condition of fishermen. + +"Now, young sir, who are you," he asked, "and what have you to say for +yourself?" The question was translated by Jacques. + +"I like that," the lad said indignantly. "What have I to say for +myself! I think it's what have you to say for yourselves? We were +quietly fishing when you ran over us and sank the boat and drowned my +friend Joe, and haven't even stopped for a moment to see if you could +pick him up. I call it shameful and inhuman!" + +The French captain laughed as Jacques translated the speech, the +purport of which he had, indeed, made out for himself, for although he +did not speak English he understood it to some extent. + +"Tell him it was his fault as much as ours. We did not see him till we +struck him. And as for his companion, what chance was there of finding +him on such a dark night as this? Why, by the time we had hove round +and got back again we might not have hit it within a quarter of a +mile. Besides, if he had been alive he would have shouted." + +Ralph saw, when he understood what the captain said, that there was +truth in his words, and that the chances of discovering Joe would +indeed have been slight even had the vessel headed round. + +"May I ask," he said, "what ship this is, and what you are going to do +with me?" + +"The ship is La Belle Marie of Dunkirk; as to what we are going to do +with you it is not so easy to say. Of course you can jump overboard +again if you like, but if not you can stay on board until we have an +opportunity of putting you ashore somewhere. How did you come to be on +board a fishing smack? For I suppose it was a smack that we run down." + +"I live at Dover," Ralph replied, "and had only come out for a night's +fishing." + +"Well, you are out of luck," the captain said. "That will do, Jacques. +Take him forward and sling a hammock for him. Hang up his clothes in +the cook's galley, they will be dry by the time he wakes." + +Ralph asked no questions, as he was taken forward, as to the character +of La Belle Marie. Six guns were ranged along on each side of her +decks, and this, and the appearance of the captain's cabin, was +sufficient to inform him that he had fallen into the hands of a French +privateer. The craft had, indeed, left Dunkirk soon after nightfall, +and was making her way down channel with every sail set when she had +run down the unfortunate fishing boat. + +Jacques, as he hung up the hammock, explained to the sailors who +crowded round the character of the passenger who had so unexpectedly +come on board. + +"Poor lad," one of the sailors said good-naturedly, "he will be some +time before he sees his mother again. He hasn't got a very bright +lookout before him--a long voyage, and then a prison. I will go and +see if the cook has got some water hot. A glass of spirits will do him +good." + +A few minutes later Ralph was wrapped up in a blanket and the warm +glow produced by that and the glass of strong grog soon sufficed to +send him soundly to sleep, in spite of the painful uncertainty of his +position and of his sorrowful thought of his mother, who would in the +morning be inquiring for him in vain. It was nearly midday before he +woke. Looking round he saw that he had the forecastle to himself. His +clothes were lying on a chest close by, and in a few minutes he was on +deck. A sense of disappointment stole over him. He had, while he was +dressing, entertained the hope that on going on deck he should see an +English cruiser in pursuit; but the wind had dropped and it was still +thick, and his vision was confined to a circle a quarter of a mile in +diameter. Jacques nodded to him good-temperedly, for all on board the +privateer were in high spirits. Their voyage had begun propitiously; +the darkness of the preceding night had enabled them to run the +gantlet of the British cruisers in the narrow part of the channel, +they were now well down the coast of France, and the fog reduced their +chances of being seen by an enemy to a minimum. + +"Where about are we?" Ralph asked. + +"We are somewhere off the mouth of the Seine, and I guess some fifteen +miles from land." + +"Oh, we are working down the channel then," Ralph said. "And where are +we going to?" + +"Ah! that question is for the captain to answer if he chooses," +Jacques said. + +"Are we going to touch at the next French port?" Ralph asked +anxiously. + +"Not that I know of, unless we have the luck to pick up one of your +merchantmen, and we might then escort her into port. But unless we do +that we do not touch anywhere, luckily for you; because, after all, it +is a good deal pleasanter cruising in the Belle Marie than kicking +your heels inside a prison. I know pretty well, for I was for four +years a prisoner in your English town of Dorchester. That is how I +came to speak your language. It was a weary time of it; though we were +not badly treated, not half so bad as I have heard that the men in +some other prisons were. So I owe you English no ill-will on that +account, and from what I have heard some of our prisons are worse than +any of yours. I used to knit stockings and wraps for the neck. My old +mother taught me when I was a boy. And as we were allowed to sell the +things we made I got on pretty comfortable. Beside, what's the use of +making yourself unhappy? I had neither wife nor children to be +fretting about me at home, so I kept up my spirits." + +"How did you get back?" Ralph asked. "Were you exchanged?" + +"No," Jacques answered. "I might have waited long enough before that. +I can't make out myself why the two governments don't agree to +exchange prisoners more quickly. I suppose they take about an equal +number. Your men-of-war ships capture more prisoners than ours, but we +make up for it by the numbers our privateers bring in. At any rate +they might exchange as many as they can, say once in six months. One +would have thought they would be glad to do so so as to save +themselves the trouble and expense of looking after and feeding such a +number of useless mouths. Governments always have curious ways." + +"But how did you get away from prison?" Ralph asked. + +"It was a woman," the man replied. "It is always women who help men +out of scrapes. It was the wife of one of the jailers. She used to +bring her husband's dinner sometimes when we were exercising in the +yard. When I first went there she had a child in her arms--a little +thing about a year old. I was always fond of children; for we had a +lot at home, brothers and sisters, and I was the eldest. She saw me +look at it one day, and I suppose she guessed it reminded me of home. +So she stopped and let me pat its cheek and talk to it. Then I knitted +it some socks and a little jacket and other things, and that made a +sort of friendship between us. You can always win a woman's heart by +taking notice of her child. Then she got to letting me carry it about +on my shoulder while she took her husband's dinner in to him, if he +did not happen to be in the yard. And when the little thing was able +to totter it would hold on to my finger, and was always content to +stay with me while she was away. So it went on till the child was four +years old. + +"One day it was running across the court to its mother as she came out +from the prison. Two of the men were what you call skylarking, and +running one way while the child was running the other. One of them +knocked it down heavily. It was an accident, and if he had picked it +up and been sorry, there would have been an end of it; but instead of +that the brute burst into a loud laugh. By this time I was as fond of +the child as if it had been my own, and I rushed furiously at him and +knocked him down. As he sprang to his feet he drew a knife he used in +wood-carving and came at me. I caught the blow on my arm and closed +with him, and we fell together. The guard in the yard rushed up and +pulled us apart, and we both got a fortnight's close confinement for +fighting. + +"The first time I came into the yard again and met the woman with her +child, the little one ran to me; but the woman, a little to my +surprise, said nothing. As she passed I lifted the child up, and after +giving me a hug and a kiss she said: 'Mammy gave me this to give to +you;' and she put a little note into my hand. I took the first +opportunity to read it in a quiet corner. It was as follows: 'Dear +Jacques--I saw how nobly you stood up for my Carrie the other day, and +how you got wounded in protecting her. You have always been good to +her. I have often thought I might help you to escape, but was afraid +to try. Now I will do so. It will not be easy, but I will manage it. +Do not be impatient; the child will give you another note when I have +quite arranged things. I shall not talk much to you in future, or else +when you have got away I may be suspected; so do not be surprised at +my seeming cold.' + +"After that the woman only brought her child once a week or so to the +prison, and only gave me a nod as she passed through the yard. Upon +the third visit of the child it gave me a little packet containing two +or three small steel saws and a little bottle of oil. On the paper +which held them was written, 'For the bars. You shall have a rope next +time.' Sure enough next time the child had hidden in its frock a hank +of very thin cord, which I managed as I was playing with her to slip +unobserved into my breast. 'Mammy says more next time.' And next time +another hank came. There was a third, and a note, 'Twist the three +ropes together and they will be strong enough to bear you. On the +third night from this, saw through the bars and lower yourself into +court. There will be no moon. Go to the right-hand corner of the court +in the rear of the prison. Fasten a knife to one end of the cord and +throw it over the wall. I shall be waiting there with a friend. +Directly you feel the cord jerked climb up to the top of the wall. If +you can find something to fasten your end of the rope to you can slide +down it. If not, you must jump. There will be a boat ready to take you +away.' + +"It all turned out well. It was a pitch dark night, raining and +blowing, and the sentries kept inside their boxes. I got up to the top +of the wall all right, and was able to fasten the rope on to the +spikes and slide down on the other side. The woman was there with a +man, whom she told me was her brother. They took me to a creek two +miles away and there put me on board a boat, and I was rowed out to a +smuggling craft which at once set sail, and two days later was landed +at Cherbourg. So that's how I came to learn English." + +"Did you ever hear whether the woman who helped you was suspected?" + +"I saw her brother two months afterward on one of the trips that the +craft he belonged to made. He said that of course there were a great +many inquiries made, and his sister had been questioned closely. She +swore that she had hardly spoken to me for the last two months and +that she had given me nothing; which in a way was true enough, for she +had not handed them to me herself. The prisoners bore her out about +her not coming near me, for it had been noticed that she was not as +friendly as she had been. Some had thought her ungrateful, while +others had fancied that she was angry at my interfering and making a +tumult about the child. Anyhow, whatever suspicions they might have +had they could prove nothing. They forbade her entering the prison in +future; but she didn't mind that so long as her husband, who had been +employed a good many years there, did not lose his situation. He had +been kept by her in entire ignorance of the whole affair, and was very +indignant at her having been suspected. I sent her a letter of thanks +by her brother, and a little present for her and one for the child. +The brother was to give them to her as if from himself, so that the +husband should not smell a rat, but of course to make her understand +who they came from." + +"Well, I only hope, Jacques," Ralph said, "that when I get shut up in +one of your prisons I shall find some French woman to aid me to +escape, just as you found an English woman to help you; only I hope it +won't be four years coming about." + +"I think we look sharper after our prisoners than you do; still it may +be. But it will be some time before you are in prison; and if you play +your cards well and learn to speak our language, and make yourself +useful, I do not think the captain is likely to hand you over to the +authorities when we get back to a French port again." + +"I am quite ready to do my best to learn the language and to make +myself useful," Ralph said. "It is always a good thing to know French, +especially as I am going into the army some day; that is if I get back +again in time." + +"Oh, I think you will do so," the man said. "You keep up your spirits +well, and that is the great thing. There are many boys that would sit +down and cry if they found themselves in such a scrape as you have got +into." + +"Cry!" Ralph repeated indignantly. "You don't suppose a boy of my age +is going to cry like a girl! An English boy would be ashamed to cry, +especially when Frenchmen were looking on." + +Jacques laughed good-temperedly. "There would be nothing to be ashamed +of. We are not like you cold English! A Frenchman laughs and sings +when he is pleased, and cries when he is sorry. Why shouldn't he?" + +"Oh, I can't tell you why," Ralph replied, "only we don't do it. I +don't say I shouldn't halloo out if I were hurt very much, though I +should try my best not to; but I feel sure I shouldn't cry like a +great baby. Why, what would be the good of it?" + +Jacques shrugged his shoulders. "People are different," he said. "A +man is not a coward because he cries. I have seen two boys fighting +and pulling each other's hair and crying all the time, but they fought +on. They did not cry because they were afraid." + +"Pulling each other's hair!" Ralph repeated contemptuously. "They +ought to have been ashamed of themselves, both of them. I don't call +that fighting at all. I should call it disgusting. Why, in England +even girls would hardly pull each other's hair. I have seen two or +three fights between fishwomen in Dover, and even they did not go on +like that. If that's the way French boys fight, no wonder our soldiers +and sailors--" But here it struck Ralph that the remark he was about +to make would be altogether out of place under present circumstances. +He was therefore seized with an opportune fit of coughing, and then +turned the conversation by asking Jacques at what rate he thought the +vessel was slipping through the water. + +A few minutes later the first mate came up and told Jacques to inform +Ralph that the captain had ordered him to be supplied with clothes +similar to those worn by the rest of the crew, and that he was to be +told off to take his post regularly as a boy in the starboard watch. +Ralph was well pleased at the news. He felt that his best chance was +to make himself useful on board, and to become one of the crew as soon +as possible, so that in case an English merchantman was met with and +captured he should not be sent with her crew as a prisoner to a French +port. As long as he was on board various opportunities of escape might +present themselves. He might slip away in port, or the brig might be +captured by an English cruiser or privateer; whereas, once lodged in a +French prison, the chances of such good fortune as had befallen +Jacques were slight indeed. He therefore at once turned to with +alacrity. + +That he would have a hard time of it for a bit he felt sure; for +although in Jacques he had evidently found a friend, he saw by the +scowling glances of several of the men as he passed near them that the +national feeling told heavily against him. Nor was it surprising that +it should be so. The animosity between the two nations had lasted so +long that it had extended to individuals. Englishmen despised as well +as disliked Frenchmen. They were ready to admit that they might be +brave, but considered them as altogether wanting in personal strength. +The popular belief was that they were half-starved, and existed +chiefly upon frogs and hot water with a few bits of bread and scraps +of vegetables in it which they called soup, and that upon the sea +especially they were almost contemptible. Certainly the long +succession of naval victories that our fleets had won afforded some +justification for our sailors' opinion of the enemy. But in fights +between detached vessels the French showed many times that in point of +courage they were in no way inferior to our own men; and indeed our +victories were mainly due to two causes. In the first place, the +superior physique and stamina of our men, the result partly of race +and partly of feeding; they were consequently able to work their guns +faster and longer than could their adversaries. In the second place +the British sailor went into battle with an absolute conviction that +he was going to be victorious; while the Frenchman, on the other hand, +although determined to do his best to win, had from the first doubts +whether the British would not be as usual victorious. + +It is probable that the French sailors hated us far more than our men +did them. We had lowered their national prestige, had defeated them +whenever we met them, had blockaded their ports, ruined their trade, +inflicted immense damage upon their fisheries, and subsidized other +nations against them, and were the heart and center of the coalition +against which France was struggling to maintain herself. It was not +therefore surprising that among the hundred and ten men on board La +Belle Marie there were many who viewed Ralph with hostile eyes and who +only refrained from personal violence owing to the strict order the +captain had given that he should be well treated. + +Toward midday the fog lifted suddenly and the wind freshened, and +lookouts were stationed in the tops. There was little hope indeed of +any English merchantmen having come over so far toward the French +coast, but British cruisers might be anywhere. A few distant sails +could be seen far out on the horizon proceeding up or down channel; +but the captain of La Belle Marie had no idea of commencing operations +until very much further away from the shores of England. All day the +vessel ran down the French coast; and although he was a captive, and +every mile reeled off the log took him further from home, Ralph could +not help admiring the speed at which the brig slipped through the +water, cutting the waves with her sharp bow and leaving scarcely a +ripple behind her, so fine and clean was her run. Very different was +this smooth, gliding motion from the quick plunge and shock of the +bluff-bowed fishing boat to which he was accustomed. The sails had +been scrubbed until there was not a speck upon them. The masts were +lofty and tapering, the rigging neat and trim, and every stay as taut +as iron. + +We could fight our ships better than the French, but as far as +building and rigging went they were vastly our superiors; and La Belle +Marie looked to Ralph almost like a gentleman's yacht in its cleanness +and order, and in these respects vied with the men-of-war that he had +so often watched from the heights of Dover. He had, however, but +little time for admiration; for he was kept at work rubbing and +polishing the guns and brass-work, and was not idle for a minute from +the time he came on deck dressed as a cabin-boy on the morning after +he was picked up until sunset. There were two French boys about his +own age forward, and as soon as his work was done and the evening +watch set they began to torment him; for, acting as they did as +servants to the officers, they did not take share in the watch. + +Fortunately Jacques had gone below at the same time as Ralph; and when +the boys, finding that their taunts had no effect whatever upon Ralph, +began to get bolder, and one of them snatched off his cap, Jacques +interfered at once. "Look here, youngsters," he said, "this young +English boy is at present one of the crew of this brig, and he has +just the same right to fair treatment as any one else, so I warn you +if you interfere with him you will have to fight him fairly. I know +enough of these English boys to know that with your hands you would +not have the least chance with him. He could thrash you both at once; +for even little English boys do not wrestle, tear, and kick, but hit +straight out just as the men do. + +"With swords it would be different, but in a row between you and him +it would be just the naked hands. So I advise you to leave him alone, +for if you make him fight I will see fair play. All the time I was a +prisoner in England I was well treated by his people, and just as I +was treated myself and saw other French prisoners treated so I will +see him treated. Before this voyage is over it is not impossible the +tables will be turned, and that you may find yourselves prisoners in +the hands of the English; so I recommend you to behave to him in the +same way you would like to be treated yourselves if you were taken +prisoners. I can see the lad is good-tempered and willing. He is a +stranger here among us all, he can't speak a word of our language, and +he has a right to fair treatment. When he gets to know our language +he will be able to shift for himself; but until he does I mean to look +after him, and any one who plays tricks on him has got to talk to me." + +As Jacques Clery was one of the most powerful and active men on board +the brig, this assertion was sufficient to put a stop to practical +joking with Ralph, and the lad had a much easier time of it than he +expected. The men, finding him willing to work and anxious to oblige +in every way, soon took to him; and by paying attention to their talk, +and asking the French name of every object on board the ship, it was +not many days before Ralph found himself able so far to understand +that he could obey orders, and pull and haul on any sheet that needed +handling. + +Upon the second day, the wind having dropped again, more sail was set, +and when the word was given to go aloft he went up with the rest; and +although he was of little practical use in loosing the gaskets, he +soon shook off his first feelings of discomfort and nervousness on +seeing how carelessly and unconcernedly the men on each side of him +did their work, and before he had been many days at sea was as quick +and active aloft as any of the hands on board the brig. After running +down nearly as far as Bordeaux the vessel's head was pointed west, and +by nightfall the French coast was out of sight. A vigilant lookout was +now kept, one man being constantly stationed aloft, and by the +increased animation of the crew Ralph judged that they would soon +arrive at a point where they should be on the course of homeward bound +merchantmen. He had quite made up his mind that, although ready in all +other matters to do his duty as one of the crew of La Belle Marie, +nothing should induce him to take part in a fight against his own +countrymen. + +As soon as night fell sail was reduced, and in the morning when at +eight bells Ralph came on deck with his watch he found that the whole +of the upper sails had been taken off her and the topsails lowered on +the cap, and the brig was only moving through the water at the rate of +two or three knots an hour. He guessed that she must be just upon the +track of ships, and that her object in thus taking off sail was to +catch sight of vessels in the distance while she herself would be +unobserved by them. During the course of the day several sail were +seen passing, but all at a considerable distance. Either the captain +did not think that it was safe to commence operations at present, or +he did not like the look of some of the passing vessels; but at any +rate he made no movement to close with any of them, and it was not +until nightfall that sail was again hoisted and the brig proceeded on +her course. + +Ralph noticed that she carried no light, and that even the binnacle +was carefully shaded so that its light could not be seen except by the +helmsman. At midnight his watch went on deck, and Ralph perceived that +while he had been below the sail had again been greatly reduced, and +noticed that from time to time the officer on watch swept the horizon +with his night-glass. He apparently observed nothing until about two +o'clock, when he stood for some time gazing intently astern. Then he +turned, gave an order to a sailor, who went below, and two or three +minutes later the captain came on deck. After speaking to the officer +he too gazed intently astern. Then the ship's course was suddenly +changed, the sheets eased off, and for half an hour she ran at a sharp +angle to the course she had before been following, then she was +brought up into the eye of the wind and laid to. + +Although Ralph strained his eyes in the direction in which the captain +had been looking, he could see nothing; but he had no doubt a sail had +been seen coming up astern, and that the object of the change of +course was to let her pass them without their being seen. He rather +wondered that, instead of running off the wind, the captain had not +put her about so as to take her position to windward instead of to +leeward of the vessel behind; but he soon arrived at the object of the +maneuver. There were no stars to be seen, and the bank of clouds +overhead stretched away to the east, and the horizon there was +entirely obscured; but to the west the sky was lighter, and a vessel +would be clearly visible to the eye. The brig, therefore, in the +position she had taken up could not be seen, while she herself would +obtain a full view of the other as she passed her. + +In an hour the other ship came along. She was a large ship, full +rigged, and the French sailors, who had all come on deck, now +clustered against the bulwarks and eagerly discussed her. She was +about two miles to windward, and opinions differed as to whether she +was a man-of-war or an Indiaman. Ralph rather wondered that the +privateer had not tried to get alongside in the darkness and take the +vessel by surprise, but he understood now that there was a strong +probability that the Belle Marie might have caught a tartar and have +suddenly run herself under the guns of a British frigate. As soon as +the vessel had passed, the braces were manned and the yards swung +round, and the brig continued her course. She was brought up almost to +the wind's-eye and sailed as closely as possible, so that when morning +broke she should have recovered the leeway she had made and should be +to windward of the vessel she was pursuing, no matter how much astern. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE PRIVATEER'S RENDEZVOUS. + + +When morning broke the vessel that the privateer had been watching in +the night was seen to be three miles directly ahead. She was a large +vessel, and for some time opinions differed as to whether she was a +frigate or an Indiaman; but when it became quite light a patch or two +in the canvas showed that she could not be a man-of-war, and all sail +was at once crowded on to the privateer. The other ship at once shook +out more canvas, but half an hour sufficed to show that the privateer +was much the faster vessel. The stranger took in the extra canvas she +had set, and continued her course as if altogether regardless of the +privateer. + +"They have made up their minds to fight," Jacques said to Ralph. "Now +he finds that he can't outsail us he has got on to easy working +canvas. She is a big ship, and I expect carries heavier metal than we +do. It may be that she has troops on board." + +The brig kept eating out to windward until she gained a position about +a mile upon the starboard quarter of the Indiaman, then the long +pivot-gun was leveled and the first shot fired. The crew had by this +time all taken their places by the guns, and Ralph and the other boys +brought up powder and shot from the magazine. It was not without a +struggle that Ralph brought himself to do this; but he saw that a +refusal would probably cost him his life, and as some one else would +bring up the cartridges in his place his refusal would not benefit his +countrymen. + +He had just come on deck when the gun was fired, and saw the water +thrown up just under the ship's stern, and the shot was dancing away +to leeward. The next shot struck the merchantman on the quarter. A +moment later the vessel was brought up into the wind and a broadside +of eight guns fired. Two of them struck the hull of the privateer, +another wounded the mainmast, while the rest cut holes through the +sails and struck the water a quarter of a mile to windward. With an +oath the captain of the privateer brought his vessel up into the wind, +and then payed off on the other tack. + +The merchantman carried much heavier metal than he had given her +credit for. As she came round too, some redcoats were seen on her +deck. Apparently well satisfied with the display she had made of her +strength, the ship bore off again and went quietly, on her way, while +the privateer was hove to and preventer stays put to the mainmast. +Ralph remained below for some time; he heard the men savagely cursing, +and thought it was best for him not to attract attention at present. +The sails were lowered and the brig drifted quietly all day; but about +ten o'clock Ralph heard a creaking of blocks, and knew that the sails +had been hoisted again. Half an hour later the watch below was ordered +to come quietly on deck. Ralph went up with the rest. + +For a quarter of an hour he could see nothing, and then he made out a +dark mass a few hundred yards to leeward; immediately afterward the +helm was put up, and the brig run down toward the stranger. Two +minutes later there was a sharp hail, followed instantly by shouts and +the sound of feet; but before the crew could gain the deck and prepare +for defence the brig was alongside, and a moment later her crew sprang +upon the decks of the stranger. A few blows were given; but the +resistance offered was slight, and in a very short time the crew were +disarmed or driven below, and the vessel in the possession of the +privateer. She proved to be a small bark on her way out to the +Mediterranean. She carried only twenty hands and four small guns, and +was laden with hardware. + +The privateer's crew at once set to work upon her. At first Ralph +could not understand what they were about, but he was not long in +discovering. The wedges round the mainmast were knocked out, the +topmast lowered to the deck, the shrouds and stays slacked off, and +then the mast was lifted and carried on board the brig. As soon as +this was done, the second mate of the brig with eight sailors went on +board as a prize crew. Everything was made taut and trim for them by +the brig's crew. The English prisoners had already been disarmed and +battened down in the hold, and the prize crew then hoisted sail and +prepared to take her under mizzen and foremast only to a French port. +This, if she had luck, she would reach in safety, but if on the way +she fell in with a British privateer or cruiser she would of course +fall an easy prey. + +No sooner was the bark on her way than the privateersmen set to work +to lift out their injured mainmast, and to replace it with that they +had brought on board from the bark. When daylight broke anxious +glances were cast round the horizon; but although a few distant sails +were seen, none of these were following a course that would bring them +near the brig, and the latter without sail and with her foremast alone +standing would not be likely to be noticed. Ralph could not help +admiring the energy with which the crew worked. Ordinarily they were +by no means a smart crew, and did their work in a slow and slovenly +manner; but each man now felt the importance of getting everything +into order before an enemy appeared, and so well did they work that by +midday the new mast was in its place, and before sunset the topmast +with all its yards and gear was up and the sails ready for hoisting. + +Ralph had been in a state of anxiety in the early part of the night +lest he should be sent on board the bark and carried as a prisoner to +France. But no one seemed to give a thought to him, and it was not +until far on in the morning that the captain happened to notice him +hard at work with the rest. + +"Ah, are you there?" he said. "If I had thought of it I should have +sent you into Best in the bark." + +Ralph did not understand the words but he guessed at the meaning, and +said, smiling, "I am quite content to remain where I am." + +"Tell him, Jacques Clery, that I have noticed that he works willingly, +and as long as he behaves well he shall have the same treatment as if +he belonged really to the crew; but warn him that if he is caught at +any time making a signal, or doing anything to warn a vessel we may be +approaching, his brains will be blown out at once." + +Jacques translated the warning. + +"That's all right," Ralph said. "Of course I should expect nothing +else." + +As soon as the repairs were completed the sails were hoisted and the +brig proceeded on her way. In the days that followed it seemed to +Ralph that the tactics of the privateer had changed, and that there +was no longer any idea of making prizes. A sharp lookout was indeed +kept for any English cruisers, but no attention was paid to any sail +in the distance as soon as it was determined that these were not ships +of war. Four days later, instead of there being as before five or six +sail in sight at one point or other of the horizon, the sea was +absolutely deserted. He remarked upon this to his friend Jacques. The +latter laughed. + +"We are out of their course now, my lad. We passed the latitude of +Cape St. Vincent yesterday evening, and we are now pretty well off the +coast of Africa. Nine out of ten of the ships we have seen were either +bound to the Mediterranean or on their way home. Now that we have +passed the mouth of the strait we shall not run across many sail." + +"Where are we going to, then?" Ralph said. + +"Well, I don't think there is any harm in telling you now, that we are +bound south, but how far is more than I know. I expect first we shall +go west and try and pick up some prizes among the islands, and after +that perhaps go round the cape and lie in wait for Indiamen on their +way home. You see, one of those ships is worth a dozen of these +Mediterranean traders, and one is not bothered down there as one is +between the strait and the channel with your cruisers and privateers; +they swarm so there that one can hardly fire a gun without bringing +them down on us. I don't suppose the captain would have meddled with +that Indiaman if it hadn't been that he thought the owners would be +pleased by a prize being sent in so soon. As to the bark, we were +obliged to take her to get a new mast. It would never have done to +have started on a long cruise with a badly-injured spar." + +"But I should think it would be difficult to send home prizes from the +West Indies," Ralph said. + +"Well, you see, although you have taken most of our islands, there are +still two or three ports we can take prizes into. Beside, we can take +the best goods out, and if the ship isn't worth the risk of sending to +France burn her. Then, too, one can spare hands for prizes better +there; because one can always ship a few fresh hands--Spaniards, +Mulattos, or blacks--in their place." + +"But you can't do that in the case of the Indiamen." + +"No; but a single laden Indiaman is enough to pay us well for all our +trouble. We can put a crew of thirty hands on board her and send her +home. There is little risk of a recapture till we get near France. We +have only to hoist the English flag if we do happen to meet anything." + +Ralph was glad to hear that the ship was bound for the West Indies, as +he thought opportunities for escape would be likely to present +themselves among the islands. Madeira was sighted three days later, +and after running south for another four or five hundred miles, the +brig bore away for the west. By dint of getting Jacques Clery to +translate sentences into French, and of hearing nothing but that +language spoken round him, Ralph had by this time begun to make +considerable progress in the language. Not only was he anxious to +learn it for the sake of passing away the time and making himself +understood, but his efforts were greatly stimulated by the fact that +if any of the crew addressed him in French a cuff on the head was +generally the penalty of a failure to comprehend him. The consequence +was that when six weeks after sailing the cry of land was shouted by +the lookout in the tops, Ralph was able to understand almost +everything that was said, and to reply in French with some fluency. As +the brig sailed along the wooded shores of the first island they fell +in with, Ralph was leaning against the bulwarks watching with deep +interest the objects they were passing. + +"I can guess what you are thinking about," Jacques Clery said, taking +his place quietly by his side. "I have been through it all myself and +I can guess your feelings. You are thinking how you can escape. Now, +you take my advice and don't you hurry about it. You are doing well +where you are. Now you begin to talk French and understand orders it's +a good deal easier for you than it was, and the men are beginning to +regard you as one of themselves; but you may be sure that you will be +watched for a time. You see, they daren't let you go. If you were to +get to one of the English ports here we should have five or six of +your men-of-war after us in no time. + +"If it was not for that I don't suppose the captain would object to +put you ashore. He has evidently taken a fancy to you, and is pleased +with the way in which you have taken things and with your smartness +and willingness. Beside, I don't think he considers you altogether as +a prisoner. Running you down in the way we did in the channel wasn't +like capturing you in a prize, and I think if the captain could see +his way to letting you go without risk to himself he would do it. As +he can't do that he will have a sharp watch kept on you, and I advise +you not to be in any hurry to try to escape. You must remember if you +were caught trying it they would shoot you to a certainty." + +"I should be in no hurry at all, Jacques, if it were not that the brig +is hunting for English vessels. You know what you would feel yourself +if you were on board a ship that was capturing French craft." + +"Yes, that is hard, no doubt," Jacques agreed; "and I don't say to you +don't escape when you get a chance, I only say wait until the chance +is a good one. Just at present we are not specially on the lookout for +prizes. We are going to join two other vessels belonging to the same +owners. They have been out here some time and have got a snug +hiding-place somewhere, though I don't think any one on board except +the captain knows where." + +For three weeks the brig cruised among the islands. They had picked up +no prizes in that time, as the captain did not wish to commence +operations until he had joined his consorts and obtained information +from them as to the British men-of-war on the station. They had +overhauled one or two native craft, purchased fish and fruit, and +cautiously asked questions as to the cruisers. The answers were not +satisfactory. They learned that owing to the numbers of vessels that +had been captured by the privateers a very vigilant lookout was being +kept; that two or three French craft that had been captured by the +cruisers had been bought into the service, and were constantly in +search of the headquarters of the privateers. This was bad news; for +although the brig with her great spread of canvas could in light winds +run away from any of the ships of war, it was by no means certain she +would be able to do so from the converted privateers. + +One morning two vessels--a schooner and a brig--were seen coming round +a headland. The captain and officers examined them with their +telescopes, and a flag was run up to the masthead. Almost immediately +two answering flags were hoisted by the strangers, and an exclamation +of satisfaction broke from the captain: + +"We are in luck," he said. "If we had not run across them we might +have had to search for the rendezvous. I have got the spot marked down +on the chart, but they told me before sailing that they understood it +was very difficult to find the entrance, and we might pass by within a +hundred yards without noticing it." + +In half an hour the ships closed up together, and the captains of the +other crafts came on board in their boats. A hearty greeting was +exchanged between them and the captain of La Belle Marie, and the +three then descended to the cabin. After a time they reappeared, and +the visitors returned to their respective ships. Five minutes later +the schooner got under way, and La Belle Marie followed her, leaving +the other brig to continue her cruise alone. Toward evening the +schooner ran in toward a precipitous cliff, the brig keeping close in +her wake. Ralph had no doubt that they were now close to the spot the +privateers used as their rendezvous, but he could detect no opening +into the cliff ahead, and it looked as if the schooner was leading the +way to destruction. Not until within a cable's length of the shore +could any opening be discovered by the keenest eye. Then when the +schooner was within her own length of the cliff her helm was put +about. She came round, and in a moment later disappeared. An +exclamation of surprise broke from all on board the brig, for they now +saw that instead of the cliff stretching in an unbroken line it +projected out at one point, and the precipitous headway concealed an +extremely narrow passage behind it. + +A moment later the brig imitated the maneuver of the schooner and +passed in between two lofty cliffs, so close that there were but a few +yards to spare on either side of her. Fifty yards ahead the channel +made a sharp turn again, and they entered a basin of tranquil water +three or four hundred yards across. At the further end the shore +sloped gradually up, and here several large storehouses had been +erected, and ways laid down for the convenience of hauling up and +repairing the vessels. + +"What do you think of that, youngster?" Jacques said exultantly. "A +grand hiding-place is it not?" + +"It is indeed," Ralph replied. "Why, they might cruise outside for +weeks looking for the place and they wouldn't find it, unless a boat +happened to row along at the foot of the cliffs." + +As soon as the anchor was down the crew were at once given leave to go +ashore, and ramble about to stretch their legs after their two months' +confinement on board. Ralph was proceeding to take his place in one of +the boats when the captain's eye fell upon him. + +"Come below with me, young fellow," he said in French. "Jacques Clery, +I shall want you too." + +"I do not think there is much need of interpreting, captain," the +sailor said, as he followed the others into the cabin. "The lad can +get on very fairly in French now, and will certainly understand the +sense of anything you may say to him." + +"Look here, my lad," the captain began, "you have been fairly treated +since you came on board this brig." + +"I have been very kindly treated," Ralph said. "I have nothing +whatever to complain of." + +"And we saved your life did we not?" + +"Yes, sir, after first nearly taking it," Ralph said with a smile. + +"Ah, that was just as much your fault as ours. Little fish ought to +get out of the way of great ones, and I don't consider we were in any +way to blame in that matter. Still there is the fact in the first +place we saved your life, and in the second we treated you kindly." + +"I acknowledge that, sir," Ralph said earnestly; "and I feel very +grateful. You might have sent me with the crew of that bark to prison +had you chosen, and I am thankful to you that you kept me on board and +have treated me as one of the crew." + +"Now, what I have to say to you is this lad: I know that you are +comfortable enough on board, and I have noticed that Jacques here has +taken you specially under his wing. You work willingly and well and +have the makings of a first-class seaman in you; still I can +understand that you would much rather be with your own people, and +would be rather aiding them in capturing us than in aiding us to +capture them. Consequently you will if you see an opportunity probably +try to escape. I shall take as good care as I can to prevent you from +doing so, and shall shoot you without hesitation if I catch you at it. +Still you may escape, and I cannot run the risk of having this place +discovered and our trade knocked on the head. I therefore offer you an +alternative. You will either give me your solemn oath not in any case +to reveal the existence of this place, or I will put you on shore in +charge of the party who remain here, and you will stop with them a +prisoner till we sail away from this cruising ground, which may be in +three months or may be in a year. What do you say? Don't answer me +hastily, and do not take the oath unless you are convinced you can +keep it however great the temptation held out to you to betray us." + +Ralph needed but a minute to consider the proposal. The oath did not +bind him in any way to abstain from making an attempt to escape, but +simply to guard the secret of the privateer rendezvous. If he remained +here on shore he would have no chance whatever of escape, and might +moreover meet with very rough treatment from those left in charge of +him. "I am quite ready to take the oath not to reveal the secret of +this place, captain," he said. "I do not think that in any case after +having been so kindly treated by you I should have been inclined to +betray you. However as you offer me the alternative I am ready to take +any oath you like of silence, and that oath I will assuredly keep +whatever pressure may be laid upon me, it being understood of course +that the oath in no way prevents my taking any opportunity that may +present itself of making my escape." + +"That is quite understood," the captain said. "That is a mere matter +of business. You try to escape if you can; I shoot you if I catch you +at it. But I do not think you are likely to succeed. But in justice to +my employers and friends I should not be justified in running even +that slight risk unless convinced that if you succeed you will keep +silence as to this. Now, what oath will you take?" + +"No oath can be more binding to me than my promise, sir; but at the +same time I swear upon my word of honor that I will never give any +information or hint that will lead any one to the discovery of this +harbor." + +"That will do," the captain said. "I have liked your face from the +moment you came on board, and feel that I can trust your word." + +"I am sure you can do that, captain," Jacques put in; "from what I +have seen of the boy I am certain he will keep the promise he has +made." + +"Very well then," the captain said; "that is settled. You can go on +shore in the next boat, and I shall advise you to take the +opportunity, for I warn you that you will not get the chance of +rambling on shore again until we return here next time. You need not +come on board before to-morrow morning." + +Half an hour later Ralph went ashore with the last batch of sailors. +He soon found that a general license had been granted. A barrel of rum +and several casks of wine had been broached, and the men were +evidently bent upon making up for the spell of severe discipline that +they had lately gone through. + +Jacques Clery had gone ashore in the same boat with Ralph. + +"What are you going to do, lad?" + +"I am going for a walk," Ralph said. "In the first place everything is +new to me and I want to see the vegetation; and in the second place I +can see that in a very short time most of the hands will be drunk, and +I dare say quarrelsome, and I don't want either to drink or quarrel. I +think I am better away from them." + +"You are right boy, and I don't care if I go too. We will take a drink +of wine before we start and fill up our pockets with those biscuits. I +will get the storekeeper to give us a bottle of wine to take with us, +and then we shall be set up for the day. This is my first voyage in +these parts; but I have heard from others of their doings, and don't +care about getting a stab with a knife in a drunken brawl. I can do my +share of fighting when fighting has got to be done, but I do not care +for rows of this sort. Still I know the men look forward to what you +call a spree on shore, and the captain might find it difficult to +preserve discipline if he did not let them have their fling +occasionally." + +Ralph and the sailor each took a biscuit and a draught of wine, and +soon afterward started on their ramble provided with food as arranged. +Both were delighted with the luxuriant vegetation, and wandered for +hours through the woods admiring the flowers and fruits, abstaining, +however, from tasting the latter, as for aught they knew some of the +species might be poisonous. Presently, however, they came upon some +bananas. Neither of them had ever seen this fruit before, but Ralph +had read descriptions of it in books, Jacques had heard of it from +sailors who had visited the West Indies before. They therefore cut +some bunches. "Now we will bring ourselves to an anchor and dine. Time +must be getting on, and my appetite tells me that it must have struck +eight bells." Jacques sat down on the ground, and was about to throw +himself full length when Ralph observed a movement among the dead +leaves; an instant later the head of a snake was raised threateningly +within striking distance of Jacques Clery's neck as he sank backward. +Ralph gave a short cry--too late, however, to arrest the sailor's +movements--and at the same moment sprang forward and came down with +both feet upon the snake. + +"What on earth are you doing?" Jacques asked as he scrambled to his +feet. No answer was made to his question, but he saw at once that +Ralph was stamping upon the writhing folds of a snake. In a minute the +motion ceased. + +"That was a close shave, Jacques," Ralph said smiling, though his face +was pale with the sudden excitement. "I did not see it until too late +to give you warning. It was just the fraction of a second, and even as +I jumped I thought he would strike your neck before my boot came on +him." + +"You saved my life, lad," the other said huskily, trembling from head +to foot, as he saw how narrowly indeed he had escaped from death. "I +have been in some hard fights in my time, but I don't know that ever I +felt as I feel now. I feel cold from head to foot, and I believe that +a child could knock me down. Give me your hand, lad. It was splendidly +done. If you had stopped for half a moment to think I should have been +a dead man. Good heavens! what an escape I had." + +"I am glad to have been of service for once. You have been so kind to +me since I came aboard the brig that it is fair that I should do you a +good turn for once. I am not surprised you are shaken, for I feel so +myself. We had better both have a drink of wine, and then we can see +about our meal." + +"No more lying down on the ground for me," the sailor said. "Once is +enough of such a thing as that. However, hand me the bottle. I shall +feel better after that." + +Ralph looked about and presently discovered an open space, free from +fallen leaves or any other shelter for a lurking snake, and persuaded +Jacques to sit down and eat his biscuit and bananas in comfort. The +sailor did so, but the manner in which his glances kept wandering +round him in search of snakes showed that he had not yet recovered his +equanimity. When they had finished their meal Ralph proposed that they +should climb up to the highest point of ground they could find, and +take a view over the island. Two hours' walking took them to the top +of a lofty hill. From the summit they were enabled to obtain a distant +view. The island was, they judged, some seven or eight miles across, +and fully twice that length. Several small islands lay within a few +miles distant, and high land rose twenty miles off. + +"This must be a large island," Ralph said. "Do you know where we are, +Jacques?" + +"I have no idea whatever," the sailor said; "and I don't suppose any +one on board, except the officers, has, any more than me. The charts +are all in the captain's cabin; and I know no more of the geography of +these islands than I do of the South Seas, and that's nothing. It's +quite right to keep it dark; because, though I don't suppose many +fellows on board any of the three craft would split upon us if he were +captured, because, you see, we each have a share in the profits of the +voyage as well as our regular pay, and, of course, we should lose that +if those storehouses, which are pretty well choked up with goods, were +to get taken, there's never any saying what some mean scamp might do +if he were offered a handsome reward. So the fewer as knows the secret +the better." + +"Look Jacques! Look at that full-rigged ship that has just come out +from behind that island. She looks to me like a frigate." + +"And that she is," the sailor replied. "Carries forty guns, I should +say, by her size. English, no doubt. Well, we had better go down +again, lad. I must report to the captain that this craft is cruising +in these waters. It will be dark before we are back, and I don't want +to be in the woods after dark; there's no saying what one might tread +on. I thought that we would stretch ourselves out under the trees for +to-night and go aboard in the morning, but I feel different now. Bless +you, I should never close an eye. So I propose as we goes down so as +not to be noticed by them chaps up at the store, and then gets hold of +a boat and rows on board quiet." + +"I am quite willing to do that Jacques. I don't think I should get +much sleep either in the woods." + +"No, I guess not, lad. Come along; the sun is halfway down already, +and I would not be left in these woods after dark, not for six months' +pay. The thought of that snake makes me crawl all over. Who would have +thought now, when I lugged you in over the bowsprit of La Belle Marie +that night in the channel, that you were going to save my life some +day. Well, I don't suppose, lad, I shall ever get quits with you, but +if there is a chance you can count upon me. You come to me any night +and say I am going to escape, Jacques, and I will help you to do it, +even if they riddle me with bullets five minutes afterward." + +"I shall never ask that of you, Jacques," Ralph said warmly. "I +consider we are quits now, though you may not. Indeed, I can tell you +that I don't consider that two months of kindness are wiped out by +just taking a jump on to the back of a snake." + +There were loud sounds of shouting, singing, and quarreling as they +passed near the great fires that were blazing near the storehouse. +They reached the waterside without notice, and taking a boat rowed off +to the brig. The captain looked over the side: + +"Who is that?" + +"Jacques Clery and the English lad, captain." + +"You got tired of the noise on shore, I suppose?" the captain said. + +"Not exactly that, captain, for we have not been near the others at +all. We took a long walk through the woods up to the top of the hill +in the middle of the island and we came back for two reasons. The +first because I have been so badly scared by a snake, who would have +bit me had not this young fellow leaped on to its back just as he was +about to strike me in the neck, that I would not have slept on the +ground for anything; and, in the second place, we came to tell you +that from the top of the hill we saw a large frigate--English, I +should say, from the cut of her sails--five or six miles off on the +other side of the island, and I thought you ought to know about her at +once." + +"Thank you, Jacques; that is important. I was going to sail in the +morning, but we must not stir as long as she is in the neighborhood. +So this young fellow saved your life, did he?" + +"That he did, captain; and it was the quickest thing you ever saw. I +was just lying down at full length when he caught sight of the snake. +There was no time to stop me; no time even to cry out. He just jumped +on a sudden and came down on the brute as it was on the point of +striking. Had he stopped for one quarter of a second I should have +been a dead man hours ago." + +"That was a near escape indeed, Jacques. Are they pretty quiet there +on shore? I heard them shouting several times." + +"They seem quarreling a bit, captain; but they are sure to do that +with all that liquor on hand." + +"They won't come to much harm," the captain said. "I gave the +strictest orders that all weapons should be left behind before they +landed, and that any man carrying even a knife would have his leave +stopped during the rest of the cruise. Beside, the first mate is there +to look after them. I will go ashore myself at daybreak and take a +look round from the top of that hill. If that frigate is still +cruising about near the island it must be because they have got some +sort of an idea of the whereabouts of our hiding place. We must wait +till she moves away. It won't do to risk anything." + +Upon the following morning the captain and Jacques, accompanied by +Ralph, landed. They passed close by the storehouse, and saw the men +still asleep round the extinguished fires. The captain called out the +storekeeper: + +"You can serve out one pannikin of wine to each man," he said, "but no +more. They will want that to pull them together. Tell the first mate +to get them on board as soon as possible, and set them to work to tidy +up the ship and get everything ready for setting sail at a moment's +notice. Tell him an English frigate is reported as close to the +island. I am going up to look after her." + +Two hours' steady walking took them to the top of the hill. There were +no signs of any vessel as far as they could see. The captain, who had +brought his glass with him, carefully examined every island in sight. +Presently he uttered an exclamation: + +"There are three boats rowing together close under the cliffs there," +he said, pointing to the nearest island. "No doubt the frigate is +lying behind it. They must be searching for some concealed harbor like +ours. _Peste!_ this is awkward. What do you think, Jacques?" + +"I should say you were right in what you said last night, captain. +They must have got an idea that our rendezvous is somewhere +hereabouts, though they don't know for certain where, and they are +searching all the island round. If they come along here like that we +shall be caught in a trap. A vessel might sail close by without +suspecting there was an entrance here, however hard they might be +looking for it; but if they send boats rowing along the shore they +couldn't help finding it. Still, there is nothing to prevent our +sailing away now, as the island is between us and them." + +"That is so," the captain said. "But if they come while we are away, +in the first place they would capture all the booty in the stores, and +in the second place they might lie quiet in the harbor and would sink +the other ships when they returned. I will go down to the port again, +Jacques, and will send up two of the men from the storehouse to keep +watch here, turn and turn about. Do you remain here until you are +relieved. I will leave my glass with you. If there is anything fresh, +leave the boy on watch and come down with the news yourself. I must +talk this matter over with the mates. We have no direct interest in +the stores, but we must do the best we can for our owners." + +Jacques and Ralph watched the distant boats through the glass until +they disappeared round the end of the island, then turned the glass +seaward. Jacques was using it at the time. "See!" he exclaimed, "there +are three sails together there." + +"I can see them plainly enough," Ralph said. "What do you make them +out to be?" + +"A schooner, a brig, and a three-masted vessel. They are lying close +together, and I fancy boats are passing between them. However, I +couldn't swear to that. They must be fifteen miles away. I expect they +are our consorts, and a merchantman they have captured." + +"Can they see them from the other side of that island?" Ralph asked +excitedly. + +"I should say they could," Jacques replied after pausing to calculate +the line of sight. "It depends how far round the frigate is lying, and +how close in shore. But if they have sent any one up on the hill +there, of course they can make them out as plainly as we can." Jacques +handed the glass to Ralph. + +"Yes, I think I can make out boats, Jacques. What do you suppose they +are doing?" + +"Most likely they are transferring the valuable part of her cargo on +board." + +"What will they do with her then?" + +"I expect they will let her go; but of course that depends whether she +is a new ship and worth taking the risk of carrying her to France." + +"They don't burn or sink her, then?" + +"No; there would be no good in that; for they wouldn't know what to do +with the crew. Of course they don't want the bother of prisoners here, +and they wouldn't want to turn them adrift in the boats. They might +land on some island near and see us going and coming here, and carry +the news to some of your cruisers. No, I expect they will take what is +valuable and let them go--that is if the ship isn't worth sending +home. I suppose that is so in this case; for if they were going to put +a prize crew on board and send it to France, they would not be +transferring the cargo. Well, we shall see in another half hour." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE BRITISH CRUISERS. + + +An hour passed. During this time the watchers on the hill saw that the +brig had been lying alongside the three-masted vessel, and felt sure +that the cargo was being transferred, then the merchantman's sails +were hoisted, and she slowly sailed away. For another hour the other +two crafts lay motionless, then they hoisted sail and headed for the +island. There was a brisk, steady wind blowing, and they came along +fast through the water. + +"We shall soon see now whether your frigate has made them out," +Jacques said; "but I will not wait any longer but will go and tell the +captain what is going on. In another hour the others will be up here +to relieve you, then you can bring down the latest news." + +Left alone, Ralph watched anxiously the progress of the distant +vessels, turning the glass frequently toward the other island, beyond +the end of which he momentarily expected to see the white sails of the +frigate appear. An hour passed. The schooner and the brig were now +within about four miles of the nearest point of the island, and still +there were no signs of the English ship. Presently he heard voices +behind him, and two French sailors came up. Ralph was now free to +return, but he thought he had better wait until the brig and schooner +reached a point where they would be hidden by the island from the +sight of any-one who might be watching on the hill six miles away. + +In another half-hour they had reached this point. No signs had been +seen of the frigate, and Ralph felt sure that she must have been +anchored in some bay whose headland prevented her seeing the +approaching craft; for had she noticed them she would assuredly have +set out to intercept them before they reached the island, which lay +almost dead to windward of them. He was just turning to go when one of +the men gave a sudden exclamation. He turned round again and saw the +frigate just appearing from behind the other island. She was +close-hauled, and it was soon evident by her course that she was +beating up for the point round which the other two ships had +disappeared. + +Ralph was puzzled at this; for if she had made out the brig and +schooner, her natural course would have been to have made for the +other end of the island, so as to cut them off as they sailed past it; +whereas they would now, when they gained the extremity of the island, +find themselves five or six miles astern of the other two craft. The +French sailors were equally puzzled, and there was a hot argument +between them; but they finally concluded that her appearance at that +moment must be accidental, and she could not have made out the +privateers. They had just told Ralph to run down with the news to the +harbor when a light was thrown upon the mystery; for from the other +end of the island from which the frigate had emerged a large schooner +appeared. Every sail was set, and her course was directed toward this +other end of the island upon which the watchers were standing. The two +French sailors burst out into a torrent of oaths, expressive of +surprise and alarm; for it was evident that from the course the +schooner was taking she intended to intercept the two privateers, and +engage them until the frigate came to her assistance. + +"Run, boy! run for your life!" one of them exclaimed, "and tell the +captain. But no; wait a moment," and he directed the glass upon the +schooner. "A thousand curses!" he exclaimed. "It is the Cerf schooner +the English captured from us six months ago. She is the fastest craft +in these waters. Tell the captain that I am coming after you, but your +legs will beat mine." + +Ralph dashed off at full speed, but as soon as he had fairly distanced +the French sailor he began to run more slowly. For the moment he had +so entered into the feelings of his companions that he had identified +himself with them, but now he had time to think, his sympathies swung +round to the English ship. He did not particularly want La Belle Marie +to be captured; for he had been so well treated on board her that he +felt no ill-will toward her. But her capture meant his deliverance. + +He thought over the matter as he ran, and wondered first why the +frigate did not take the line to cut the privateers off, instead of +going round by the other end of the island. He could only suppose that +it was because the schooner was the fastest vessel, and was more +likely to arrive in time at the point. Beside, if she showed there +before the privateers reached the point they might double back again, +and the frigate would make the other end of the island before they +were halfway back. It might be, too, that the captain has suspected +the truth, knowing that the privateers had a rendezvous somewhere in +that neighborhood, and that his object in remaining so long behind the +island was to give them time to enter their port in ignorance of his +being in the neighborhood. At any rate, the great thing was, that the +schooner and brig should enter the little harbor before knowing that +they were pursued. Once in, it would be impossible for them to get out +again and beat off shore with the wind blowing dead on the land, +before both the schooner and frigate had rounded their respective ends +of the island. + +Therefore, although Ralph ran fast enough to keep well ahead of the +sailor, he made no effort to keep up a greater rate of speed than was +necessary for this. As soon as he reached the shore a boat rowed off +from the brig to fetch him. He saw with satisfaction that although the +men were all on board, no preparations were made for getting under way +at once; and, indeed, the captain would have no anxiety for his own +ship, as he would know that the privateers, if they saw the frigate +coming out to meet them, would sail right away from the island, and +the frigate would be sure to pursue until out of sight of land. + +"What news, boy?" the captain asked as the boat came close alongside. +"Is the frigate in chase of the others?" + +"Yes, sir," Ralph replied; "the frigate and a schooner are both in +chase." + +"Which way are they bearing?" + +"The privateers do not know they are chased sir. The frigate did not +show round the island over there until the schooner and brig were +hidden behind the end of this island. She made toward the western end, +and the schooner is making for the eastern end. The sailors who came +up told me to tell you that the schooner is the Cerf, one of the +fastest vessels out here." + +The captain uttered an exclamation of dismay, which was echoed by +those standing round him. + +"Row out through the entrance," he shouted to the coxswain of the +boat, "and warn the others of the danger! Tell them to make straight +out. If they come in here, we shall all be caught in a trap together!" + +The oars dipped in the water, but before the boat was fairly in motion +there was an exclamation, for the head sail of the schooner glided in +past the projecting cliff. A moment later the whole vessel came into +view. + +"Bring the boat back alongside!" the captain shouted. "I will go on +board her at once. She may get out in time yet!" + +As the schooner rounded up her sails came down, and she headed +straight toward the brig. The captain of the Belle Marie stood up in +the stern-sheet of the boat, shouting and waving his hands and +gesticulating to them to get up sail again. Those on board the +schooner looked on in surprise, unable to guess his meaning. + +"There are two English cruisers, one coming round each end of the +island!" he shouted as he approached the schooner. "Get out again if +you can, otherwise they must catch us all in here!" + +The captain in the schooner at once saw the emergency, and roared out +orders. The boats were all lowered at once, and the men tumbled on +board. Hawsers were lowered from the bows, and they began at once to +tow her head round, for there was not a breath of wind in the +land-locked harbor. + +"How much time have we got?" the captain asked as the schooner's head +came slowly round. + +"I don't know," the other captain replied. "It's a question of +minutes, anyhow. Ah, here is the brig!" and the boat dashed forward +and he gave similar orders to those that had been given to the +schooner. + +"Get them both round!" the captain shouted. "I will row out through +the entrance and give you warning if these accursed cruisers are in +sight." + +The boat dashed through the narrow entrance, and at once felt the full +force of the breeze. "Dead on shore," the captain muttered bitterly. +"They will have to work right out into the arms of one or other of +them." + +They rowed a hundred yards out, when, beyond the furthermost point +they could see to the east, the sails of the schooner were perceived. + +"Take her round," the captain said sharply. "It's too late now, we +have got to fight for it." + +They rowed back through the entrance. The schooner slowly towed by her +boats was approaching. + +"It is no use," the captain said, "you are too late. The schooner has +rounded the end of the island, and with this breeze will be here in +half an hour. You never can work out in time. Beside, they would see +you come out; and even if you got away, which you couldn't do, they +would come back and capture the depot. We have got to fight for it, +that's evident; and the boats of a fleet could hardly make their way +in here. We had best get the three craft moored with their broadsides +to the entrance. We will blow the boats to tinder if they try to come +in, and then we can load up with all the most valuable goods and slip +out at night-time. That is our only chance." + +The captain of the schooner jumped into the boat, and they again rowed +out into the entrance. He saw at once that the other's advice was the +only one to be followed. It would be impossible to beat off the shore +before the schooner came up and while they were talking the frigate +appeared round the other end of the island. They therefore returned +into the harbor. The Belle Marie's anchor was raised, and the three +vessels moored head and stern across the harbor, a hundred yards from +the entrance. As soon as this was done strong parties were sent ashore +from each of the vessels, and six heavy ship's guns that had been +landed from some captured vessel were dragged from their place near +the storehouse and planted on the heights, so as to sweep the narrow +channel. + +It was late in the evening before this was finished, and an earthwork +thrown up to shelter the men working the guns from musketry fire. In +the meantime the two ships of war had met outside, and again +separating cruised several times from end to end of the rocky wall, +evidently searching for the entrance through which the privateers they +had been pursuing had so suddenly disappeared. In the morning the +French sailors were at work early, and two or three strong chains were +fastened across the mouth of the passage. + +"Now," the captain of the Belle Marie said exultantly, as he regained +the deck of his ship, "we are ready to give them a warm reception. The +boats of all the British cruisers on the station would never force +their way through that gap." + +Ralph had not been called upon to assist in the work of preparation, +he and Jacques having done their day's work on the journey to the top +of the hill and back. He saw from the exultation in the faces of the +Frenchmen that they considered their position was impregnable, and he +shuddered at the thought of the terrible carnage that would ensue if +the boats of the English vessels should try to force an entrance. The +following morning a lookout on the cliffs reported that two boats had +left the ships and were rowing toward the shore. On reaching the foot +of the cliffs they rowed along abreast at a distance of thirty or +forty yards of the shores. They stopped rowing at the mouth of the +entrance, and were suddenly hailed by the captain of the schooner, who +was standing on the cliff above. + +"If you try to enter," he said, "you will be destroyed at once. We +don't want to harm you if you will leave us alone; but we have guns +enough to blow a whole fleet out of water, and will use them if we are +driven to it." + +"Thank you for your warning," a voice shouted back from the boats, and +then an order was given, and they rowed back to the ships. + +"Well, have you found the place, Lieutenant Pearson?" the captain of +the frigate asked as the young lieutenant stepped on deck. + +"Yes, sir, we have found it. It is just where the boat turned and came +out again." + +"I can see no signs of it now," the captain said, examining the shore +with his telescope. + +"No, sir; you wouldn't until you were within a hundred yards of it. +But rowing close in as we were we saw it some time before we got +there. The rocks overlap each other, and there is a narrow channel +some fifty yards long between them. Apparently this makes a sharp turn +at the other end and opens out. We saw nothing of the vessels we were +chasing yesterday, but on high ground facing the channel there is a +battery of six guns planted so as to rake anything coming in. There +are some chains across the end. While we were lying on our oars there +we were hailed." And he then repeated the warning that had been given. + +"Nasty place to get into--eh?" the captain said thoughtfully. + +"Very nasty, sir. You see, the guns would play right down into the +channel; then there are the chains to break down, and perhaps more +batteries, and certainly the ships to tackle when we get inside." + +"Is there width for the frigate to enter?" the captain asked. + +"Just width, I should say, and no more, sir. We should certainly have +to get the yards braced fore and aft, but the ship herself would go +through with something to spare, I should say." + +"What depth of water is there close in shore?" + +"Plenty of depth sir, right up to the foot of the cliffs; but of +course I can say nothing as to the depth in the channel." + +"No, of course not," the captain said. "Well, it's something that we +have run these pests to earth at last, but I see it is going to be no +easy matter to get at them." + +The captain now signaled to the captain of the schooner to come on +board, and when he did so the two officers retired to the cabin +together and had a long consultation. The young officer on coming on +deck got into his boat, and taking Lieutenant Pearson with him rowed +for the cliffs, a few hundred yards to the west of the inlet. Here +they could obtain a view of the channel and its surroundings. Not a +man was to be seen. The muzzles of the six guns pointed menacingly +down into the passage, and the chains could be seen just above the +water's edge. + +"I think we will go back now, Mr. Pearson. I really think we ought to +be very much obliged to those fellows for not sinking us. I wonder +what was their motive in letting us off so easily?" + +"I suppose they feel pretty confident that our report is not likely to +encourage an attack, and they think that if they were to blow us to +pieces it would only make Captain Wilson the more determined to +destroy them. At least that is the conclusion I came to as I rowed +back last time." + +"Yes, I should think that is it," the young captain said. "It is +certainly as awkward a looking place to attack in boats as I ever saw. +Of course were it not for the chains my vessel could get in, and I +dare say she has been in there many a time before we captured her, but +it would be a very risky thing to take the frigate in without knowing +anything of the depth of water either in the channel or inside." + +Both returned to the frigate. "Mr. Pearson's report is fully borne +out, Captain Wilson. It would be a most desperate enterprise to attack +with our boats. Half of them would be sunk before they got to the +chains; and even if they got past them, which I doubt, there is no +saying what difficulties and obstacles may be inside." + +"And now about the frigate, Captain Chambers." + +"Well, sir, that is for you to decide. I am quite ready to take the +schooner in; though with the plunging power of that battery raking her +fore and aft I say fairly that it would be a desperate enterprise, and +if she had not sufficient way upon her to carry away the chains +nothing could save her. As to the frigate, it seems to me that she +would run an equal risk with the schooner, with the additional danger +that there may not be water enough for her." + +"Well, it certainly doesn't seem to be an easy nut to crack," Captain +Wilson said. "As we agreed before you started, we should not be +justified in risking both our vessels in assaulting a place which is +certainly extremely formidable, and where there may not be water +enough for the frigate to float. Still the question remains, what is +to be done? It is no use anchoring here and trying to starve them out; +they may have provisions enough to last them for years, for anything +we know. If the weather were to turn bad we should have to make off at +once; it would never do to be caught in a hurricane with such a coast +as that on our lee. I might send you to Port Royal with a letter to +the admiral, asking him to send us two or three more ships; but I +don't like doing that when it is a mere question of capturing two +rascally privateers." + +"I think the admiral would be glad to send them," the younger captain +said; "for these two vessels have done a tremendous lot of damage +during the last year. I believe that upward of twenty ships have +reported being boarded and stripped by them." + +"But if they came what could they do?" Captain Wilson asked. "You see +we consider it is not worth the risk of throwing away two ships two +force this passage, still less would it be to risk four." + +"That is so, no doubt," Captain Chambers agreed. "I should suggest +that however many of us there may be we should all draw off and keep a +watch at a distance. Of course it would be necessary to approach at +night, and to lie behind the island somewhere in the daytime just as +we did yesterday, for from the top of that hill they can see any +distance round." + +"Yes, and as soon as it is dusk they will have two or three hours to +get away before we can come round here. Beside, with their +night-glasses from the top of the cliffs they will be sure to be able +to make us out. There is only one other way that I can see of getting +at them, that is to find a landing-place and attack them from on +shore." + +"Ah! that's much more hopeful business. As far as I saw yesterday +there are cliffs all round the island; but it is hard indeed if we +cannot find some place where we can manage to effect a landing. + +"This is the plan we must follow out. This afternoon an hour before it +gets dark you get up sail and make away as if you were bound for Port +Royal. I shall keep my station here. They will think you have gone off +to get some more ships. As soon as it is thoroughly dark bear round +and come back to the island; bring the schooner in close to the cliffs +on the other side and get into a bay if you can find one. You will +then be out of sight altogether unless somebody happens to look down +from the edge of the cliffs above you. + +"Then search the whole of the back of the island with boats, keeping +at oar's length from the cliffs. There must be some places where a man +can climb up, probably gulleys worn by streams. Then to-morrow night +sail round and join us again. I will be waiting for you about two +miles off the land, and will show a light to seaward so that you will +know where to find me. Then we can talk matters over, and you can get +back to the other side again before morning." + +While the captains of the two English vessels were holding +consultations a similar talk was going on between the three captains +of the privateers, and the conclusion they arrived at was precisely +similar to that of the English officers. It was agreed that no attack +was likely to be made by the ships, as they would almost certainly be +sunk by the plunging fire of the battery as they came along the +channel; while an assault by the boats would be sheer madness. + +"We have only to wait and tire them out," the captain of the schooner +said, rubbing his hands. "The first gale from the north they must run +for shelter, and before they can come back to their station again we +shall be gone. Of course we will load well up beforehand with all that +is really worth taking away, and can let them have the pleasure of +destroying the rest after we have gone." + +"They will know all that as well as we do," the captain of La Belle +Marie said. "They will never be fools enough to try and starve us out, +but you are quite mistaken if you think we are out of danger." + +"Why, what danger can there be?" the others asked. "We have agreed +they cannot attack us by the channel." + +"No, they cannot attack us from the channel, but they can attack us +from somewhere else now they know we are here. They will find some +place where they can land and take us in rear." + +An exclamation of dismay broke from the other captains. + +"_Sapriste!_ I never thought of that. Of course they can. I have never +examined the coast on the other side, but there must be places where +they could land." + +"No doubt there are; and you may be quite sure that is the course they +will adopt. These English are slow, but they are not fools; and I will +bet ten to one that is the next move they will be up to. If you like I +will take a score of my men and cross the island this afternoon, and +to-morrow will examine the whole line of shore. If there are only one +or two places they can land at we may be able to defend them; but if +there are four or five places far apart our force won't be sufficient +to hold them all, for they could land two hundred and fifty men from +those two ships, perhaps a hundred more." + +"That is the best thing to be done, Vipon. Of course you will send us +word across directly you see how the land lies. If we find that they +can land in a good many places, there will be nothing for us to do but +try and make a bolt for it. Keeping close in under the cliffs at night +we may manage to give them the slip, or in any case one if not two of +us may get away. Better that than to run the risk of being all caught +like rats in a trap here." + +An hour afterward the captain of the Belle Marie started for the other +side of the island with twenty picked men, carrying with them their +arms, axes, and two days' provisions. The rest of the crews were +employed during the day in filling up the three vessels with the most +valuable portion of the booty in the storehouses, care being taken not +to fill the vessels so deeply as would interfere seriously with their +sailing powers. An arrangement had been made between the captains that +the Belle Marie should transfer her cargo to the first vessel worth +sending to France that she captured, receiving as her share one-third +of its value if it reached port safely. + +The captain of the Belle Marie was well content with this arrangement, +for the storehouses contained the spoils of upward of twenty ships, +and his share would therefore be a considerable one, and he would only +have to carry the cargo till he fell in with an English merchantman. +All speculation as to the British schooner's whereabouts was put an +end to the next morning, by a message from Captain Vipon saying she +had been discovered lying close in under the cliffs at the back of the +island, and that her boats were already examining the shore. An hour +later the captain himself arrived. + +"It is as I feared," he said when he joined the other captains; "there +are three bays about two miles apart and at all of these a landing +could be easily effected. The land slopes gradually down to the edge +of the sea. They might land at any of them, and of course the guns of +the schooner would cover the landing if we opposed it." + +"Still we might beat them back," one of the others said. "We can +muster about three hundred men between us, and they are not likely to +land more than that." + +"I don't think that would be a good plan," Captain Vipon said. "To +begin with, we can't tell which of the three places they may choose +for landing at. We certainly cannot hurry through the woods anything +like so fast as they can row along the shore, so that would place us +at a disadvantage. In the second place, you know very well that we +can't rely upon our men defeating an equal number of these John Bulls; +and in the last place, we should not gain much if we did. We should +lose a tremendous lot of our men, and the schooner would go off and +fetch two or three more ships of war here, so that in the end they +must beat us. I think that there is no question that it will be better +for us to take our chances of escape now." + +"Either the schooner will come back to-night and tow the boats of the +frigate round the other side of the island, or she will send a boat +with the news that she has found a landing-place, and then the frigate +will send all her boats. I don't think the attack will take place +to-night; but it may be made. It certainly won't if the schooner comes +round, for the wind is very light. She will not leave her anchorage +until it is quite dark; and by the time she has got round to the +frigate, and the boat's crews are ready to start, and they all get to +the back of the island, it will be morning. If they send a boat it +would reach the frigate after three hours' rowing; give them an hour +to get ready and start, and three hours to row back, so that brings it +to nearly the same thing. Beside, I don't suppose in any case they +would land before morning, for they would run the risk of losing their +way in the woods. So my proposal is that at about two o'clock in the +morning we make a start, separate as soon as we get out of the harbor, +and each shift for himself. The frigate will have more than half her +crew away, and being so short-handed will not be so smart with her +sails, and will not be able to work half her guns; so that at the +outside two out of the three of us ought to get safely off." + +"But suppose that the schooner happens to be round here, and they make +up their minds to wait a day before attacking, we should have two of +them after us then; and that schooner sails like a witch." + +"I have thought of that," Captain Vipon said. "My idea is to put a man +on the top of the cliff just above where the schooner is anchored. If +she is lying there he is to light a fire a short distance back from +the edge of the cliff. There should be another man on the top of the +hill. When he sees the fire he shall show a lantern three times. We +will return the signal to let him know that we see it. If the schooner +goes away early in the evening the lookout is not to light the fire +until he sees her returning, at whatever hour it may be. The moment we +see the light we will set sail." + +"But how about the two signallers?" one of the other captains said. +"They would be left behind and might not get the chance of rejoining +us again." + +"I have thought of that too," Captain Vipon, said. "I have an English +lad on board whom I picked up in the channel. He is a smart lad, and +has been working as one of the crew. He would of course be glad to +stay behind, because it will give him the chance of rejoining his +friends." + +"That would do capitally. But how about the other man? You see, if he +showed himself he would be made prisoner and sent to England; if he +didn't show himself he might be on this island for years before he got +a chance of joining a French ship. It would need a high bribe to +induce anybody to run such a risk as that." + +This was so evident that there was silence for two or three minutes, +then Captain Vipon spoke again. "I have a man who would be more likely +to do it than any one else I think, because he has taken a strong +fancy to this young English boy. He is a good hand, and I don't like +losing him; still the thing is so important that I should not hesitate +at that. Still we must offer him something good to run the risk, or +rather the certainty of imprisonment. I propose that his name shall be +put down on the books of all three ships, so that if he ever gets back +to France again he will have a fair certainty of a good lot of prize +money, for it will be hard luck if two out of the three of us do not +manage to get back safely." The other captains agreed to this. + +"He will be here in half an hour," Captain Vipon said. "The men were +sitting down to a meal when I came away, and I ordered them to make +their way back as soon as they had done. If he refuses, the only other +way I can see will be for all the men to cast lots, when, of course, +whoever stays would get his three shares as we agreed." + +Half an hour later the twenty men arrived from the other side of the +island. As soon as they came on board Captain Vipon called Jacques +into the cabin and told him that it would be necessary to leave two +men behind, explaining the duties they would have to perform. + +"Now Jacques," he said when he had finished, "I thought that perhaps +you would be more likely than any other man on board the three ships +to volunteer for this work." + +"I volunteer!" Jacques said in astonishment. "What should make you +think of such a thing, captain?" + +"For this reason, Jacques: I have settled to leave the English lad +here as one of the signallers. Of course he will gladly undertake the +job, as it will enable him to join his friends when they land; and as +you like him and he likes you, he might be able to make things easy +for you. In the second place we have determined that the name of +whoever stops shall be borne on the ship books of all three vessels to +the end of their cruise, so that there would be a good bit of money +coming even if only one out of the three ships gets back, and enough +to set you up for life if all three get back safely. Of course you may +have a spell of imprisonment; but it is likely that one at least of +the ships may be caught going out to-night, and if it happened to be +ours you would get the prison without the prize-money." + +"That is so," Jacques agreed. "If you give me half an hour to think it +over I will give you an answer. It's come upon me sudden-like. I will +talk it over with the boy. I suppose I can tell him, captain?" + +On regaining the deck Jacques looked about for Ralph. + +"Come and sit along with me out on the bowsprit, lad, I want to have a +private talk with you." + +Somewhat surprised Ralph followed his friend out on to the bowsprit. + +"Now, boy," he said, "I have got a bit of news to tell you that will +be pleasant to you. That's the first thing; and the next is, I want +your advice. You are a sensible young chap, you are, although you are +but a lad, and I should like to know what you think about it." + +"Well, what's the good news, Jacques?" + +"The good news is this; you are likely, before this time to-morrow, to +be with your friends." Ralph gave such a start of delight that he +nearly slipped off the bowsprit. + +"How is that Jacques? It seems too good to be true." + +"This is the way of it," Jacques said. "The three vessels are all +going to cut and run to-night. That schooner of yours is round the +other side of the island, and we want to be sure she is stopping +there, then there will only be the frigate to deal with, and in these +light winds and dark nights we ought to be able to give her the slip; +but the only way to be sure the schooner keeps the other side is to +watch her. So one man is to be placed on the cliff above her, and at +two o'clock in the morning, if she is still there, he is to light a +fire well back from the cliff, so that the light will not be seen by +her. Another man is to be on the top of the hill, where we were +together with a lantern. You see, we can just see the top of the hill +from here. When he sees the fire he is to show a light three times. If +he sees it answered here he will know it's all right, and his work is +done; if not, of course he shows the lights again until it's answered. +Now, they are going to leave you as one of the two signallers, and of +course all you will have to do will be to wait for a bit, and then +come down and join your friends." + +"That is capital," Ralph said. "Nothing could be better. Now, what is +the other matter that you want my advice about, Jacques?" + +"Well, you see, it will be awkward for the other man, for he will +either have the choice of coming down and giving himself up and being +carried off as a prisoner, or of stopping on this island perhaps for +years till a French ship happens to come along; for once off the Marie +will continue her cruise to the Indian seas, and the other two will +make straight for France. Of course there is another course which +might be taken. A boat might be hidden away for him, and he might go +for a cruise on his own account and take the chance of being picked +up. + +"Well, they have offered to the man as stops to put his name down on +the books of all the three craft. That means, of course, that he will +get a share in the prize-money of all three ships if they get back. +That's a pretty good offer, you know. You see, a fellow on board may +get captured or killed in battle or wrecked, and in that case there +would not be a penny of prize-money. The man who stops here is sure of +prize-money if only one of the three craft get back to France. Now, +they ask me if I will undertake it. I should be better off than the +others; because in the first place I shall have you to talk with till +I get to prison, and in the next place as I can talk English I can get +on a good deal better in prison than other fellows would do. Now, +what's your advice, lad?" + +"I should say certainly accept the offer, Jacques. You see, I can tell +them all what a good friend you have been to me, and it maybe they +will let you go free; but even if they don't I could make it pleasant +for you with the men, and you may be sure that if they take you to an +English prison I will do all I can to get you out of it. You see, when +you get back to France you would have really a good sum coming to you +from these three ships. The two that have been out here have collected +a tremendous lot of valuable plunder, and the Bell Marie is likely to +get quite as much if, as you say, she is going to spend two years out +in the Indian seas. So I really think you would be wise to take the +offer. Another thing, if you like I will not show myself at all, but +will stop here with you, and we will take a boat together and make for +some port, where we can give out that we are shipwrecked sailors." + +"No, lad, that wouldn't do; though I thank you for your offer. You +might get a ship back to England, but I should have very little chance +of getting one for France." + +"No; but we might get one together for America, and from there you +might get to France easily enough." + +Jacques thought for some minutes. "No, lad; I will give myself up with +you. We might get lost in a boat, seeing that neither of us know the +geography of these seas; we might get short of water, or caught in a +hurricane. No, I will give myself up. I know the worst that way, +anyhow. Another spell in an English prison; but from that I may either +get exchanged, or escape, or the war come to an end. So that's the +best thing for me to do." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +HOME AGAIN. + + +Having decided to stay as one of the signallers, Jacques proceeded at +once to the captain's cabin. + +"I am glad you have decided so, Jacques. It would have been a +troublesome business to cast lots, and some of the men might have +absolutely refused doing so; so I am glad it's settled. I have +arranged with the other captains that you shall have an advance of +twenty napoleons. You had best hide them about you; you may find them +come in useful. The boy is to have ten. Of course he is glad of the +chance; but at the same time he is doing us good service, and he has +worked well since he came on board. It will help him to get a passage +home." + +"Thank you, captain. That twenty napoleons may help me to get out of +an English prison. I will manage a hiding place for them. And now I +think, captain, we will be off at once--at least as soon as we have +had our dinner. It's a good long way across the island to where that +schooner was lying, and I shall have to choose a place for my fire so +that it can be seen from the top of the hill." + +At dinner Jacques told his comrades that he was going to remain behind +and act as signalman for them. A good deal of regret was expressed by +his shipmates, many of whom came like himself from Dunkirk, and had +known him from a boy. Before starting he went to the sailmaker and got +him to open the soles of his shoes; he then inserted ten napoleons in +each, and the sailmaker sewed them up again. Then making his clothes +into a kit and getting a couple of bottles of wine from the steward, +he shook hands with his messmates, and was with Ralph rowed ashore. + +On landing they cut two sticks and hung their kits upon these, Ralph +taking charge of the lantern, while both were provided with tinder and +steel. + +They walked for half a mile together, and then Jacques said: + +"Here our paths separate, lad; you can't miss your way to the top of +the hill. I go almost the other way, for the schooner lies but a short +distance from the end of the island. If I were you I should lie up for +a sleep as soon as I get there. Remember you will not see my fire till +two o'clock. If you do not see it then you must keep watch till +morning, for there's no saying when it may be lit. As soon as you see +it you show a light three times in the direction of the creek. If you +see it answered you will have nothing more to do; if not you must keep +on showing the light till you do get an answer. In the morning you +wait till the sun has been up an hour, then come to this spot and wait +for me. I shall start at daybreak, but I have a lot further to walk +than you have, so I shan't be there before you. If we find your people +haven't come into the harbor we will wait till they do so; then when +they find that there is no one there we can show ourselves quietly; +but if we got there first they might begin to shoot directly they saw +us without stopping to ask any questions." + +Ralph made his way up to the top of the hill, threw himself down under +some trees near the summit, and was soon fast asleep. When he awoke it +was already dark. He lit his lantern, covered it up in his jacket, and +took his station at the highest point. He had plenty to think about. +Another twelve hours and he would be with friends! He had no reason to +complain of the treatment he had received on board the privateer, but +had he remained with her he might not have returned to France for a +couple of years, and would then have had difficulty in crossing to +England; beside, it was painful to him to be with men fighting against +his country, and each prize taken instead of causing delight to him as +to his comrades, would have been a source of pain. + +But most of all he thought of his mother, of how she must have grieved +for him as dead, and of the joy there would be at their reunion. The +hours therefore passed quickly, and he could scarcely believe it to be +two o'clock when he suddenly saw the light of a fire far way toward +the end of the island. A glance at the stars showed him that the time +was correct. He rose to his feet, and taking the lantern held it +aloft, then he lowered it behind a bush and twice raised it again. He +knew exactly the direction in which the harbor lay, and no sooner had +he put down the lantern for the third time than three flashes of light +followed in close succession. + +He knew that everything would be prepared in the afternoon for the +start. Orders had been issued before he left that the oars of the +boats were to be muffled, that the chains at the entrance of the +channel were to be removed, and the ships got in a position, with +shortened cables, for a start. He could picture to himself, as he +stood there gazing into the darkness, that the men would be already in +the boats awaiting his signal, and as soon as it was seen they would +begin to tow the vessels out of the harbor. + +During the daytime the frigate cruised backward and forward under easy +sail some two miles off the entrance; but the sailors believed that at +night she came very much closer to the shore, the lookout with +night-glasses having reported that she had been seen once or twice +within a quarter of a mile of the entrance to the channel. + +Half an hour passed without any sign that the frigate was aware that +the ships were leaving the harbor; then Ralph heard the sound of a +distant musket-shot, followed by several others, and had no doubt that +one of the frigate's boats on watch near the channel had discovered +them. + +A few minutes later there was a flash some distance out at sea, +followed after an interval by the deep boom of a gun; then came a +broadside, followed by a steady fire of heavy guns. These were +evidently fired on board the frigate, no answering sounds from the +French ships meeting his ear. He could see by the direction of the +flashes that the frigate was under way. The firing continued for two +hours, becoming more and more distant, and then it ceased altogether. + +When the sun rose he saw the frigate some twenty miles away. There was +a smaller craft two or three miles further off, and two others were +visible ten or twelve miles further away to the west. Two of the +privateers had evidently made their escape, and the third seemed to be +leaving her pursuer behind, for the wind was exceedingly light. Some +miles nearer to the island than the frigate a schooner was visible. +She was heading for the two vessels that had gone toward the west, but +as these were fully fifteen miles to windward her chance of overtaking +them appeared to be slight. Ralph waited an hour, and then proceeded +at a leisurely pace toward the spot where he was to meet Jacques. He +was but five minutes at the spot agreed upon when he saw him coming +through the trees. + +"I heard nothing of the landing-parties," he said as the French sailor +approached. + +"The reason is not far to search for," he replied. "They did not land +at all, and I did not much expect that they would. The boats from the +frigate arrived a few minutes before I lighted my fire. I was lying +down at the edge of the cliff, looking right down upon her deck. They +came up in a body, rowing with muffled oars. I could just hear the +sound of their talking when they came on deck. As soon as I had the +fire fairly alight I saw your signal and then went back to watch them. +Everything was quiet till I heard the boom of the first gun; then I +heard 'Silence!' ordered on the schooner. I suppose some one had said +that he heard a gun, and other's didn't. Of course the sound did not +come to them under the shelter of the cliff as it did to me. Then came +the sound of another gun, and then three or four close together; then +orders were given sharply, the capstan was manned and the anchor run +up, and they were not a minute getting her sails set. But under the +shelter of the cliff there was not enough wind to fill them, and so +the boats were manned, and she went gliding away until I could no +longer make her out. They guessed, of course, that our craft were +making off, and went to help the frigate." + +"They were too late to be of any use, Jacques." + +"Ah! you have seen them from the top of the hill. I did not think of +that. What is the news?" + +"The frigate was in chase of one of them. It was too far for me to see +which. I should say he was two or three miles ahead, certainly well +out of gunshot, and as far as I could see during the hour I was +watching them, was increasing her lead. Unless the wind freshens I +think she is safe. The other two were on the opposite tack, ten or +twelve miles away to the west. The schooner was heading after them, +but was at least fifteen miles from them." + +"She is very fast in a light wind like this, they say." + +"Well, if she should catch them, they ought to be able to beat her +off, Jacques, as they are two to one. So far I think your chance of +getting your three shares is a good one." + +"Maybe, lad. I have not had much luck so far. I began on the sea when +I was eleven. At twenty-one I had to go into the navy, and it was +seven years later when I got back to Dunkirk after that spell in the +prison. I did not report myself, for I had no wish to do any more +man-of-wars' work; and now I have had six years privateers' work, and +have not made much by it. If I get back this time and get those three +shares I will buy a fine fishing smack for myself and a snug little +house on shore. There is some one I promised--if the voyage turned out +well--she should have a nice little house of her own, and she promised +to wait for me. After that, no more long voyages for me. I suppose we +may as well go down to the harbor now, lad. They are sure to come back +sooner or later, whether they catch any of the privateers or not." + +"Oh, yes! we shall be all safe now. We will be on the beach when they +come in. When they see that we are alone and unarmed there's no chance +of their firing. We can go up occasionally to the cliffs and watch for +them." + +It was not until the following evening that the frigate was seen +approaching the island. + +"She will take another four or five hours to work in," Jacques said, +"and they are not likely to try to land till to-morrow morning. All +their boats and half their men are away in the schooner. I should +think she would be back to-morrow morning. Either she caught them +before it got dark last night--which I don't think likely--or they +will have given her the slip in the night. In that case she might look +about for another day and then make sail to rejoin." + +As Jacques predicted the schooner was seen by daylight eight or ten +miles away. + +"We may as well hoist a white flag, Jacques. The captain of the +frigate will be savage that all the privateers have escaped him, but +it may put him into a good temper if he takes possession here before +the schooner arrives." + +Ralph ran down to the storehouse, got hold of a sheet and an oar, and +a white flag was soon hoisted on the top of the cliff. Five minutes +later two gigs were seen rowing off from the frigate. Ralph and +Jacques took their places on the battery. When the boats reached the +mouth of the narrow entrance the order was given for the men to lay on +their oars. Ralph shouted at the top of his voice: + +"You can come on, sir! We are the only two here!" + +The order was given to row on, and Ralph and his companion at once +went down to meet them at the end of the harbor. The captain himself +was in the stern of his own gig, while a young lieutenant held the +lines in the other boat. + +"Who are you? the captain asked, as he stepped ashore on the little +wharf. You are English by your speech." + +"I am English, sir. I was on board a fishing boat in the channel when +we were run down by one of those privateers in the dark. I believe the +fisherman with me was drowned, but I clung to the bobstay and was got +on board. She was on her way out here and had no opportunity of +landing me. She only arrived here two days before you came up." + +"You are not a fisherman?" the captain said abruptly. + +"No, sir; my mother is living at Dover, and I was at school there. I +lost my father, who was an architect, some years ago." + +"And who is this who is with you?" + +"He is a sailor in the brig I came out in, and has been extremely kind +to me during the voyage, and kept the others from persecuting me." + +"How is it he is left behind?" the captain asked. + +"He was round the other side of the island watching the schooner," +Ralph replied, "and the others sailed away without him;" for Ralph had +agreed with Jacques that it was better to say nothing about the +signalling. + +"Have you done any fighting since you were on board the privateer?" +the captain asked sternly. + +"No, sir. We have only exchanged shots with one ship since we sailed. +She fired one broadside and the privateer drew off a good deal +damaged. Another was surprised by night, but I took no part in it. I +don't know what she was laden with or what was her name." + +"Well, lad, your story sounds truthful, and will, of course, be +inquired into when we get to England. As to this man, he is of course +a prisoner." + +"I hope not, sir," Ralph pleaded. "He has not been taken with arms in +his hands, and is, in fact, a castaway mariner." + +The captain's face relaxed into a smile. "I see you are a sort of sea +lawyer. Well, we shall see about it. What is there in these +storehouses?" + +"A quantity of things, sir. They took away a great many with them, but +there must be ten times as much left. I heard them say they had the +cargoes of more than twenty ships here." + +"That is satisfactory at any rate," the captain said. "Mr. Wylde, will +you just take a look round these storehouses and see what there is +worth taking away. You had better take my boat's crew as well as your +own to help you to turn things over. Are you quite sure, lad, that +there is no one beside yourselves on the island?" + +"I can't say that, sir. The orders were for all hands to embark last +night, and so far as I know none of them were left behind except +Jacques Clery. We have been here for two days now and have seen no +one, so I do not think any one else can have been left." + +"How did you get on on board the brig?" the captain asked. "I suppose +you cannot speak French?" + +"I couldn't speak any French when I first was got on board, sir, but I +picked up a great deal on the voyage out. Jacques speaks English very +well. He was a prisoner in England for three years, and learned it +there, and it was that which caused him to speak to me directly he had +got me on board, for no one else understood me. So he set to work at +once to help me in my French, so that I could get along. The captain +was very kind too. He said that as I had been picked up in that way he +should not treat me as a prisoner; but he expected me to make myself +useful, and, of course, I did so. It was the only way of having a +comfortable life." + +"Is this the only place the privateers had on shore here?" the captain +asked, looking round. "I only see one or two huts." + +"The storekeepers lived in them, sir. They stopped behind to look +after things when the privateers were away. The men slept on board +their vessels, only landing to disembark the cargoes they had +captured, and for a drunken spree when they first returned. I am sure +they have no other place." + +"So your brig only arrived here four days ago? I was puzzled in the +morning when I saw there were two brigs and a schooner when we had +only expected one brig. Of course your arrival accounts for that. What +was her name, and how many guns and men did she carry?" + +"She was La Belle Marie of Dunkirk," Ralph replied. "She carried +fourteen guns, mostly eighteen-pounders, and a thirty-two-pounder on a +pivot. She had eighty hands at first, but eight of them went away in +the prize." + +"Do you know whether she has gone off straight for France or whether +she is going to remain here?" + +"From what I gathered from the men, sir, I believe the other two +privateers are going straight home. They loaded up from the +storehouses, taking, of course, the most valuable stuff. There was a +great deal of copper, but what the rest was I do not know. Our brig +was loaded up too, but I believe her intention was to transfer her +cargo into the first prize she took and send it to France. I do not +know whether she was going to cruise about here for a time, but I +should rather think that now that her consorts have gone and this +place been discovered she will not stay here, for she never intended +to cruise in these waters long. I know that her destination was the +Indian Ocean, and she intended to capture Indiamen on their way out or +home." + +"In that case our expedition has been more satisfactory than I +expected," the captain said. "We shall have discovered and destroyed +their depot here, captured anyhow some valuable stuff, and caused the +two privateers that we have been hunting for so long to leave the +islands, to say nothing of this brig of yours, of which we had not +heard. Well, Mr. Wylde, what is your report?" + +"It will take a long time to go through the whole sir, but I should +say that we have taken a most valuable prize. Part of the goods +consist of produce of these parts--puncheons of rum and hogsheads of +sugar in any number. Then I see they have left a good many tons of +copper behind them; overlooked them, I suppose, in the hurry of +loading. A considerable portion of the stores consist of home +produce--cottons, cloths, silks, furniture, musical instruments, +mirrors, and, in fact, goods of all kinds." + +"That is most satisfactory, Mr. Wylde, and we sha'n't have had our +trouble for nothing. Ah! here come the other boats." + +As he spoke the pinnaces, long-boats, and cutters of the two ships of +war dashed into the harbor, and in a minute or two reached the +landing-place. + +"So they gave you the slip as well as me, Chambers?" Captain Wilson +said. + +"Confound them, yes. I was within about four miles of them at sunset, +but they both gave me the slip in the dark." + +"Mine fairly outsailed me," Captain Wilson said. "I am afraid we have +made rather a mess of the affair; though we acted for the best, and I +don't see how we could have done otherwise. However. I have learned +that the brig and the schooner we have been chasing so long have made +straight for France, so that we shall have no more trouble with them. +The other brig, which only arrived two days before we chased the +others in here, has, it is believed, also gone off. So we shan't have +done so badly; for we can report that we have found out and destroyed +their nest here, and I fancy from what my lieutenant says we have made +a very valuable capture, enough to give us all a round sum in +prize-money." + +"That will be some consolation," the other laughed; "but I would give +my share of it if I could but have come up with and engaged those +rascally craft I have been hunting all over the islands for these last +two years. Whom have we got here--two prisoners?" + +"Well, I hardly know whether they can be called prisoners. One is an +English lad who was in a boat they run down in the channel, and who, I +dare say, they were glad to get rid of. It seems that he is a +gentleman's son, and his story is clear enough. The other belongs to +the brig I chased, which it seems only arrived here two days ago. The +young fellow says that he has been particularly kind to him, and has +begged me to regard him in the light of a castaway sailor, seeing that +he was found here unarmed and away from his ship. I think there is +something in his plea; and as there is no credit or glory to be +obtained from handing over one prisoner, I consider that under the +circumstances we shall be justified in letting him go ashore quietly +and in saying nothing about it. At one time the man was a prisoner of +war in England and has picked up our language, so I dare say he will +be able to manage to find his way home without difficulty." + +"What are you thinking of doing with all this stuff?" Captain Chambers +asked, pointing to the storehouses. + +"I think we had better take it away with us. I don't like turning the +Alert into a storeship; but it would be better to do that than to have +the expense of chartering two or three ships to come here to fetch it +away. Beside, if I did that, you would have to stop here until it is +all carried away, and to burn the storehouses afterward." + +"Then by all means let us load up," Captain Chambers said. "I +certainly have no wish to be kept here for six weeks or a couple of +months. I will go out and bring the Seagull in at once." + +"The sooner the better, Chambers. I will set a couple of boats at work +at once to take soundings here and in the channel. If I can get the +Alert in I will; it would save a lot of trouble and time." + +It was found that the channel and the harbor inside contained an +abundance of water for the frigate. The width between the rocks was, +however, only just sufficient to let her through; and, therefore, +while the schooner sailed boldly in, the frigate was towed in by her +boats. The next morning the work of shipping the contents of the +storehouses commenced, but so large was the quantity of goods stored +up that it took six days of hard work before all was safely on board. +The sailors, however, did not grudge the trouble, for they knew that +every box and bale meant so much prize-money. + +"I hope we shall meet nothing we ought to chase on our way to Port +Royal," Captain Wilson said, looking with some disgust at the two +vessels. "It has brought the Alert nearly two feet lower in the water; +while as to the Seagull she is laden down like a collier." + +"Yes, her wings are clipped for the present," Captain Chambers +replied. "Of course those rascals carried off the pick of their booty +with them; but we may be well content with what they left behind. It +will be the best haul that we have made for some years. As a rule, the +most we have to hope for is the money fetched by the sale of any +privateer we may catch, and they generally go for next to nothing. I +retract what I said--that I would give my share of the prize-money to +come up with the privateers. I certainly never calculated on such a +haul as this. I suppose they intend to have gone on storing away their +booty till the war came to an end, and then to have chartered a dozen +ships to carry it away." + +Captain Wilson had introduced Ralph to the midshipmen, telling them he +would be in their mess till he reached port. He was soon at home among +them, and his clothes were replaced by some they lent him. Jacques +made himself equally at home among the crew. Captain Wilson had +intimated to the first lieutenant that the man was not to be +considered as a prisoner, but as a castaway, picked up on the island; +and from his cheery temper, his willingness to lend a hand and make +himself useful in any way, and his knowledge of their language, he was +soon a favorite with them. + +When all the goods were on board fire was applied to the storehouses +and huts. The two vessels were then towed out of the harbor, and +hoisting sail made for Port Royal. The winds were light, and it was +six days before they entered the harbor. A signal was at once hoisted +from the flagship there for the captain to come on board. + +"I have no doubt he is in a towering rage at our appearance," Captain +Wilson said to the first lieutenant; "but I fancy he will change his +tone pretty quickly when he learns what we have got on board. His +share of the prize money will come to a pretty penny." + +The next morning a number of lighters came alongside the ships, and +the work of discharging the cargo commenced. After breakfast Ralph and +Jacques were rowed ashore. + +"You will want some money to pay for your passage, young gentleman." +Captain Wilson said to Ralph before leaving the ship. "I will +authorize you to tell an agent that I will be security for the payment +of your passage-money." + +"I am very much obliged to you, sir," Ralph replied; "but I shall work +my way home if I can. I have learned to be pretty handy on board the +privateer, and I would as lief be working forward as dawdling about +aft all the way home. Beside, I don't want to inconvenience my mother +by her being called upon suddenly to pay thirty or forty pounds +directly I get home. I have caused her trouble enough as it is." + +"That's, right, my lad," the captain said. "I like your spirit. Have +you money enough to pay for your hotel expenses while you are waiting +for a ship?" + +"Yes, thank you, sir. The French captain said I had fairly earned +wages, and gave me ten napoleons when he started." + +"He must have been a good sort of fellow," the captain said; "though I +wish we had caught him for all that. Well, good-by, and a pleasant +voyage home." + +Ralph put up at a quiet boarding-house, kept by a Mulatto woman. He +and Jacques got a fresh rig-out of clothes at once, and went down to +the port to inquire about ships. Ralph was greatly amused at the +aspect of the streets crowded with chattering negroes and negresses, +in gaudy colors. The outlay of a few pence purchased an almost +unlimited supply of fruit, and Ralph and his companion sat down on a +log of wood by the wharves and enjoyed a feast of pine apples, +bananas, and custard apples. Then they set about their work. In an +hour both were suited. Jacques Clery shipped as a foremast hand on +board an American trading schooner, which was about to return to New +York; while Ralph obtained a berth before the mast in a fine bark that +would sail for England in a few days. + +Next morning they said good-by to each other, for Jacques had to go on +board after breakfast. They made many promises to see each other again +when the war came to an end. + +"I shall never forget your kindness, Jacques; and if I am still at +Dover when peace is proclaimed I will run over to Dunkirk by the very +first vessel that sails." + +"As for the kindness, it is nothing," Jacques replied; "and beside +that, you saved my life from that snake. I dream sometimes of the +beast still. And it was really owing to you that I am here now, and +that I shall get a round sum coming to me when I return home. If it +hadn't been for you I should not have been chosen to stop behind and +get three shares instead of one of the prize money. And in the next +place it is your doing that I am free to start at once, and to make my +way back as soon as I can, instead of spending four or five years, it +may be, in an English prison. Why, my Louise will be ready to jump for +joy when she sees me arrive, instead of having to wait another two +years for me, with the chance of my never coming back at all; and she +will hardly believe me when I tell her that I shall be able to afford +to buy that fishing boat and set up in a house of our own at once; and +she will be most surprised of all when I tell her that it is all owing +to an English boy I fished on board on a dark night in the channel." + +"Well, Jacques, we won't dispute as to which owes the other most. +Anyhow, except for my mother, I am not sorry I have made the trip in +the Belle Maire. I have seen a lot of life, and have had a rare +adventure; and I have learned so much of sailor's work, that if I am +ever driven to it I can work my way anywhere before the mast in +future." + +Ralph went on board his own ship as soon as he had seen Jacques off, +and was soon hard at work assisting to hoist on board hogsheads of +sugar and other produce. He was startled by the sound of a heavy gun. +It was answered presently by all the ships of war in the harbor and by +the forts on shore, and for five minutes the heavy cannonade +continued. The captain, who had been on shore, crossed the gangway on +to the ship as the crew were gazing in surprise at the cannonade, +exchanging guesses as to its cause. + +"I have great news, lads," he said. "Peace is proclaimed, and Napoleon +has surrendered, and is to be shut up in the Isle of Elba in the +Mediterranean. No more fear of privateers or French prisons." + +The crew burst into a hearty cheer. This was indeed surprising news. +It was known that Wellington was gradually driving back the French +marshals in the south of France, and that the allies were marching +toward Paris. But Napoleon had been so long regarded as invincible, +that no one had really believed that his downfall was imminent. + +Four days later the cargo was all on board, and the Fanny sailed for +England. The voyage was accomplished without adventure. As soon as the +vessel entered dock and the crew were discharged Ralph landed, and +having purchased a suit of landsman clothes, presented his kit to a +lad of about his own age, who had been his special chum on board the +Fanny, and then made his way to the inn from which the coaches for +Dover started. Having secured a place for next day, dined, and ordered +a bed, he passed the evening strolling about the streets of London, +and next morning at six o'clock took his place on the coach. + +"Going back from school, I suppose, young gentleman?" a +military-looking man seated next to him on the coach remarked as soon +as they had left the streets behind them, and were rattling along the +Old Kent Road. + +"No, I am not going home from school," Ralph said with a smile. "At +least not from the sort of school you mean; though I have been +learning a good deal too. I arrived yesterday from the West Indies." + +"Indeed!" the gentleman said, scrutinizing him closely. "I see you +look sunburned and weather-beaten now that I look at you; but somehow +I should not have put you down as a sailor." + +"Well, I am not exactly a sailor; though I may say I have worked as +one before the mast both out and home. That was my first experience; +and I suppose one takes longer than that to get the regular nautical +manner." + +"Before the mast, were you? Then I suppose you have been getting into +some scrape at home, young sir, and run away; for, from your +appearance, you would hardly have been before the mast otherwise. Boys +never know what is good for them. But I suppose after your experience +you will be inclined to put up with any disagreeables you may have at +home rather than try running away again?" + +"You are mistaken!" Ralph said with a laugh. "I did not run away. I +was run away with!" + +"Kidnapped!" the gentleman said in surprise. "I know that merchantmen +have often difficulty in getting hands owing to the need of men for +the navy, but I did not know that they had taken to press-gangs on +their own account." + +"No, I don't know that they have come to that," Ralph replied. "The +fact is, sir, I was out fishing a few miles off Dover, when the smack +I was in was run down in the dark by a French privateer. I was hauled +on board, and as she was bound for the West Indies I had to make the +voyage whether I liked it or not." + +"How long ago is it that you were run down?" + +"About five months," Ralph replied. + +"Why, you are not the son of Mrs. Conway of Dover, are you?" + +"Yes, I am, sir. Do you know her, and can you tell me how she is?" +Ralph asked eagerly. + +"I believe that she is well, although of course she must have suffered +very greatly at your disappearance. I haven't the pleasure of knowing +her personally, but several friends of mine are acquainted with her. I +heard the matter talked about at the time the boat was missing. Some +portions of her were picked up by other fishing boats, and by the +shattered state of some of the planks they said that she had been run +down; beside, there had been no wind about the time she disappeared, +so that there was little doubt some vessel or other had cut her down. +I happened to hear of it from Colonel Bryant, who is a friend of your +mother." + +"Yes, I know him," Ralph put in. + +"I have heard Colonel Bryant say that she has not altogether abandoned +hope, and still clings to the idea that you may have been run down by +some outward-bound ship and that you had been saved and carried away, +and that she declares that she shall not give up all hope until ample +time has elapsed for a ship to make the voyage to India and return." + +"I am very glad of that," Ralph said. "It has been a great trouble to +me that she would be thinking all this time that I was dead. I should +not have minded having been carried away so much if I had had a chance +of writing to her to tell her about it; but I never did have a chance, +for I came home by the very first ship that left Port Royal after I +arrived there." + +"But how did you get away from the French privateer--was she +captured?" + +"Well, it is rather a long story, sir," Ralph said modestly. + +"All the better," the gentleman replied. "We have got fourteen hours +journey before us, and your story will help pass the time; so don't +try to cut it short, but let me have it in full." Ralph thereupon told +the story, which lasted until the coach reached Tunbridge, where it +stopped for the passengers to dine. + +"Well, that is an adventure worth going through," the officer, who had +already mentioned that his name was Major Barlow, said; "and it was +well for you, lad, that you possessed good spirits and courage. A man +who is cheerful and willing under difficulties will always make his +way in the world, while one who repines and kicks against his fate +only makes it harder for him. I have no doubt that if, instead of +taking matters coolly when you found yourself on board the privateer +you had fretted and grumbled, you would have been made a drudge and +kicked and cuffed by everyone on board. You would not have had a +chance of landing at that island or of being chosen to make the signal +when they went away, and you would now be leading the life of a dog on +board that brig. Cheerful and willing are two of the great watchwords +of success in life, and certainly you have found it so." + +It was eight o'clock when the coach rattled up the streets of Dover. +Major Barlow had already offered Ralph to take him to Colonel Bryant's +quarters, and to ask the colonel to go with him to call on Mrs. Conway +and prepare her for Ralph's coming. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A COMMISSION. + + +Colonel Bryant was just rising from dinner at the mess when Major +Barlow and Ralph arrived at the barracks, and after congratulating the +lad on his return he willingly agreed to accompany them to Mrs. +Conway. A quarter of an hour's walk took them to her house. Ralph +remained outside when the two officers entered. Colonel Bryant lost no +time in opening the subject. + +"I have brought my friend Major Barlow to introduce to you, Mrs. +Conway, because he has happened to hear some news that may, I think, +bear upon the subject that you have most at heart." + +"Ralph!" Mrs. Conway exclaimed, clasping her hands. + +"We think it may refer to your son, Mrs. Conway," Major Barlow said. +"I have just returned from town, and happened to hear that a vessel +had been spoken with that reported having picked up a lad from a smack +run down in the channel some five months ago, which corresponds pretty +well, I think, with the time your son was missing." + +"Just the time," Mrs. Conway said. "Did they not say the name?" + +"Well, yes. The name, as far as I heard it, for as I had not the +pleasure of knowing you I was not of course so interested in the +matter, was the same as yours." + +"I think that there is no doubt about it, Mrs. Conway," Colonel Bryant +said kindly. "I consider you may quite set your mind at ease, for I +have no doubt whatever it is your son who has been picked up." Mrs. +Conway was so much overcome that she sank into a chair and sat for a +short time with her face in her hand, crying happy tears and thanking +God for his mercy. Then with a great effort she aroused herself. + +"You will excuse my emotion, gentlemen, and I am sure you can +understand my feelings. I am thankful indeed for the news you have +brought me. I have never ceased for a moment to hope that my boy would +be restored to me; but the knowledge that it is so, and that God has +spared him to me, is for the moment overpowering. And where was the +ship met with, Major Barlow, and where was she bound for? How long do +you think it is likely to be before Ralph comes home?" + +"Well, Mrs. Conway," Major Barlow said, hesitating a little, "the ship +was bound for India; but I understood from what was said that the +vessel, that is the vessel that brought the news, had also brought +home the lad who had been carried away." + +"Then, in that case," Mrs. Conway cried, "he may be home in a day or +two. Perhaps--perhaps--and she paused and looked from one to the +other. + +"Perhaps he is here already," Colonel Bryant said gently. "Yes, Mrs. +Conway, if you feel equal to it you may see him at once." No word was +needed. Major Barlow opened the door, went through the hall, and +called Ralph, and in another moment the lad was clasped in his +mother's arms, and the two officers without another word went quietly +out and left them to themselves. It was some time before a coherent +word could be spoken by mother or son, and it was not until they had +knelt down together and returned thanks to God for Ralph's restoration +that they were able to talk quietly of what had passed. Then Mrs. +Conway poured out question after question, but Ralph refused to enter +upon a narrative of his adventures. + +"It's a long story, mother, and will keep very well till to-morrow. It +is past nine o'clock now, and I am sure that you want a night's rest +after this excitement; and after fourteen hours on a coach, I sha'n't +be sorry to be in bed myself. Beside, I want you to tell me first how +you have been getting on while I have been away, and all the news +about everyone; but even that will keep. I think, mother, a cup of tea +first and then bed will be best for us both." + +The next morning Ralph related all his adventures to his mother, who +was surprised indeed at his story. + +"I suppose poor old Joe was never heard of, mother?" + +"No, Ralph. His son has been up here a good many times to inquire if +we had any news of you. He has gone into another fishing boat now, and +his sister has gone out to service. Their mother died years ago, you +know." + +"I was afraid that he had gone straight down, mother. Nobody on board +the brig heard any cry or shout for help. He must have been injured in +the collision." + +"I must write to-day to Mr. Penfold. He has written to me several +times, and has been most kind. He has all along said that he believed +you would turn up one of these days, for as the weather was fine and +the sea fairly calm when you were run down, the probabilities in favor +of your being picked up were great, especially as you were such a good +swimmer. I am sure he will be delighted to hear of your return." + +"I hope he will not be wanting me to go straight off down there +again," Ralph said ruefully. "I was only back with you one day, +mother, after my visit to them, and now I have been five months away +it will be very hard if I am to be dragged off again." + +"I am sure Mr. Penfold will not be so unreasonable as to want to take +you away from me," Mrs. Conway said. + +"And am I to go back to school again, mother?" + +"Not now, certainly, Ralph. The holidays will be beginning in a +fortnight again; beside, you know, we were talking anyhow of your +leaving at the end of this half year." + +"That's right, mother. It's high time I was doing something for +myself. Beside, after doing a man's work for the last five months I +shouldn't like to settle down to lessons again." + +"Well, we must think about it, Ralph, You know I consented greatly +against my will to your choosing the army for your profession, and I +am not going to draw back from that. You are just sixteen now, and +although that is rather young I believe that a good many lads do get +their commissions somewhere about that age. In one of his letters Mr. +Penfold said that as soon as you came back he would take the matter in +hand, and though I have good interest in other quarters and could +probably manage it, Mr. Penfold has a great deal more than I have, and +as he has expressed his willingness to arrange it I shall be grateful +to him for doing so." + +"That will be first rate, mother," Ralph said in delight. "I thought +in another year I might get my commission; but of course it would be +ever so much better to get it a year earlier." + +For the next few days Ralph was a hero among his boy friends, and had +to tell his story so often that at last he told his mother that if it +wasn't for leaving her so soon he should be quite ready to go off +again for another visit to Mr. Penfold. + +"You won't be called upon to do that," she said smiling; "for this +letter that I have just opened is from him, and he tells me he is +coming here at once to see you, for he thinks it would be too hard to +ask me to spare you again so soon." + +"You don't mean to say that he is coming all that way?" Ralph said in +surprise. "Well, I am very glad." + +"He asks me in his letter," Mrs. Conway said with a passing smile of +amusement, "if I can take in a young friend of his, Miss Mabel +Withers. He says she has never been from home before, and that it +would be a treat for her to get away and see a little of the world. He +is going to stop a few days in London, and show her the sights on his +way back." + +"That will be very jolly, mother. You know I told you what a nice sort +of girl she was, and how well we got on together. I don't know how I +should have got through my visit there if it hadn't been for her. Her +father and mother were very kind too, and I was often over at their +house." + +Mr. Penfold had not succeeded in inducing Mr. and Mrs. Withers to +allow Mabel to accompany him without much argument. "You know what I +have set my mind on, Mrs. Withers," he said. "But of course such an +idea doesn't enter the young people's heads, it would be very +undesirable that it should do. But now Ralph has returned he will be +wanting to get his commission at once, and then he may be away on +foreign service for years, and I do think it would be a good thing for +the young people to see as much of each other as possible before he +goes. If anything happens to me before he comes back, and you know how +probable it is that this will be the case, they would meet almost as +strangers, and I do want to see my pet scheme at least on the way to +be carried out before I go. It would be a treat for Mabel, and I am +sure that Mrs. Conway will look after her well." + +"How long are you thinking of stopping there, Mr. Penfold?" + +"Oh, ten days or a fortnight. I shall be a day or two in town as I go +through, for I want to arrange about Ralph's commission. Then, +perhaps, I shall persuade Mrs. Conway to come up with Ralph to town +with us, and to go about with the young people to see the sights. Now, +if you and Mrs. Withers would join us there, that would complete my +happiness." + +The clergyman and his wife both said that this was impossible. But Mr. +Penfold urged his request with so much earnestness, that at last they +agreed to come up to town and stay with him at a hotel. And, indeed, +when they recovered from the first surprise at the proposal, both of +them thought that the trip would be an extremely pleasant one; for in +those days it was quite an event in the lives of people residing at a +distance from a town to pay a visit to the metropolis. + +"Then everything is arranged delightfully," Mr. Penfold said. "This +will be a holiday indeed for me; and however much you may all enjoy +yourselves I shall enjoy myself a great deal more. Now, I suppose I +may tell Mabel of our arrangement?" + +"But you don't know that Mrs. Conway will take her in yet. Surely you +are going to wait to hear from her?" + +"Indeed I am not, Mrs. Withers. I am as impatient as a schoolboy to be +off. And I am perfectly certain that Mrs. Conway will be very glad to +receive her. She knows Mabel, for I have given her an idea of my fancy +about that matter; and of course she will be glad to learn something +of your girl." + +"But she may not have a spare room," Mrs. Withers urged feebly. + +"It is not likely," Mr. Penfold said decisively; "and if there should +be any difficulty on that score it will be very easily managed, as +Ralph can give up his room to Mabel, and come and stay at the hotel +with me." + +Mr. Withers laughed. "I see that it is of no use raising objections, +Penfold; you are armed at all points. I scarcely know you, and have +certainly never seen you possessed of such a spirit of determination." + +Mr. Penfold smiled. "It would have been better for me, perhaps, if I +had always been so determined, Withers. At any rate I mean to have my +own way in this matter. I have not had a real holiday for years." + +So Mr. Penfold had his own way, and carried off Mabel wild with +delight and excitement upon the day after he had received Mrs. +Conway's letter. There was no shade of embarrassment in the meeting +between Mrs. Conway and the man who had once been her lover. It was +like two old and dear friends who had long been separated and now come +together again. Mr. Penfold's first words after introducing Mabel had +reference to Ralph. + +"Your boy has grown quite a man, Mary, in the last six months. I +scarcely recognized the bronzed young fellow who met vis at the coach +office as the lad who was down with me in the summer. Don't you see +the change, Mabel?" + +"Yes, he is quite different," the girl said. "Why, the first time I +saw him he was as shy as shy could be. It was quite hard work getting +on with him. Now he seems quite a man." + +"Nothing like that yet, Mabel," Ralph protested. + +"Not a man!" Mr. Penfold exclaimed. "What! after wandering about as a +pirate, capturing ships, and cutting men's throats for anything I +know, and taking part in all sorts of atrocities? I think he's +entitled to think himself very much a man." + +Ralph laughed. + +"Not as bad as that, Mr. Penfold. They did take one ship, but I had +nothing to do with it; and there were no throats cut. I simply made a +voyage out and back as a boy before the mast; and, as far as I have +been concerned, the ship might have been a peaceful trader instead of +a French privateer." + +"Well, Mary, you have not changed much all these years," Mr. Penfold +said turning to Mrs. Conway, while the two young people began to talk +to each other. "I had thought you would be much more changed; but time +has treated you much more kindly than it has me. You are thirty-seven, +if I remember right, and you don't look thirty. I am forty, and look +at the very least ten years older." + +Mrs. Conway did not contradict him, for she could not have done so +with truth. + +"You are changed, Herbert; a great deal changed," she said sadly, +"although I should have know you anywhere. You are so much thinner +than when I saw you last; but your eyes have not changed, nor your +smile. Of course your hair having got gray makes a difference, +and--and--" and she stopped. + +"I am changed altogether, Mary. I was a headstrong, impetuous young +fellow then. I am a fragile and broken man now. But I am happy to meet +you again. Very happy in the thought that I can benefit your son. I +have an interest in life now that I wanted before; and in spite of my +being anxious about Ralph while he was away, have been happier for the +last six months than I have been for seventeen years past." Mrs. +Conway turned away to conceal the tears that stood in her eyes, and a +moment later said: + +"I am a most forgetful hostess, Mabel. I have not even asked you to +take off your things. Please come along and let me show you your room. +Supper will be ready in a minute or two, and here are we stopping and +forgetting that you and Mr. Penfold must be almost famished." + +As soon as they had sat down to supper, Mr. Penfold said, "By the way, +Ralph, I have a piece of news for you. We stopped a couple of days, +you know, in town, and I saw my friend at the Horse Guards, and had a +chat about you. He seemed to think that you would be better if you +were a few months older; but as he acknowledged that many commissions +had been given to lads under sixteen, and as you had just arrived at +that age, and as I told him you have had no end of experience with +pirates and buccaneers, and all that sort of thing, he was silenced, +and your commission will appear in the next _Gazette_." + +"Oh, Mr. Penfold!" Ralph exclaimed as he leaped from his seat in +delight. "I am obliged to you. That is glorious. I hardly even hoped I +could get a commission for some months to come. Don't look sad, +mother," he said, running round and kissing her. "I shan't be going +out of England yet, you know; and now the war is over you need have no +fear of my getting killed, and a few months sooner or later cannot +make much difference." + +"I shall bear it in time, Ralph," his mother said, trying to smile +through her tears. "But it comes as a shock just at first." + +The sight of his mother's tears sobered Ralph for a time, and during +supper the conversation was chiefly supported by Mr. Penfold, who +joked Ralph about his coming back in a few years a general without +arms or legs; and was, indeed, so cheerful and lively that Mabel could +scarcely believe her ears, so wholly unlike was he to the quiet friend +she had known as long as she could remember. The next fortnight was a +delightful one to Mabel, and indeed to all the party. Every day they +went driving-excursions through the country round. Ramsgate and Deal +and Folkestone were visited, and they drove over to Canterbury and +spent a night there visiting the grand cathedral and the old walls. + +The weather was too cold for the water, for Christmas was close at +hand; but everything that could be done was done to make the time pass +happily. Mrs. Conway exerted herself to lay aside her regrets at +Ralph's approaching departure, and to enter into the happiness which +Mr. Penfold so evidently felt. The day before their departure for town +an official letter arrived for Ralph, announcing that he was gazetted +into his majesty's 28th Regiment of foot, and that he was in one +month's date from that of his appointment to join his regiment at +Cork. + +"Now, Miss Mabel," Mr. Penfold said gayly, after the first talk over +the commission was concluded, "you will have for the future to treat +Mr. Ralph Conway with the respect due to an officer in his majesty's +service." + +"I don't see any change in him at present," the girl said, examining +Ralph gravely. + +The boy burst into a laugh. + +"Wait till you see him in uniform, Mabel," Mr. Penfold went on. "I am +afraid that respect is one of the moral qualities in which you are +deficient. Still I think that when you see Ralph in his uniform, you +will be struck with awe." + +"I don't think so," Mabel said, shaking her head. "I don't think he +will frighten me, and I feel almost sure that he won't frighten the +Frenchmen." + +"My dear child," Mr. Penfold said gravely, "you don't know what Ralph +is going to turn out yet. When you see him come back from the wars +seven or eight inches taller than he is now, with great whiskers, and +perhaps three or four ornamental scars on his face, you will be quite +shocked when you reflect that you once treated this warrior as a +playfellow." + +Upon the following day the party went up to London, and were joined +next morning by Mr. and Mrs. Withers. Mabel declared that she did not +think any people ever could have enjoyed themselves so much as they +all did. They went to Exeter 'Change to see the animals and to the +theater at Drury Lane, to the Tower and Ranelagh Gardens, to +Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, and they went down by coach to +Hampton Court and to Greenwich, and they saw his majesty the king +review the Guards in Hyde Park. Altogether it was a glorious +fortnight. Mr. Penfold was the life and soul of the party, and had he +had his way they would have seen far more than they did. But Mr. and +Mrs. Withers and Mrs. Conway all said that they wanted to enjoy +themselves and not to be worn out, and several times they stayed at +home when Mr. Penfold and the two young people went to see sights, or +to wander about the streets and look at the shops, which was as great +a treat as any thing. Mr. Penfold went with Ralph to a military tailor +and ordered his outfit, and to other shops, where he purchased such a +stock of other garments that Mrs. Conway declared Ralph would require +nothing for years. On the last day of the fortnight the uniforms and +trunks and clothes all arrived at the hotel, and of course Ralph had +to dress up and buckle on his sword for the first time. Mrs. Conway +shed a few tears, and would have shed more had not Mr. Penfold made +every one laugh so; and Mabel was seized with a fit of shyness for the +first time in her life when Mr. Penfold insisted that the ladies +should all kiss the young officer in honor of the occasion. And the +next morning the whole party went down to the wharf below London +Bridge to see Ralph on board the packet for Cork. Before leaving the +hotel Mr. Penfold slipped an envelope with ten crisp five pound notes +in it into Ralph's hand. + +"I have paid in, my boy, two hundred pounds to the regimental agents, +and in future shall make you an allowance of the same amount every +year. You will see what other officers spend. My advice to you is: do +not spend more than others, and do not spend less. Money will keep +very well, you know, and a little reserve may always come in useful. +When you once go on foreign service you will not find much occasion +for money. I want you just to hold your own with others. I consider +that it is quite as unfortunate for a young man to spend more than +those around him as it is for him to be unable to spend as much. No, I +don't want any thanks at all. I told your mother I should look after +you, and I am going to, and it has given a vast pleasure to me to have +such an interest. Write to me occasionally, my boy; your letters will +give me great pleasure. And should you get into any scrape, tell me +frankly all about it." + +The evening before Mrs. Conway had had a long talk with Ralph. "I do +not think I need to give you much advice, my boy. You have already +been out in the world on your own account, and have shown that you can +make your way. You are going into a life, Ralph, that has many +temptations. Do not give way to them, my boy. Above all, set your face +against what is the curse of our times: over-indulgence in wine. It is +the ruin of thousands. Do not think it is manly to be vicious because +you see others are. Always live, if you can, so that if you kept a +true diary you could hand it to me to read without a blush on your +cheek; and always bear in mind, that though I shall not be there to +see you, a higher and purer eye will be upon you. You will try; won't +you, Ralph?" + +"I will indeed, mother." + +Mr. Penfold did his best to keep up the spirits of all of the party +when they parted on board the packet; but Mrs. Conway quite broke down +at last. Mabel cried unrestrainedly, and his own eyes had a suspicious +moisture in them as he shook hands with Ralph. Fortunately they had +arrived a little late at the wharf, and the partings were consequently +cut short. The bell rang, and all the visitors were hurried ashore; +then the hawsers were thrown off and the sails hoisted. As long as the +party remained in sight Ralph stood on the stern waving his +handkerchief to them; then, having removed the traces of tears from +his cheeks, he turned to look at what was going on around him. + +The packet was a brig of about two hundred tons, and she carried about +twenty passengers, of whom fully half Ralph judged by their appearance +to be military men. Before they had reached the mouth of the river he +found that one among them Captain O'Connor, belonged to his own +regiment, as did another young fellow about his own age named +Stapleton, who had been gazetted on the same day as himself. Captain +O'Connor, who was a cheery Irishman, full of life and spirits, at once +took Ralph in hand, and was not long in drawing from him the story of +his adventures with the privateers. + +"You will do, my lad. I can see you have got the roughness rubbed off +you already, and will get on capitally with the regiment. I can't say +as much for that young fellow Stapleton. He seems to be completely +puffed up with the sense of his own importance, and to be an unlicked +sort of cub altogether. However, I have known more unlikely subjects +than he is turn out decent fellows after a course of instruction from +the boys; but he will have rather a rough time of it at first I +expect. You will be doing him a kindness if you take an opportunity to +tell him that a newly-joined ensign is not regarded in the same light +as a commander-in-chief. It is like a new boy going to school, you +know. If fellows find out he is a decent sort of boy, they soon let +him alone; but if he is an ass, especially a conceited ass, he has +rather a rough time of it. As you are in the same cabin with him, and +have had the advantage of having knocked about the world a bit, you +might gently hint this to him." + +"I have been chatting with him a bit," Ralph said. "He has never been +to school, but has been brought up at home, and I think from what he +said he is the heir to an estate. He seemed rather to look down upon +schools." + +"So much the worse for him," Captain O'Connor said. "There is nothing +like a school for bringing a fellow to his level, unless it is a +regiment; and the earlier in life the process takes place the less +painful it is." + +"I don't think he will turn out a bad sort of fellow," Ralph said. "He +is, as you say, rather an ass at present. I will do what I can to give +him a hint; but as I should say he is at least a year older than I am, +I do not suppose it will be of much use." + +The voyage was a pleasant one, and Ralph was quite sorry when they +entered the Cove of Cork and dropped anchor. The next morning the ship +sailed up the river, and the following day the party disembarked. +Captain O'Connor's servant came on board as soon as the vessel reached +the quay, and his master charged him to pick out his luggage and that +of the two young officers; he then at once proceeded with them to the +barracks. Ralph felt extremely pleased that Captain O'Connor was with +them, as he felt none of the shyness and unpleasantness he would +otherwise have experienced in joining a set of entire strangers. + +Captain O'Connor was evidently a favorite in the regiment, for his +arrival was heartily greeted. He at once introduced the two lads to +their future comrades, took them to the colonel, looked after their +quarters, and made them at home. In their absence he spoke warmly in +favor of Ralph. "You will find Conway a first-rate young fellow. He +has seen something of the world, has been carried out to the West +Indies by a French privateersman, and has gone through a lot of +adventures. He is a bright, pleasant, good-tempered fellow. The other +is as green as grass, and has never been away from his mother's +apron-string. However, I do not think you will find him a bad sort of +fellow when he has got rid of his rawness. Don't be too hard upon him, +you boys. Remember easy does it, and don't be pushing your jokes too +far. He is not a fool and will come round in time." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +STARTLING NEWS. + + +Three weeks after Ralph's departure to join his regiment Mrs. Conway +received a letter which gave her a great shook. It was from Mrs. +Withers, and was as follows: + + "MY DEAR MRS. CONWAY: I have very sad news to tell you. An event + has happened which will, I know, be as afflicting to you as it has + been to us. Our dear friend Mr. Penfold, who but three weeks ago + was so bright and happy with us in London, has passed away + suddenly. Up to the day before yesterday he seemed in his usual + health; but yesterday morning he did not appear at breakfast, and + the servant on going up to his room, found him sitting in a chair + by his bedside dead. The bed had not been slept in, and it appears + as if before commencing to undress he had been seized with a + sudden faintness and had sunk into the chair and died without + being able to summon assistance. + + "His death is a terrible shock to us, as it will be to you. My + husband and myself have long been aware that our dear friend + suffered from disease of the heart, and that the doctor he + consulted in London had told him that his death might take place + at any moment. At the same time, he had been so bright and + cheerful in London, as indeed with us he was at all times, that + his death comes almost with as great a surprise to us as if we had + not known that he was in danger. Mr. Tallboys, the solicitor of + Weymouth who managed Mr. Penfold's affairs, called here last + night. The funeral is to take place on Thursday, and had Ralph + been in England he said that he should have written to him to come + down to it, which he could have done in time had he started + immediately he received the letter announcing the event; but as he + is over in Ireland, of course nothing can be done. + + "He said that had Ralph come he should have suggested that you + also should be present at the reading of the will, but that as + matters stand he did not think there was any occasion to trouble + you. I should tell you that Mr. Tallboys appeared a good deal + worried, and one of his reasons for calling was to ask my husband + whether he knew where Mr. Penfold was in the habit of keeping his + papers. It seems that upon the day after his return from London + Mr. Penfold called upon him and took away his will, saying that he + wanted to look over it, as he had two or three slight alterations + that he wanted to make, and he would bring it back in the course + of a day or two and get him to make the changes required. From + that time Mr. Penfold had not been in Weymouth, and, indeed, had + scarcely left the house except to come down here; for, as he said + to my husband, he did not feel quite himself, and supposed it was + a reaction after his late dissipations. + + "Mr. Tallboys, who is one of the executors named in the will, had + searched for it in the afternoon among Mr. Penfold's papers; but + found that it and several other documents--leases and so on--of + importance were all missing. He had asked Miss Penfold if she knew + where her brother was in the habit of keeping important papers; + but she replied shortly that she knew nothing whatever of her + brother's business matters. He had, therefore, driven over to ask + my husband, knowing how intimate he had been with poor Herbert. He + knew, it seems, that Mr. Penfold had some secure place for such + papers, because he had one day spoken to him upon the subject, + saying it would be more prudent for him to leave the leases in the + strong-box in his office at Weymouth. But Herbert replied that + they were stowed away in a far safer place, and that he had not + the least fear in the world of their being stolen. + + "Now, this is just what my husband knew also. Once when they were + chatting together Herbert mentioned that the house like many other + old mansions contained a secret chamber. He said: 'I can't tell + you where it is, Withers; for although it is never likely to be + used again, the knowledge of this hiding-place has been passed + down from generation to generation as a family secret. I gave a + solemn promise never to reveal it when I was first informed of its + existence; and although in these days there is no occasion to hide + priests or conspirators, I do not consider myself released from + the promise I gave. Possibly some day the hiding-place may prove + of value again. There may be a price set on the head of a Penfold, + who can tell? Anyhow it is likely to remain a secret as long as + the old house stands; and in the meantime I find it a useful place + for keeping things that I do not want lying about.' Mr. Tallboys + appeared very vexed at hearing what my husband said. + + "'It is very strange.' he said, 'that sensible men will do such + foolish things. It is probable enough that Herbert Penfold has + placed this will in the hiding-place you speak of, and in that + case I foresee that we shall have no end of trouble. I know you + are both aware of the nature of Mr. Penfold's will, and you may be + sure that if those sisters of his also know of it--whether they do + or not I can't say--they will bitterly resent it. I know enough of + the family history to know that. It was evident by Miss Penfold's + answer to me to-day that either she does not know the secret of + this hiding-place--which is of course possible--or that if she + does know she does not mean to say. I should imagine myself that + she does know. + + "'Had Herbert Penfold been of age when his father died it is + likely enough that he only as head of the family would have been + told by his father of its existence; but you see he was but a lad + at that time, while the Miss Penfolds were women, and were + therefore probably informed of the secret. It is very awkward, + extremely awkward. Of course the will may turn up between this and + the funeral; but if not I hardly know what steps had best be + taken. If those Penfold women have made up their minds that this + will shall not see the light they are likely to carry it through + to the end. My husband quite agreed with Mr. Tallboys about that, + and so do I. I have never been able to abide them, though, as my + husband says, they are good women in many respects, and always + ready to help in parish matters. Still I can't abide them, nor I + am sure have you any reason to do so; for when I and my husband + first came here we learned a good deal of the part they had played + in a certain matter, and that of course set me altogether against + them. + + "Of course, my dear Mrs. Conway, I do not wish to alarm you about + the will; still you ought to know how things stand, and my husband + this morning asked me to tell you all there was to tell. I hope in + a few days to be able to write and give you better news. Things + may not be as they fear." + +Mrs. Conway sat for a long time with this letter before her. She had +not read it straight through, but after glancing at the first few +lines that told of the death of Herbert Penfold she had laid it aside, +and it was a long time before she took it up again. He had been the +love of her youth; and although he had seemingly gone for so many +years out of her life, she knew that when she had found how he had all +this time watched over her and so delicately aided her, and that for +her sake he was going to make Ralph his heir, her old feeling had been +revived. Not that she had any thought that the past would ever return. +His letters indeed had shown that he regarded his life as approaching +its end; but since the receipt of that letter she had always thought +of him with a tender affection as one who might have been her husband +had not either evil fate or malice stepped in to prevent it. + +The fortnight they had spent in London had brought them very close +together. He had assumed the footing of a brother, but she had felt +that pleasant and kind as he was to all the rest of the party it was +for her sake alone that this festivity had been arranged. They had had +but one talk together alone, and she had then said that she hoped the +expressions he had used in his letter to her with reference to his +health were not altogether justified, for he seemed so bright and +well. He had shaken his head quietly and said: + +"It is just as well that you should know, Mary. I have seen my +physician since I came up to town, and I don't think it will last much +longer. A little time ago I did not wish it to last, now I should be +glad to go on until I can see my little scheme realized; but I am +quite sure that it is not to be. Anyhow I am ready to go when I am +summoned, and am happy in the thought that the few people I care for +are all in a fair way to be happy. Don't cry, dear. I don't want a +single cloud to hang over our memories of this time. I am happier than +I have ever been in my life, and I want you and all of them to be very +happy too. I have set my mind upon that, and if I see a cloud on your +face it will spoil it all." + +Still in spite of this she had hoped the doctor might have taken too +gloomy a view of the case, and that Herbert Penfold's death might yet +be a distant event. + +And now it was all over. Herbert Penfold was dead. The heart that had +beat so kindly for her was silenced forever. It was then a long time +before Mrs. Conway recovered sufficiently from her emotion to take up +the letter again. She did so with an air almost of indifference. She +had learned the news, and doubtless all this long epistle contained +many details of comparatively little interest. But as she read her air +of languid grief gave way to an expression of keen interest, and she +skimmed through the last page or two with anxious haste. Then she +reread it more slowly and carefully, and then throwing it on the table +stood up and walked up and down the little room. + +So these women, who had as she believed ruined her life and Herbert's, +were now going to attack her son and rob him of his rights. They +should not do it if she could help it. Never! Mary Vernon had been a +high-spirited girl, and, although those who had only known her through +her widowhood would have taken her for a gentle and quiet woman, whose +thoughts were entirely wrapped up in her boy, the old spirit was alive +yet, as with head thrown back, and an angry flush on her cheeks, she +declared to herself that she would defend Ralph's rights to the last. +How or in what manner she did not ask; she only knew that those who +would defraud him were her old enemies. + +Had it been otherwise the fact that they were Herbert's sisters would +have softened her toward them; now that fact only added to the +hostility she bore them. They, his nearest relations of blood, had +ruined his life; now they would defeat his dying wishes. It should not +be if she could help it. She would fight against it to the last day of +her life. There was of course nothing to be done yet. Nothing until +she heard again. Nothing until she knew that the discovery of the will +was given up as hopeless. Then it would be time for her to do +something. + +The thought barely occurred to her that the loss of this will might +make material difference in her own circumstances, and that the +allowance Herbert Penfold had made her, and which he had doubtless +intended she should continue to receive, would cease. That was so +secondary a consideration that it at present gave her no trouble. It +was of Ralph she thought. Of Ralph and Herbert. Were the plans that +the latter had made--the plans that had given happiness to the last +year of the life of him who had known so little happiness--to be +shattered? This to her mind was even more than the loss that Ralph +would suffer. + +"They may have destroyed the will," she said at last; "but if not I +will find it, if it takes me all my life to do so." + +A week later two letters arrived. The one was from Mrs. Withers. The +will had not been found. Mr. Tallboys had searched in vain. Every +cabinet and drawer in the house had been ransacked. No signs whatever +had been found of the will. + +"Mr. Tallboys is perfectly convinced that it must be hidden in some +altogether exceptional place. The will was not a bulky document, and +might have been stowed away in a comparatively small hiding-place, +such as a secret drawer in a cabinet; but the leases that are also +missing are bulky, and would take up so large a space that he is +convinced that had a secret hiding-place sufficiently large to hold +them existed in any of the articles of furniture he has searched he +should have discovered it. + +"Of course, my dear Mrs. Conway, we feel this matter personally, as +our Mabel was as you know made joint-heiress with your Ralph of +Herbert's property. We cannot but feel, however, that the loss is +greater in your case than in ours. Mabel was never informed of +Herbert's intentions toward her, and although we should of course have +been glad to know that our child had such brilliant prospects, the +loss of them will not we may hope in any way affect her happiness. In +the case of your son it is different, and his prospects in life will +of course be seriously affected by the loss, and my husband begs me to +express to you his very deep regret at this. + +"We have talked over your letter together, and while fully sharing +your indignation at the conduct of the Misses Penfold, hardly see that +anything can be done to discover the will. However, should you be able +to point out any manner in which a search for it can be carried on, we +shall be happy to do what we can to aid in the matter, as it is +clearly our duty to endeavor to obtain for Mabel the fortune Herbert +Penfold willed to her. Mr. Tallboys tells us that it is clear the +Misses Penfold have quite determined upon their line of conduct. +Whatever they may know they have declined altogether to aid him in +his search for the will, Miss Penfold saying, in reply to his request +that they would do so, that they had every reason to believe from what +their brother had let fall that the will was an unjust and iniquitous +one; that if Providence intended it should see the light it would see +it; but they at least would do nothing in the matter. + +"He asked them plainly if they were aware of the existence of any +place in which it was likely that their brother had placed it. To this +Miss Penfold, who is, as she has always been, the spokesman of the two +sisters, said shortly, that she had never seen the will, that she +didn't want to see it, and that she did not know where her brother had +placed it; indeed, for aught she knew, he might have torn it up. As to +hiding-places, she knew of no hiding-place whose existence she could, +in accordance with the dictates of her conscience divulge. So that is +where we are at present, Mrs. Conway. I believe that Mr. Tallboys is +going to try and get a copy of the will that he has in his possession +admitted under the circumstances as proof of Herbert Penfold's +intentions. But he owned to us that he thought it was very doubtful +whether he should be able to do so, especially as Herbert had stated +to him that he intended to make alterations; and it would be quite +possible that a court might take the view that in the first place the +alterations might have been so extensive as to affect the whole +purport of the will, and in the second place that he might have come +to the conclusion that it would be easier to make the whole will +afresh, and so had destroyed the one he had by him." + +Mrs. Conway laid down the letter, and after thinking for a time opened +the other, which was in a handwriting unknown to her. It began: + + "DEAR MADAM: Mrs. Withers tells me that she has informed you of + the singular disappearance of the will of my late client, Mr. + Herbert Penfold. I beg to inform you that we shall not let this + matter rest, but shall apply to the court to allow the copy of + the will to be put in for probate; if that is refused, for + authorization to make a closer search of the Hall than we have + hitherto been able to do, supporting our demand with affidavits + made by the Rev. Mr. Withers and ourselves of our knowledge that, + the late Mr. Penfold was accustomed to keep documents in some + secret receptacle. In the second place, we are glad to inform you + that the annual sum paid by us into the Kentish bank to your + credit will not be affected by the loss of the will; for at the + time when that payment first commenced, Mr. Penfold signed a deed + making this payment a first charge on the rents of two of his + farms during your lifetime. This assignment was of a binding + character, and of course continues to hold good. We shall consider + it our duty to acquaint you from time to time with the course of + proceedings in the matter of the late Mr. Penfold's will." + +Little as Mrs. Conway had thought of herself from the time when she +first heard that the will was missing, the news that her income would +remain unchanged delighted her. She had formed no plans for herself, +but had vaguely contemplated the necessity of giving up her house as +soon as it was decided that the will could not be found, selling her +furniture, and for the present taking a small lodging. She was glad +that there would be no occasion for this; but very much more glad that +she should be able now to make Ralph an allowance of seventy or eighty +pounds a year, which would make all the difference between his living +comfortably and being obliged to pinch himself in every way to subsist +upon his pay. It would also enable her to carry out without difficulty +any plans she might determine upon. + +Upon the receipt of the letter announcing Mr. Penfold's death, she had +written to Ralph telling him of it, but saying nothing about Mr. +Tallboys' visit to the Withers, or his report that he was unable to +find the will. She now wrote to him relating the whole circumstances. +He had not previously known Mr. Penfold's intention to make him his +heir, being only told that he intended to push his way in life, and +had considered that the promise was carried out by his obtaining him a +commission and arranging some allowance. His mother was glad of this +now. + +"Of course the loss of Mr. Penfold's will, my boy, will make a +difference to you, as there can be no doubt that he had made some +provisions in it for the regular payment of the allowance he had so +kindly promised you. This, unless the will is found, you will of +course lose. Having been a soldier's daughter, I know that to live +comfortably in the army it is necessary to have something beyond your +pay; but fortunately I can assist you a little. I have now one less to +feed and clothe, and no schooling expenses; and I have been +calculating things up, and find that I can allow you seventy-five +pounds a year without making any difference in the manner of my +living. You will be able to see that for yourself. You need, +therefore, feel no hesitation in accepting this allowance. + +"It is not a large one; but I know it will make a very great +difference in your comfort, and it will be a great pleasure to me to +know that you will be able to enter into what amusements are going on +and not to look at every penny. It makes all the difference in the +world whether one has four and sixpence or nine shillings a day to +live upon. You wrote and told me of the handsome present Mr. Penfold +made you at parting. This, my boy, I should keep if I were you as a +reserve, only to be touched in case of unexpected difficulties or +needs. No one can ever say when such needs may occur. I hope you will +not pain me by writing to say you don't want this allowance, because +nothing you can say will alter my determination to pay that allowance +regularly every quarter into your agent's hands; and it will be, of +course, very much more pleasant to me to know that it is as much a +pleasure to you to be helped by me as it is to me to help you. I have +heard several times from Mrs. Withers; they are all well, and she +asked me to send their remembrances to you when I write. I do not give +up all hope that the will may be found one of these days, but it is +just as well that we should not build in the slightest upon it." + +Ralph's reply came in due time, that is in about a fortnight +afterward; for Mrs. Conway's letter had first to go by coach to +London, and then a two days' journey by the mail to Liverpool, then by +the sailing packet across to Dublin, and then down to Cork by coach. +He had already written expressing his regret at the news of Mr. +Penfold's death. + +"My dear mother," he began. "It is awfully good of you to talk about +making an allowance to me. After what you say, of course I cannot +think of refusing it, though I would do so if I thought the payment +would in the slightest way inconvenience you. But as you say that now +I am away it will make something like that sum difference in your +expenses, I must of course let you do as you like, and can only thank +you very heartily for it. But I could really have got on very well +without it. I fancy that a good many men in the regiment have nothing +but their pay, and as they manage very well there is no reason I could +not manage too. + +"Of course in war times things are not kept up so expensively as they +were before, and lots of men get commissions who would not have done +so when the army was only half its present size, and was considered as +a gentlemanly profession instead of a real fighting machine. However, +as you say, it is a great deal more pleasant having nine shilling a +day to live on instead of four and sixpence. + +"I am getting on capitally here. Of course there is a lot of drill, +and it is as much as I can do not to laugh sometimes, the sergeant, +who is a fierce little man, gets into such wild rages over our +blunders. + +"I say our blunders, for of course Stapleton and I are drilled with +the recruits. However, I think that in another week I shall be over +that, and shall then begin to learn my work as an officer. They are a +jolly set of fellows here, always up to some fun or other. I always +thought when fellows got to be men they were rather serious, but it +seems to me that there is ever so much more fun here among them than +there was at school. Of course newcomers get worried a little just as +they do at school. I got off very well; because, you see, what with +school and the privateer I have learned to take things good +temperedly, and when fellows see that you are as ready for fun as they +are they soon give up bothering you. + +"Stapleton has had a lot more trouble; because, you see, he will look +at things seriously. I think he is getting a little better now; but he +used to get quite mad at first, and of course that made fellows ever +so much worse. He would find his door screwed up when he went back +after mess; and as soon as they found that he was awfully particular +about his boots, they filled them all full of water one night. Then +some one got a ladder and threw a lot of crackers into his bedroom in +the middle of the night, and Stapleton came rushing down in his +night-shirt with his sword drawn, swearing he would kill somebody. + +"Of course I have done all I can to get them to leave him alone, for +he is really a good fellow, and explained to them that he had never +been to school, or had a chance of learning to keep his temper. But he +is getting on now, and will, I think, soon be left alone. This has +been an awfully long letter, and there is only just enough candle left +for me to get into bed by. Anyhow mother, I am not a bit upset about +losing Mr. Penfold's allowance; so don't you worry yourself at all +about that." + +Some weeks passed on. Mr. Tallboys wrote that he had failed to induce +the court to accept the copy of the will, the admission he was forced +to make that Mr. Penfold had intended to make an alteration in it +being fatal. He had, however, obtained an order authorizing him +thoroughly to search the house, and to take down any wainscotting, and +to pull up any floors that might appear likely to conceal a +hiding-place. A fortnight later he wrote again to announce his +failure. + +"The Miss Penfolds," he said, "were so indignant that they left the +house altogether, and you may believe that we ransacked it from top to +bottom. I had four carpenters and two masons with me, and I think we +tapped every square foot of wall in the house, took down the +wainscotting wherever there was the slightest hollow sound, lifted +lots of the flooring, and even wrenched up several of the +hearthstones, but could find nothing whatever, except that there was a +staircase leading from behind the wainscotting in Mr. Penfold's room +to a door covered with ivy, and concealed from view by bushes to the +left of the house; but the ivy had evidently been undisturbed for +fifty years or so, this passage, even if known to Mr. Penfold, had +certainly not been used in his time. + +"I truly regret, my dear madam, that the search should have been so +unsuccessful, and can only say, that all that could be done has been +done. That the will is concealed somewhere I have not a shadow of +doubt, unless, of course, it has been torn up before this. As to that +I give no opinion; and, indeed, as it is a matter in which women are +concerned, your judgment as to the probabilities is much more likely +to be correct than mine. As I expected, my business connection with +the family has come to an end. The Miss Penfolds have appointed +another agent, who has written to me requesting me to hand over all +papers connected with the property. This, of course, I shall do. I +need hardly say that in no case could I have consented to act for +those whom I consider to be unlawful possessors of the property. In +conclusion, I can only say that my services will at all times be at +your disposal." + +Mrs. Conway was scarcely disappointed at the receipt of this letter, +for she had quite made up her mind that the will would not be found. +These women had clearly made up their minds to deprive Ralph and Mabel +of their rights, and unless they had felt perfectly satisfied that no +search would discover the hiding-place of the will, they would not +improbably have taken it, and either destroyed it or concealed it in +some fresh place where the searchers would never be likely to look for +it. She did not think it likely, therefore, that the hiding-place +would be discovered, and she felt assured that were it discovered it +would be found empty. + +"Very well," she said, in a quiet, determined voice, as she laid down +the letter. "Mr. Tallboys has failed. Now, I shall take up the matter. +I dare say you think that you have won, Miss Penfold; that you are now +mistress beyond dispute of Herbert's property. You will see the battle +has only just begun. It will last, I can tell you, all your lives or +mine." + +A week later an altogether unexpected event took place. When Mr. and +Mrs. Withers were at breakfast a letter arrived from Mr. Littleton, +now solicitor to the Miss Penfolds. Upon opening it it was found to +contain an offer upon the part of the Miss Penfolds to settle the sum +of a hundred a year for life upon Mabel, upon the condition only that +the allowance would be stopped upon her marriage, unless that marriage +received the approval, in writing, of the Miss Penfolds. The letter +was addressed to Mr. Withers, and after reading it through he passed +it to his wife without a word. She was too surprised to say anything +for a moment, especially as Mabel was in the room, and she laid the +letter beside her until breakfast was over and Mabel had gone out. + +"Well, James, what do you think of it?" she asked. + +"What do you think of it yourself?" he replied. + +Mrs. Withers hesitated, and then said: "Well, James, it is a sort of +thing that requires so much thinking about that I have scarcely had +time to turn it over in my mind yet, especially with Mabel there +eating her breakfast opposite, and having no idea that this letter +contained anything of such importance to her. I would really rather +hear what you think about it." Mr. Withers remained silent, and she +went on: "Of course it would be a very nice thing for Mabel to have +such a provision for life." + +A slight smile passed across Mr. Withers' face, and his wife saw that +that was not at all the way in which he looked at it. + +"That is just like you men, James," she said a little pettishly. "You +ask us what we think about things when you have perfectly made up your +minds what you mean to do, whether we agree with you or not." + +"I don't think that's often the case with us. Still I did want to see +whether the matter would have struck you at once in the same light in +which I see it, and I perceive that it has not." + +"Well, James, let me hear your view of the matter. I dare say I shall +agree with you when you tell me what it is." + +"Well, then, Amy," Mr. Withers said seriously, "it appears to me that +we cannot accept this offer for Mabel." + +Mrs. Withers looked a little blank. The living was not a rich one, and +assured as they had been by Mr. Penfold that he intended to provide +for Mabel, they had not endeavored to lay by anything for her, and had +freely dispensed their surplus income among the sick and needy of the +parish. The disappearance of the will had disappointed their hopes, +and raised many anxious thoughts in Mrs. Withers' mind respecting +Mabel's future, and the offer contained in the letter had therefore +filled her with pleasure. But she greatly valued her husband's +judgment, and therefore only replied: + +"Why, dear?" + +"Well, you see, wife, we are both thoroughly agreed that these ladies +are depriving Mabel of the fortune Herbert Penfold left her. They are +concealing or have destroyed his will, and are at present in what we +may call fraudulent possession of his property. Now, I do not think +that under these circumstances we can accept a favor at their hands. +To do so would be practically to acquiesce in what we consider the +robbery of our child, and the acceptance would of course involve a +renewal of friendly relations with them; a thing which, believing as +we do that they are acting wickedly would be distasteful in the +extreme, not to say impossible." + +"Of course you are right, dear," Mrs. Withers said, rising from her +seat and going over and kissing her husband tenderly. "I had not +thought of it in that light at all. In fact I had hardly thought about +it at all, except that it would be nice to see Mabel provided for." + +"It would be nice, my dear. But we surely need not be anxious about +her. We may hope that she will make a happy marriage. We may hope too +that we may be spared long enough to make some provision for her, for, +of course, we must now curtail our expenses and lay by as much as we +can for her. Lastly, dear, we need not be anxious; because we trust +that God will provide for her should we not be enabled to do so. But +even were I sure that we should both be taken together, I would rather +leave her in His hands than accept money wrongfully obtained and +condone an abominable action. There is, too, another point from which +the matter should be looked at. You see this curious condition that +they propose, that the annuity shall be forfeited unless she marry +with their sanction. Why should they propose such a condition?" + +"I am sure I don't know, James; for of course, we should never give +our sanction to her marriage unless we approved of her choice, and +surely the Miss Penfolds would not disapprove of a choice that we +approved of?" + +"Well, they might, my dear. You know how bitterly they disliked Ralph +Conway, and how they resented his being at the Hall. It is quite +possible they may have had some idea of Herbert's views about him and +Mabel, and are determined that he shall not benefit through Mabel by +one penny of their brother's property; and this clause is specially +designed so that in case the two young people ever should come +together they may be able if not to stop it--at any rate to stop the +annuity. That is the only interpretation I can give to this +condition." + +"Very likely that is so James. Really these women seem to get more +detestable every day." + +Mr. Withers smiled at his wife's vehemence. "There is still another +reason why we cannot take the money. Ralph Conway has been as much +defrauded as Mabel, and his mother, as you see by her letters, is +determined not to sit down quietly under the wrong. What she means to +do I have not the slightest idea, nor do I think that there is the +most remote probability she will ever succeed in finding the will. +Tallboys appears to have made a most thorough search of the house, and +do what she will she cannot have any opportunity of searching as he +has done. Still she clearly has something on her mind. She intends to +make some attempt or other to discover the will, which, if found, will +benefit Mabel equally with her son. Therefore we cannot but regard her +as our friend and ally. Now, were we to accept the money for Mabel we +should in fact be acquiescing, not only in the wrong done to her but +in that done to Ralph. We should, in fact, be going over to the enemy. +We could not take their money and even tacitly connive in her efforts +to find the will." + +"I agree with you entirely, James. It would be impossible; only I do +wish you had said all this before letting me be so foolish as to say +that I thought we ought to take it." + +"You didn't say so, dear," Mr. Withers said smiling. "You only gave +expression to the first natural thought of a mother that it would be a +nice thing for Mabel. You had given the matter no further +consideration than that, and I was quite sure that as soon as you +thought the matter over you would see it in the same light that I do. +But I think that before we send off our reply we should put the matter +before Mabel herself. I have no doubt whatever what her answer will +be, but at the same time she ought to know of the offer which has been +made to her." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +MR. TALLBOYS' VISITOR. + + +Mr. Withers was fully justified in his conviction that there need be +no doubt as to the view Mabel would take of the Miss Penfold's offer. +The girl had hitherto been in entire ignorance both as to the will +being missing, and of the interest she had in it. She was now called +in from the garden, and was much surprised when her father told her to +sit down, as he and her mother wished to have a serious talk with her. + +"Do you know, my little Mabel," he began, "that you have had a narrow +escape of being an heiress?" + +"An heiress, papa! Do you mean of having a lot of money?" + +"Yes, of coming in some day to a fortune. Mr. Penfold some time ago +confided to your mother and me his intention of dividing his property +equally between Ralph Conway and yourself." + +"What! all the Penfold estates, papa, and the house and everything?" + +"Yes, my dear. Everything, including the large sum of money that has +accumulated during the years Mr. Penfold has not been spending a third +of his income." + +"Then if he meant that, papa, how is it that I am not going to be an +heiress?" + +"Simply, my dear, because the will by which Mr. Penfold left the +property to you and Ralph is missing." + +Mr. Withers then told the whole story of the loss of the will, the +search that had been made for it, and the strong grounds there were +for believing in the existence of some secret place in the Hall, and +that this place of concealment was known to Mr. Penfold's sisters. + +"But they surely could never be so wicked as that, papa. They have +always seemed to like me--not very much, you know, because they +thought I wasn't quiet and ladylike enough. Still I don't think they +really disliked me." + +"No, I think in their way they liked you, Mabel; and perhaps if Mr. +Penfold had half left his property to you, divided the other half +between them the will would have been found. But they certainly did +not like Ralph Conway. They disliked him partly no doubt for himself, +but principally on account of a wrong which I believe they once did to +his mother. Now, it is in human nature, Mabel, that you may forgive a +wrong done to you, but it is very hard to forgive a person you have +wronged. Anyhow, I am convinced that it was more to prevent Mrs. +Conway's son from getting this money than to get it themselves that +they have concealed this will, or rather that they refuse to point out +its place of concealment." + +"But it does seem hard, papa, that Mr. Penfold should have left +everything to Ralph and me and nothing to his sisters." + +"The Miss Penfolds have a very comfortable income of their own, Mabel, +and their brother might very well have thought there was no occasion +for them to have more; beside, although they lived in his house, and +indeed managed it and him, Mr. Penfold had, I know, strong reason to +believe that they had ruined his life. But this is a matter into which +we need not go. Well, Mabel, the Miss Penfolds have just given a proof +that they do not dislike you. Now I will read you this letter, because +I think you ought to know it has been written, and I will then tell +you the reasons why your mother and I think that the offer cannot be +accepted." + +Mabel listened in silence until her father had finished the arguments +he had used with his wife, with the exception only of that relating to +the Miss Penfolds' motives in putting in the condition concerning +Mabel's marriage. When he ceased speaking she exclaimed indignantly, +"Of course, papa, we could not take the money, not if it were ten +times as much! Why, we could not look Mrs. Conway and Ralph in the +face again! Beside, how could we speak to people one believes to have +done such a wicked thing?" + +"Very well, Mabel. I was quite sure that you would agree with us, but +at the same time I thought it was right before we refused the offer +you should know that it was made. Whatever our sentiments on the +subject might be, we should not have been justified in refusing +without your knowledge an offer that might, from a worldly point of +view, be your interest to accept." + +"Why, papa," Mabel said, "I would rather go out and weed turnips or +watch sheep, like some of the girls in the village, than touch a penny +of the Miss Penfolds' money." + +A short time after this Mr. Tallboys' clerk brought a letter into his +private office. + +"A lady asked me to give you this, sir." The solicitor opened it. It +contained only a card. + +"Show the lady in. How are you, madam? I am glad to have the pleasure +of making your acquaintance. I suppose you are staying with Mr. +Withers?" + +"No, Mr. Tallboys, I am at the hotel here. I only arrived an hour +since by the packet from Dover." + +"Dear me. I am afraid you have had a very unpleasant voyage." + +"It has not been pleasant," Mrs. Conway said quietly. "But I preferred +it to the long journey by coach up to London, and down here again. We +were five days on the way, as the vessel put in at so many ports. +Still that was quite a minor question with me. I wanted to see you and +have a talk with you personally. There is no saying into whose hands +letters may fall, and one talk face to face does more good than a +score of letters." + +Mr. Tallboys looked rather surprised, and the idea flashed across his +mind that the only business Mrs. Conway could want to see him about +must be some proposal for raising money upon the security of her +annuity. + +"I presume, Mr. Tallboys, from what I hear, that you are as thoroughly +convinced as I am myself that this will of Mr. Penfold's is in +existence, and is hidden somewhere about the Hall?" + +"Yes, I think so, Mrs. Conway. That is, supposing it has not been +destroyed." + +"Do you think it likely that it has been destroyed, Mr. Tallboys?" + +"Well, that I cannot say," the solicitor said gravely. "I have, of +course, thought much over this matter. It is one that naturally vexed +me much for several reasons. In the first place, Mr. Withers and you +yourself had been good enough to place the matter in my hands, and to +authorize me to act for you, and it is always a sort of vexation to a +professional man when his clients lose their cause, especially when he +is convinced that they are in the right. In the second place, I am +much disturbed that the wishes of my late client, Mr. Penfold, should +not have been carried out. Thirdly, I feel now that I myself am +somewhat to blame in the matter, in that I did not represent to Mr. +Penfold the imprudence of his placing valuable papers in a place +where, should anything happen to him suddenly, they might not be +found. Of course I could not have anticipated this hostile action on +the part of the Miss Penfolds. Still, I blame myself that I did not +warn Mr. Penfold of the possibility of what has in fact happened +taking place. Lastly," and he smiled, "I have a personal feeling in +the matter. I have lost a business that added somewhat considerably to +my income." + +"I don't think any of us have thought of blaming you in the matter, +Mr. Tallboys. I am sure that I have not. You could not possibly have +foreseen that Mr. Penfold's sisters were likely to turn out thieves." + +"Well, that is rather a strong expression, Mrs. Conway; though natural +enough I must admit in your position as Mr. Ralph Conway's mother. You +see, there is a difference between concealing and not disclosing. Mr. +Penfold himself concealed the will. The Miss Penfolds simply refuse to +assist us in our search for it." + +"And as the nearest heirs take possession of the property." + +"Quite so, Mrs. Conway. I am not defending their conduct, which +morally is dishonest in the extreme, but I doubt whether any court of +law would find it to be a punishable offense." + +"Well, now, Mr. Tallboys, I want you to let me know whether you +suspect that they have destroyed the will; which, I suppose, would be +a punishable offense." + +"Certainly the destruction of the will, in order that those who +destroyed might get possession of property, would be criminal. Well, I +don't know; I have thought it over in every sense, and think the +balance of probability is against their having destroyed it. In the +first place the Miss Penfolds doubtless consider that the will is so +securely hidden there is little, if any, chance of its being +discovered. That this is so we know, from the fact that although I +ransacked the house from top to bottom, pulled down wainscoting, +lifted floors, and tried every imaginable point which either I or the +men who were working with me suspected to be a likely spot for a +hiding-place, we did not succeed in finding it. + +"Now, I have noticed that ladies have at times somewhat peculiar ideas +as to morality, and are apt to steer very close to the wind. The Miss +Penfolds may consider themselves perfectly justified in declining to +give us any assistance in finding the will, soothing their consciences +by the reflection that by such refusal they are committing no offense +of which the law takes cognizance; but while doing this they might +shrink from the absolutely criminal offense of destroying the will. I +do not say that now they have entered upon the path they have that +they would not destroy the will if they thought there was a chance of +its being discovered. I only say that, thinking it to be absolutely +safe, they are unlikely to perform an act which, if discovered, would +bring them under the power of the law. + +"They may consider themselves free to believe, or if not actually to +believe, to try and convince themselves, that for aught they know +their brother may have destroyed the will, and that it is not for them +to prove whether he did so or not. Upon these grounds, therefore, it +seems to me probable that the will is still in existence; but I +acknowledge that so far as its utility is concerned it might as well +have been destroyed by Mr. Penfold himself or by his sisters." + +"Well, Mr. Tallboys, no doubt you are thinking that you might as well +have expressed this opinion to me on paper, and that I have troubled +myself very unnecessarily in making this journey to have it from your +own lips." + +"Well, yes, Mrs. Conway, I do not deny that this was in my mind." + +"It would have been useless for me to make the journey had this been +all, Mr. Tallboys. I am very glad to have heard your opinion, which +agrees exactly with that which I myself have formed, but it was +scarcely with the object of eliciting it that I have made this +journey. We will now proceed to that part of the subject. We agree +that the will is probably still in existence, and that it is hidden +somewhere about the Hall. The next question is, how is it to be +found?" + +"Ah! that is a very difficult question indeed, Mrs. Conway." + +"Yes, it is difficult, but not, I think, impossible. You have done +your best, Mr. Tallboys, and have failed. You have no further +suggestion to offer, no plan that occurs to you by which you might +discover it?" + +"None whatever," Mr. Tallboys said decidedly. "I have done all that I +could do; and have, in fact, dismissed the question altogether from my +mind. I had the authority of the court to search, and I have searched +very fully, and have reported my failure to the court. The power to +search would certainly not be renewed unless upon some very strong +grounds indeed." + +"I suppose not, Mr. Tallboys; that is what I expected. Well, it seems +to me that you having done all in your power for us, your clients, and +having now relinquished your search, it is time for us, or some of us, +to take the matter in hand."' + +Mr. Tallboys looked surprised. + +"I do not quite understand, Mrs. Conway, how you can take it in hand." + +"No? Well, I can tell you, Mr. Tallboys, that I am going to do so. I +am not going to sit down quietly and see my son robbed of his +inheritance. I have quite made up my mind to devote my life to this +matter, and I have come, not to ask your advice--for I dare say you +would try to dissuade me, and my resolution is unalterable--but to ask +you to give me what aid you can in the matter." + +"I shall be glad to give you aid in any way, Mrs. Conway, if you will +point out to me the direction in which my assistance can be of use. I +suppose you have formed some sort of plan, for I own that I can see no +direction whatever in which you can set about the matter." + +"My intention is, Mr. Tallboys, to search for this hiding-place +myself." + +Mr. Tallboys raised his eyebrows in surprise. + +"To search yourself, Mrs. Conway! But how do you propose to gain +admittance to the Hall, and how, even supposing that you gain +admittance, do you propose to do more than we have done, or even so +much; because any fresh disturbance of the fabric of the house would +be out of the question?" + +"That I quite admit. Still we know there is the hiding-place, and it +is morally certain that that hiding-place is opened or approached by +the touching of some secret spring. It is not by pulling down +wainscoting or by pulling up floors, or by force used in any way, that +it is to be found. Mr. Penfold, it would seem, used it habitually as a +depository for papers of value. He certainly, therefore, had not to +break down or to pull up anything. He opened it as he would open any +other cabinet or cupboard, by means of a key or by touching a spring. +You agree with me so far, Mr. Tallboys?" + +"Certainly, Mrs. Conway. There can be no doubt in my mind that this +hiding-place, whether a chamber or a small closet, is opened in the +way you speak of." + +"Very well then; all that has to be looked for is a spring. No force +is requisite; all that is to be done is to find the spring." + +"Yes, but how is it to be found? I believe we tried every square foot +of the building." + +"I have no doubt you did, but it will be necessary to try every square +inch, I will not say of the whole building, but of certain rooms and +passages. I think we may assume that it is not in the upper rooms or +servants' quarters. Such a hiding-place would be contrived where it +could be used by the owners of the house without observation from +their dependants, and would therefore be either in the drawing-room, +dining-room, the principal bed-chambers, or the passages, corridors, +or stairs between or adjoining these." + +"I quite follow you in your reasoning, Mrs. Conway, and agree with +you. Doubtless, the place is so situated as to be what I may call +handy to the owners of the Hall, but I still do not see how you are +going to set about finding it." + +"I am going to set about it by going to live at the Hall." + +"Going to live at the Hall, Mrs. Conway! But how is that possible +under the circumstances? You are, I should say, the last person whom +the Miss Penfolds would at present invite to take up her residence +there." + +"I agree with you, if they had any idea of my identity; but that is +just what I intend they shall not have. My plan is to go there in the +capacity of a servant. Once there I shall examine, as I say, every +square inch of the rooms and places where this hiding-place is likely +to exist. Every knob, knot, or inequality of any kind in the wood-work +and stone-work shall be pressed, pulled, and twisted, until I find it. +I am aware that the task may occupy months or even years, for, of +course, my opportunities will be limited. Still, whether months or +years, I intend to undertake it and to carry it through, if my life is +spared until I have had time thoroughly and completely to carry it +out." + +Mr. Tallboys was silent from sheer astonishment. + +"Do you realty mean that you think of going there as a servant, Mrs. +Conway?" + +"Certainly I do," she replied calmly. "I suppose the work will be no +harder for me than for other women; and whereas they do it for some +ten or twelve pounds a year I shall do it for a fortune. I see not the +slightest difficulty or objection in that part of the business. I +shall, of course, let my house at Dover, making arrangements for my +son's letters there being forwarded, and for my letters to him being +posted in Dover. I shall have the satisfaction that while engaged upon +this work my income will be accumulating for his benefit. I own that I +can see no difficulty whatever in my plan being carried out. + +"Now, as to the assistance that I wish you to give me. It could, +perhaps, have been more readily given by Mr. Withers, for naturally he +would know personally most of the servants of the Hall, as the +majority of them doubtless belong to the village. But Mr. Withers, as +a clergyman, might have conscientious scruples against taking any part +in a scheme which, however righteous its ends, must be conducted by +what he would consider underground methods, and involving a certain +amount of deceit. At any rate, I think it better that neither he nor +Mrs. Withers should have any complicity whatever in my plans. I +therefore come to you. What I want, in the first place, is to find out +when a vacancy is likely to be caused by some servant leaving; +secondly, if no such vacancy is likely to occur, for a vacancy to be +manufactured by inducing some servant to leave--a present of a year's +wages would probably accomplish that; thirdly, the vacancy must occur +in the case of some servant whose work would naturally lie in the part +of the building I have to examine; finally, it must be arranged that I +can be so recommended as to insure my getting the place." + +Mr. Tallboys was silent for some time. + +"Certainly your plan does appear feasible, Mrs. Conway," he said at +length. "It does seem to me that if once installed in the way you +propose at the Hall, and prepared to spend, as you say, months or even +years in the search, it is possible and even probable that in the end +you may light upon the spring that will open this mystery. You must be +prepared to face much unpleasantness. You will have for all this time +to associate with servants, to do menial work, to relinquish all the +luxuries and appliances to which you have all your life been +accustomed, and possibly to fail at last. Still, if you are prepared +to face all this, there does appear to me to be a possibility of your +enterprise being crowned with success." + +"I have thought it all over, Mr. Tallboys, and am quite prepared to +submit to all the sacrifices you mention, which, however, will +scarcely be felt by me to be sacrifices, working, as I shall be, for +the future of my son. And now, can I rely upon your assistance?" + +"You shall have any assistance I can give, assuredly, Mrs. Conway. The +matter is by no means a simple one, still I can see no reason why it +should not be successfully carried out." + +"It must take time, that I quite anticipate, Mr. Tallboys. Time, +fortunately, is of no consequence." + +"Well, Mrs. Conway," Mr. Tallboys said, after sitting for some minutes +in thought, "it is a matter that will require careful thinking over. +How long do you intend staying here?" + +"Just as long as it is necessary," Mrs. Conway said, "a day or a +month. I have not given my own name at the 'George,' but shall be +known there as Mrs. Brown. As you saw, I sent my card in in an +envelope, so that even your clerk should not be aware that Mrs. Conway +was in Weymouth." + +"But," the solicitor said suddenly, "surely the Miss Penfolds knew you +in the old time?" + +"Certainly, they did. But, to begin with, that is nearly twenty years +ago; and, of course, I have changed very much since then." + +"Not very much, Mrs. Conway," the lawyer said; "for I once had the +pleasure of seeing you when I went to the Hall to see Mr. Penfold on +business. I do not say that I should have known you anywhere, but +having had your card I remembered you at once when you came into the +room; and, indeed, if you will excuse my saying so, you might pass +anywhere as thirty." + +"So much the better for my purpose at present," Mrs. Conway replied. +"Thirty will do very well for the age of a housemaid at the Hall. I +should imagine the Miss Penfolds would prefer a woman of that age to a +young girl; beside, you see, I must be an upper housemaid in order to +have charge of the part of the house I want to examine. As to knowing +me, in the first place the Miss Penfolds will not have the advantage +of receiving my card, and, in the second place, it is not very +difficult for a woman to alter her appearance so as to be +unrecognizable by another who has not seen her for twenty years. My +hair is a good deal darker now than it was then, and I wore it +altogether differently. A little black dye on that and my eyebrows, a +servant's cap and gown, will so alter me that you who see me now would +hardly know me; certainly they will not do so. You need not trouble +about that, Mr. Tallboys; I will answer for it that they shall not +know me. It is possible, just possible, that Mr. and Mrs. Withers +might know me if they saw me in church; but I shall, without letting +them know my plans, guard against any indiscretion. Now, as we have +quite settled the matter, Mr. Tallboys, I shall go back to the inn, +and when you have thought the matter over and decided upon the best +plan for carrying out my wishes, you will send a note to Mrs. Brown at +the 'George,' making an appointment for me to meet you here." + +Mr. Tallboys sat for some time in thought after Mrs. Conway had left +him. It was certainly a daring scheme, requiring no little courage, +resolution, and self-possession to carry out, but his client evidently +possessed all these qualities. She had a clear head, and seemed to +have grasped every point in the matter. There was really no reason why +she should not succeed. There must be a spring somewhere, and if she +was as patient as she declared herself to be, she would surely find it +sooner or later; that is, if she could carry out her search without +exciting suspicion. + +The first difficulty was to get her settled at the Hall. What was the +best way to set about that? It certainly was not as easy as she seemed +to think, still there must be some way of managing it. At any rate he +must act cautiously in the matter, and must not appear in it in any +way personally. And so he sat thinking, until at last the clerk, who +had been a good deal surprised at receiving no instruction from him as +to several matters he had in hand, knocked at the door, and came in +with a number of papers, and Mr. Tallboys was obliged to dismiss the +matter from his mind for a time, and to attend to present business. +The very next morning Mrs. Conway received the note, and again went to +the office. + +"Do you know, Mrs. Conway," he began, as soon as his client entered, +"the more I think over the matter, the more I feel that it is +extremely difficult to manage it from here. I should have to engage +some one to go over in the first place. He would have to stay in the +village some time before he could make the acquaintance of the +servants at the Hall. He would have to get very intimate with them +before he could venture to broach such a thing for if he made a +mistake, and the woman told her mistress that some one had been trying +to persuade her to leave in order to introduce another into the place, +their suspicions would be so aroused that the scheme would become +hopeless." + +"Yes, I see the difficulty, Mr. Tallboys; for I thought it over in +every way before I came to you. Beside I don't like the thought of +this intermediate. No doubt you would choose a trustworthy man. Still +I don't like the thought of any one knowing the secret, especially as +the plan may take so long working out." + +"What I have been thinking, Mrs. Conway is this. No doubt the servants +at the Hall have taken sides on this matter. Of course from our +searches there they know that Mr. Penfold's will is missing, and that +it is because it is missing that the Miss Penfolds are now mistresses +there. Without knowing anything myself about the feelings of the +servants there, beyond what would probably be the case from the +difference of character between Mr. Penfold and his sisters, I should +imagine that they were fond of him, for he was the kindest and most +easy-going of masters, and not very fond of his sisters, who are, as I +have always observed in the course of my professional visits there, +the reverse of agreeable. + +"If this is the case, not improbably there may be one or other of +these women with whom you might open direct negotiations. What has +struck me is this. The men who were over there with me of course slept +and took their meals in the village; still, going about as they did in +the house, no doubt they talked with the servants. The Miss Penfolds +were away, and I dare say the women had plenty of time to gossip; and +it is probable the men gathered from their talk something of their +sentiments toward the Miss Penfolds and their brother, and which side +they would be likely to go with. I might ask the foreman about it." + +"I think the idea is a capital one, Mr. Tallboys; but there is one +detail I think might be improved. I imagine that if instead of asking +the foreman you choose the youngest and best-looking of the men, +provided he is unmarried, you are more likely to get at the women's +sentiments." + +Mr. Tallboys laughed. "No doubt you are right, Mrs. Conway. That shall +be done. I must get the foreman first, though, for I don't know the +names or addresses of the other men. I shall tell him frankly that I +want to find out the opinions of the servants at the Hall about the +missing will, ask him which of his men was the most given to gossip +with them, and tell him to send him here to me at ten o'clock +to-morrow morning; then when you see him and hear what he has to say, +you can judge for yourself how far you care to trust him in the +matter, or whether to trust him at all. Perhaps you will come here a +few minutes before ten, and then I can tell you what the foreman has +said first." + +Accordingly at a quarter to ten the next day Mrs. Conway was again at +the office. + +"I think, Mrs. Conway, that things are going even better than we +hoped. The foreman said that from what little talk he had with the +servants, he thought they had all been attached to Mr. Penfold, and +that his sisters were by no means popular among them. He said very +often one or other of them would come into the room where they were +working and make suggestions, and hunt about themselves to see if they +could find anything. But the best part of it is that one of the +carpenters, a steady fellow of twenty-five, took up, as he calls it, +with the upper housemaid, and he believes there is a talk about their +being married some day. If this is so it would be the very thing for +you. You could help him to get married, and the girl could help you to +get her place." + +"The very thing," Mrs. Conway said. "Nothing could have turned out +better." + +In a few minutes the young carpenter arrived. He was a +pleasant-looking young fellow, and Mrs. Conway was not surprised at +the impression he had made upon the housemaid at the Hall. + +"Sit down, Johnson," Mr. Tallboys began. "You know what I asked you to +come here for?" + +"Mr. Peters told me that it was something to do with that job we had +at the Miss Penfolds', sir." + +"Yes, that is it, Johnson. You know we were looking for a missing will +there?" + +"Yes, sir; so I understood." + +"Now, what we wanted to ask you specially, Johnson, was whether you +can tell us what the servants at the Hall thought about it?" + +The young carpenter turned rather red in the face, and twisted his cap +about in his fingers. + +"Well, sir, I don't know that I can say much about that. I don't think +most of them was overfond of the Miss Penfolds, and wouldn't have been +sorry if the will had been found that would have given them another +master or mistress." + +"Just so, Johnson, that is what I thought was likely. Now, the point I +want to know, Johnson, and this lady here is, I may tell you, +interested in the matter of this will being found, is as to whether +there is in your opinion any one of the maids at the Hall who could be +trusted to aid us in this business? Of course we should make it worth +her while to do so." + +Again the young carpenter colored, and fidgeted on his chair, +examining his cap intently. + +"I suppose it would depend on what you wanted her to do," he said at +last. "The Hall is a good service, though they don't like the +mistresses, and of course none of them would like to do anything that +might risk their place." + +"That's natural enough, Johnson. But, you see, we could perhaps more +than make up to her for that risk." + +"Well, I don't know, sir," the man said after another pause. "It isn't +only the place; but, you see, a young woman wouldn't like to risk +getting into a row like and being turned away in disgrace, or perhaps +even worse. I don't know what you want, you see, sir?" + +Mr. Tallboys looked at Mrs. Conway, and his eyes expressed the +question, How far shall we go? She replied by taking the matter in her +own hands. + +"We can trust you, can't we, whether you agree to help us or not?" + +"Yes, ma'am," he said more decidedly than he had hitherto spoken. "You +can trust me. If you tell me what you want, I will tell you straight +whether I can do anything. If I don't like it, the matter shan't go +beyond me." + +"Very well, then, I will tell you exactly what we want. We believe +that the will is still there, and we believe that if some one in the +house were to make a thorough search it might be found. It is right +that it should be found, and that the property should go to those to +whom Mr. Penfold left it, and who are now being kept out of it by the +Miss Penfolds. I am very much interested in the matter, because it is +my son who is being cheated out of his rights; and I have made up my +mind to find the will. Now, what I want to know is, do you think that +one of the housemaids would be willing to give up her place and +introduce me as her successor, if I gave her twenty-five pounds? That +would be a nice little sum, you know, to begin housekeeping with." + +Mrs. Conway saw at once by the expression of the young carpenter's +face that she had secured him as an ally. + +"I think that might be managed, ma'am," he said in a tone that showed +her he was endeavoring to hide his gladness. "Yes, I think that could +be managed. There is certainly a young woman at the Hall--" and he +stopped. + +Mrs. Conway helped him. "I may tell you, Mr. Johnson, that the foreman +hinted to Mr. Tallboys that he thought you and the upper housemaid +were likely one of these days to come together, and that is +principally why we spoke to you instead of to one of the others who +were there. We thought, you see, that she might probably be leaving +her place one of these days, and that perhaps this twenty-five pounds +might enable you and her to marry earlier than you otherwise would +have done. In that case, you see, it would suit us all. You and she +would, moreover, have the satisfaction of knowing that you were aiding +to right a great wrong, and to restore to those who have been +defrauded the property Mr. Penfold intended for them. What do you +say?" + +"Well, ma'am, I think that, as you say, it would be doing the right +thing; and I don't deny that Martha and I have agreed to wait a year +or two, till we could save up enough between us for me to start on my +own account; for as long as I am a journeyman, and liable to lose my +work any day, I would not ask her to come to me. But what with what we +have laid by, and this money you offer, I think we might very well +venture," and his radiant face showed the happiness the prospect +caused him. + +"Very well, then. We may consider that as settled," Mrs. Conway said. +"What I want is for you to tell your Martha that she is to give notice +to leave at once, and that if she has an opportunity she is to mention +to Miss Penfold that she has a friend who is out of place at present, +and whom she is sure will suit. Of course as she will say that she is +going to leave to be married, Miss Penfold cannot be vexed with her, +as she might be otherwise, and may take her friend on her +recommendation." + +"But suppose she shouldn't, ma'am," and the young carpenter's face +fell considerably at the thought, "where would Martha be then?" + +"I shall pay the money, of course," Mrs. Conway said, "whether I get +the place through her or not. I should think that Miss Penfold will +very likely be glad to be saved the trouble of looking for another +servant. But, if not, I must try some other way to get the place." + +"What name am I to say her friend has?" + +"Let me think. Ann Sibthorpe." + +"But suppose she asks about where her friend has been in service, +ma'am, and about her character?" + +"We will settle that afterward. The first thing to do is for you to go +over and see her, and ask her if she is willing to leave and do this." + +"I think I can answer for that, ma'am," the young carpenter said with +a quiet smile. + +"Very well. Still, we had better have it settled. Will you go over +to-day and see her? and then by to-morrow Mr. Tallboys and I will have +talked the matter over and settled about the other points. Of course +you will tell her not to give notice until she has heard from you as +to what she is to say about me." + +"Very well, ma'am. I will start at once." + +"I can arrange about the character," Mr. Tallboys said when they were +alone. "I have a cousin in London, to whom I shall write and explain +the matter, and who will, I am sure, oblige me by writing to say that +Ann Sibthorpe is all that can be desired as a servant: steady, quiet, +industrious and capable. Well, I really congratulate you, Mrs. Conway. +At first I thought your project a hopeless one; now I think you have +every chance of success." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ON DETACHMENT. + + +Ralph was soon at home in the regiment. He found his comrades a cheery +and pleasant set of men, ready to assist the newly-joined young +officers as far as they could. A few rough practical jokes were +played; but Ralph took them with such perfect good temper that they +were soon abandoned. + +He applied himself very earnestly to mastering the mystery of drill, +and it was not long before he was pronounced to be efficient, and he +was then at Captain O'Connor's request appointed to his company, in +which there happened to be a vacancy for an ensign. He had had the +good luck to have an excellent servant assigned to him. Denis Mulligan +was a thoroughly handy fellow, could turn his hand to anything, and +was always good tempered and cheery. + +"The fellow is rather free and easy in his ways," Captain O'Connor +told Ralph when he allotted the man to him; "but you will get +accustomed to that. Keep your whisky locked up, and I think you will +be safe in all other respects with him. He was servant to Captain +Daly, who was killed at Toulouse, and I know Daly wouldn't have parted +with him on any account. His master's death almost broke Denis' heart, +and I have no doubt he will get just as much attached to you in time. +These fellows have their faults, and want a little humoring; but, take +them as a whole, I would rather have an Irish soldier servant than one +of any other nationality, provided always that he is not too fond of +the bottle. About once in three months I consider reasonable, and I +don't think you will find Mulligan break out more frequently than +that." + +Ralph never regretted the choice O'Connor had made for him, and found +Denis an excellent servant; and his eccentricities and the opinions +which he freely expressed afforded him a constant source of amusement. + +A few days later Captain O'Connor came into his room. "Pack up your +kit. The company is ordered on detached duty, and there is an end to +your dancing and flirting." + +"I don't know about flirting," Ralph laughed. "As far as I can see you +do enough for the whole company in that way. But where are we going +to?" + +"We are ordered to Ballyporrit. An out of the way hole as a man could +wish to be buried in. It seems that there are a lot of stills at work +in the neighborhood. The gauger has applied for military aid. A nice +job we have got before us. I have had my turn at it before, and know +what it means. Starting at nightfall, tramping ten or fifteen miles +over the hills and through bogs, and arriving at last at some wretched +hut only to find a wretched old woman sitting by a peat fire, and +divil a sign of still or mash tubs or anything else. We start the +first thing to-morrow morning; so you had better get your kit packed +and your flask filled to-night. We have nineteen miles march before +us, and a pretty bad road to travel. I have just been in to Desmond's +quarters, and he is tearing his hair at the thought of having to leave +the gayeties of Cork." + +"I think it is a nice change," Ralph said, "and shall be very glad to +have done with all these parties and balls. Ballyporrit is near the +sea, isn't it?" + +"Yes. About a mile away, I believe. Nearly forty miles from here." + +The detachment marched next morning. Ralph enjoyed the novelty of the +march, but was not sorry when at the end of the second day's tramp +they reached the village. The men were quartered in the houses of the +villagers, and the officers took rooms at the inn. Except when engaged +in expeditions to capture stills--of which they succeeded in finding +nearly a score--there was not much to do at Ballyporrit. All the +gentry resident within a wide circle called upon them, and invitations +to dinners and dances flowed in rapidly. As one officer was obliged to +remain always in the village with the detachment, Ralph seldom availed +himself of these invitations. O'Connor and Lieutenant Desmond were +both fond of society; and, as Ralph very much preferred staying +quietly in his quarters, he was always ready to volunteer to take duty +upon these occasions. + +Ballyporrit lay within a mile of the sea, and Ralph, when he had +nothing else to do, frequently walked to the edge of the cliffs, and +sat there hour after hour watching the sea breaking among the rocks +three or four hundred feet below him, and the sea-birds flying here +and there over the water, and occasionally dashing down to its +surface. A few fishing boats could be seen, but it was seldom that a +distant sail was visible across the water; for not one vessel in those +days sailed for the west to every fifty that now cross the Atlantic. +The rocks upon which he sat rose in most places almost sheer up from +the edge of the sea; but occasionally they fell away, and a good +climber could make his way over the rough rocks and bowlders down to +the water's edge. As, however, there was nothing to be gained by it, +Ralph never made the attempt. + +Looking back over the land the view was a dreary one. There was not a +human habitation within sight, the hills were covered with brown +heather, while in the bottoms lay bogs, deep and treacherous to those +who knew not the way across. It was rarely that a human figure was +visible. Once or twice a day a revenue man came along the edge of the +cliff, and would generally stop for a talk with Ralph. + +"There was," he said, "a good deal of smuggling carried on along that +part of the coast during the war; but there is not so much of it now, +though no doubt a cargo is run now and then. It does not pay as it did +when the French ports were all closed, and there was not a drop of +brandy to be had save that which was run by the smugglers. Now that +trade is open again there is only the duty to save, and I fancy a good +many of the boats have gone out of the business. You see, the revenue +has got its agents in the French ports, and gets news from them what +craft are over there loading, and what part of the coast they come +from. Along the English coast there is still a good deal of it. There +lace pays well; but there is not much sale for lace in Ireland, and +not much sale for brandy either, excepting in the towns. The peasants +and farmers would not thank you for it when they can get home-made +whisky for next to nothing." + +"I suppose that there is a good deal of that going on." + +"Any amount of it, sir. For every still that is captured I reckon +there must be a hundred at work that no one dreams of, and will be as +long as barley grows and there are bogs and hills all over the +country, and safe hiding-places where no one not in the secret would +dream of searching. The boys know that we are not in their line of +business, and mind our own affairs. If it were not for that, I can +tell you, I wouldn't go along these cliffs at night for any pay the +king would give me; for I know that before a week would be out my body +would be found some morning down there on the rocks, and the coroner's +jury would bring in a verdict of tumbled over by accident, although +there wouldn't be a man of them but would know better." + +"Well, I am sure I don't want to find out anything about them. I +belong to the detachment in Ballyporrit, and of course if the gauger +calls upon us we must march out and aid him in seizing a still. But +beyond that it's no affair of ours." + +And yet although he so seldom saw any one to speak to, Ralph had +sometimes a sort of uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched. +Once or twice he had caught a glimpse of what he thought was a man's +head among some rocks; but on walking carelessly to the spot he could +see no signs of any one. Another time, looking suddenly round, he saw +a boy standing at the edge of some boggy ground where the land dipped +suddenly away some two hundred yards from the edge of the cliff; but +directly he saw that he was observed he took to his heels, and +speedily disappeared down the valley. + +Ralph did not trouble himself about these matters, nor did he see any +reason why any one should interest himself in his movements. Had he +wandered about among the hills inland he might be taken for a spy +trying to find out some of the hidden stills; but sitting here at the +edge of the cliff watching the sea, surely no such absurd suspicion +could fall upon him. Had he been there at night the smugglers might +have suspected him of keeping watch for them; but smugglers never +attempted to run their cargoes in broad daylight, and he never came +down there after dark. One day a peasant came strolling along. He was +a powerful-looking man and carried a heavy stick. Ralph was lying on +his back looking up at the clouds and did not hear the man approach +till he was close to him, then with a quick movement he sprang to his +feet. + +"I did not hear you coming," he said. "You have given me quite a +start." + +"It's a fine day, yer honor, for sleeping on the turf here," the man +said civilly. + +"I was not asleep," Ralph said; "though I own that I was getting on +for it." + +"Is yer honor expecting to meet any one here?" the man asked. "Sure, +it's a mighty lonesome sort of place." + +"No, I am not expecting any one. I have only come out for a look at +the sea. I am never tired of looking at that." + +"It's a big lot of water, surely," the man replied, looking over the +sea with an air of interest as if the sight were altogether novel to +him. "A powerful lot of water. And I have heard them say that you +often come out here?" + +"Yes, I often come out," Ralph assented. + +"Don't you think now it is dangerous so near the edge of the cliff, +yer honor? Just one step and over you would go, and it would be ten +chances to one that the next tide would drift your body away, and +divil a one know what had become of you." + +"But I don't mean to take a false step," Ralph said. + +"Sure, there is many a one takes a false step when he isn't dreaming +about it; and if ye didn't tumble over by yourself, just a push would +do it." + +"Yes, but there is no one to give one a push," Ralph said. + +"Maybe and maybe not," the man replied. "I don't say if I was a +gentleman, and could spind me time as I liked, that I would be sitting +here on the edge of these cliffs, where you might come to harm any +minute." + +"I have no fear of coming to harm," Ralph answered; "and I should be +sorry for any one who tried. I always carry a pistol. Not that I think +there is any chance of having to use it but it's always as well to be +prepared." + +"It is that, yer honor, always as well; but I don't think I should be +always coming out here if I was you." + +"Why not, my good fellow? I harm no one, and interfere with no one. +Surely it is open to me to come here and look at the sea without any +one taking offense at it." + +"That's as it may be, yer honor. Anyhow I have told you what I think +of it. Good-morning to you." + +"I wonder what that fellow meant," Ralph said, looking after him. "He +meant something, I feel certain, though what it is I can't imagine. I +thought it was as well to let him know that I had a pistol handy, +though he didn't look as if he intended mischief. I suppose after this +I had better not come here so often, though I have not the remotest +idea in the world why I should annoy any one more by standing here +than if I was standing on the cliff in front of Dover Castle. However, +it certainly is a lonely place, and I should have precious little +chance if two or three men took it into their heads to attack me +here." + +"They are queer people these Irish peasants of yours, O'Connor," Ralph +said as they sat at dinner that evening. + +"What's the matter with them now, Conway?" + +"One can't even go and look at the sea from their cliffs without their +taking it amiss," and Ralph related the conversation he had had with +the peasant, adding that he was convinced he had been watched whenever +he went there. + +"It is curious, certainly," the captain said when he had finished. "No +doubt they think you are spying after something; but that would not +trouble them unless there was something they were afraid of your +finding out. Either there has been something going on, or there is +some hiding-place down there on the face of the cliff, where maybe +they have a still at work. Anyhow, I don't think I should neglect the +warning, Conway. You might be killed and thrown over the cliff, and no +one be the wiser for it. I should certainly advise you to give up +mooning about." + +"But there is nothing to do in this wretched village," Ralph said +discontentedly. + +"Not if you stop in the village, I grant; but you might do as Desmond +and I do when we are off duty; go over and take lunch at the Ryans', +or Burkes', or any of the other families where we have a standing +invitation. They are always glad to see one, and there's plenty of fun +to be had." + +"That's all very well for you, O'Connor. You are a captain and a +single man, and one of their countrymen, with lots to say for +yourself; but it is a different thing with me altogether. I can't drop +in and make myself at home as you do." + +"Why, you are not shy, Conway?" O'Connor said in affected horror. +"Surely such a disgrace has not fallen on his majesty's Twenty-eighth +Regiment that one of its officers is shy? Such a thing is not recorded +in its annals." + +"I am afraid it will have to be recorded now," laughed Ralph. "For I +own that I am shy; if you call shy, feeling awkward and uncomfortable +with a lot of strange people, especially ladies." + +"Do not let it be whispered outside," O'Connor said, "or the +reputation of the regiment is gone forever among Irish girls. Desmond, +this is a sad business. What are we to do with this man? You and I +must consult together how this thing is to be cured." + +"No, no, O'Connor," Ralph said earnestly, knowing how fond O'Connor +was of practical jokes, and dreading that he and the lieutenant would +be putting him in some ridiculous position or other. "You will never +cure me if you set about it. I shall get over it in time; but it's the +sort of thing that becomes ten times worse if you attempt to cure it." + +"We must think it over, my lad," O'Connor said seriously. "This is a +serious defect in your character; and as your commanding officer I +consider it my bounden duty, both for your sake and that of the +regiment, to take it into serious consideration and see what is to be +done. You may never have such a chance again of being cured as you +have here; for if a man goes away from Ireland without being cured of +shyness his case is an absolutely hopeless one. Desmond, you must turn +this matter seriously over in your mind, and I will do the same. And +now it is time for us to be starting for the dance at the Regans'. I +am sorry you can't go with us, Desmond, as you are on duty." + +"I shall be very glad to take your duty, Desmond," Ralph said eagerly. +"I told you so this morning, and I thought you agreed." + +"As your commanding officer," O'Connor said gravely, "I cannot permit +the exchange to be made, Mr. Conway. You have your duty to perform to +the regiment as well as Mr. Desmond, and your duty clearly is to go +out and make yourself agreeable. I am surprised after what I have just +been saying that you should think of staying at home." + +"Well, of course, if you want me to go I will go," Ralph said +reluctantly. "But I don't know the Regans, and don't want to." + +"That is very ungracious, Conway. Mr. Regan is a retired pork merchant +of Cork. He has given up his business and bought an estate here, and +settled down as a country gentleman. They say his father was a +pig-driver in Waterford. That's why he has bought a place on this side +of the county. But people have been rather shy of them; because, +though he could buy three-fourths of them up, his money smells of +pork. Still, as the election is coming on, they have relaxed a bit. +He's got the militia band, and there will be lashings of everything; +and his girls are nice girls, whether their father sold pork or not. +And it would be nothing short of cruel if we, the representatives of +his majesty's army, did not put in an appearance; especially as we +have doubtless eaten many a barrel of his salt pork at sea. So put on +your number one coatee and let's be off." + +With a sign Ralph rose to carry out his orders, and he would have been +still more reluctant to go had he observed the sly wink that passed +between his captain and lieutenant. + +"He is quite refreshing, that boy," O'Connor said as the door closed +behind Ralph. "That adventure in the West Indies showed he has plenty +of pluck and presence of mind; but he is as shy as a girl. Though I +don't know why I should say that, for it's mighty few of them have any +shyness about them. He will grow out of it. I was just the same myself +when I was his age." + +Lieutenant Desmond burst into a roar of laughter. + +"I should have liked to have known you then, O'Connor." + +O'Connor joined in the laugh. + +"It's true though, Desmond. I was brought up by two maiden aunts in +the town of Dundalk, and they were always bothering me about my +manners; so that though I could hold my own in a slanging match down +by the riverside, I was as awkward as a young bear when in genteel +company. They used to have what they called tea-parties--and a fearful +infliction they were--and I was expected to hand round the tea and +cakes, and make myself useful. I think I might have managed well +enough if the old women would have let me alone; but they were always +expecting me to do something wrong, and I was conscious that whatever +they were doing they had an eye upon me. + +"It's trying, you know, when you hear exclamations like this: 'The +saints presarve us! if he hasn't nearly poked his elbow into Mrs. +Fitzgerald's eye!' or, 'See now, if he isn't standing on Miss Macrae's +train!' One day I let a cup of coffee fall on to old Mrs. O'Toole's +new crimson silk dress. It was the first she had had for nine years to +my knowledge, and would have lasted her for the rest of her natural +life. And if you could have heard the squall she made, and the +exclamations of my aunts, and the general excitement over that +wretched cup of coffee, you would never have forgotten it. + +"It had one good result, I was never asked to hand things round again +and was indeed never expected to put in an appearance until the +tea-things were taken away. I suffered for months for that silk dress. +My aunts got two yards of material and presented them to Mrs. O'Toole; +and for weeks and weeks I got short allowance of butter to my bread +and no sugar in my tea, and had to hear remarks as to the necessity +for being economical. As for Mrs. O'Toole she never forgave me, and +was always saying spiteful things. But I got even with her once. One +evening the doctor, who was her partner at whist, was called out, and +I was ordered to take his place. Now, I played a pretty good game at +whist, better than the doctor did by a long chalk I flattered myself; +but I didn't often play at home unless I was wanted to make up a +table, and very glad I was to get out of it, for the ill-temper of +those old harridans when they lost was something fearful. + +"It was only penny points, but if they had been playing for five +pounds they couldn't have taken it more to heart; and of course if I +had the misfortune of being their partner they put it down entirely to +my bad play. Well, we held good cards, and at last we only wanted the +odd trick to win. I held the last trump. Mrs. O'Toole was beaming as +she led the best spade, and felt that the game was won. I could not +resist the temptation, but put my trump on her spade, led my small +card, and the game was lost. Mrs. O'Toole gave a scream and sank back +in her chair almost fainting, and when she recovered her breath and +her voice went on like a maniac, and had a desperate quarrel with my +aunts. I made my escape, and three days later, to my huge delight, was +sent off to Dublin and entered the university. I only stayed there +about six months, when a friend of my father's got me a commission; +but that six months cured me of my shyness." + +"I am not surprised," Desmond laughed; "it can only have been skin +deep, I fancy, O'Connor." + +"I will give Conway his first lesson to-night," the captain said. + +Dancing had already begun when Captain O'Connor and Ralph drove up in +a dog-cart to the Regans', who lived some four miles from Ballyporrit. +O'Connor introduced Ralph to his host, and then hurried away. In a +short time he was deep in conversation with Miss Tabitha Regan, who +was some years younger than her brother, and still believed herself to +be quite a girl. She was gorgeously arrayed with a plume of nodding +feathers in her headdress. + +"You are looking splendid to-night, Miss Regan," O'Connor said in a +tone of deep admiration. "You do not give your nieces a chance." + +"Ah! you are flattering me, Captain O'Connor." + +"Not at all, Miss Regan; it's quite a sensation you make. My young +friend Conway was tremendously struck with your appearance, and asked +me who that splendid woman was." Which was true enough, except for the +word "splendid;" for as they had walked through the room Ralph's eyes +had fallen upon her, and he had exclaimed in astonishment, "Who on +earth is that woman, O'Connor?" + +"He is dying to be introduced to you. He is a little young, you know; +but of good family, and may come into a lot of money one of these +days. Only son, and all that. May I introduce him?" + +"How you do go on, Captain O'Connor," Miss Tabitha said, much +flattered. "By all means introduce him." + +O'Connor made his way back to Ralph. + +"Come along, Ralph; I will introduce you to our host's sister, Miss +Regan. Charming creature, and lots of money. Awfully struck with your +appearance. Come on, man; don't be foolish," and, hooking his arm in +Ralph's, he led him across the room to the lady Ralph had before +noticed. + +"Miss Regan, this is my brother-officer, Mr. Conway, Ralph, this is +Miss Regan, our host's sister, although you would take her for his +daughter. Miss Regan, Mr. Conway is most anxious to have the pleasure +of the next dance with you if you are not engaged." + +Ralph murmured something in confirmation, and Miss Regan at once stood +up and placed her hand in his arm. Ralph gave a reproachful glance at +his captain as he moved away. Fortunately, he was not called upon to +say much, for Miss Regan burst out: + +"It is too bad of you not having been here before, Mr. Conway--quite +rude of you. Captain O'Connor has spoken of you frequently, and we +girls have been quite curious to see you. There is the music striking +up. I think we had better take our places. I suppose as I am at the +head of my brother's house we had better take the place at the top." + +Ralph never forgot that dance. Miss Regan danced with amazing +sprightliness, performing wonderful steps. Her ostrich plumes seemed +to whirl round and round him, he had a painful feeling that every one +was grinning, and a mad desire to rush out of the house and make +straight for his quarters. + +"Your aunt is going it," Captain O'Connor remarked to one of the +daughters of the house with whom he was dancing. "She sets quite an +example to us young people." + +The girl laughed. "She is very peculiar, Captain O'Connor; but it is +cruel of you to laugh at her. I do wish she wouldn't wear such +wonderful headdresses; but she once went to court a good many years +ago at Dublin, and somebody told her that her headdress became her, +and she has worn plumes ever since." + +"I am not laughing at her, Miss Regan," O'Connor said gravely; "I am +admiring her. Conway is doing nobly too." + +"I think he looks almost bewildered," the girl laughed. "It's a shame, +Captain O'Connor. I was standing quite close by when you introduced +him, and I could see by your face that you were playing a joke upon +him." + +"I was performing a kindly action, Miss Regan. The lad's young and a +little bashful, and I ventured to insinuate to your aunt that he +admired her." + +"Well, you shall introduce him to me next," the girl said. "I like his +looks." + +"Shall I tell him that, Miss Regan?" + +"If you do I will never speak to you again." + +As soon as the dance was over Captain O'Connor strolled up with his +partner to the spot where Miss Tabitha was fanning herself violently, +Ralph standing helplessly alongside. + +"That was a charming dance, Miss Regan. You surpassed yourself. Let me +recommend a slight refreshment; will you allow me to offer you my arm? +Miss Regan, allow me to introduce my brother-officer, Mr. Conway." + +Ralph, who had not caught the name, bowed to the girl thus left +suddenly beside him and offered her his arm. + +"Why, you look warm already, Mr. Conway," she began. + +"Warm is no word for it," Ralph said bluntly. "Did you see that +wonderful old lady I have been dancing with?" + +"That is my aunt, Mr. Conway; but she is rather wonderful all the +same." + +Ralph had thought before that he was as hot as it was possible for a +man to be; but he found now that he was mistaken. + +"I beg your pardon," he stammered. "I did not catch your name; but of +course I oughtn't to have said anything." + +"I wonder you didn't see the likeness," the girl said demurely. "My +aunt considers there is a great likeness between us." + +"I am sure I cannot see it the least bit in the world," Ralph said +emphatically; "not the smallest. But I hope you forgive me for that +unfortunate remark; but the fact is, I felt a little bewildered at the +time. I am not much of a dancer, and your aunt is really so energetic +that I had to exert myself to the utmost to keep up with her." + +"I think you did admirably, Mr. Conway. We quite admired you both. +There," she said laughing at Ralph's confusion, "you need not be +afraid about my not forgiving you for the remark. Everyone knows that +Aunt Tabitha and we girls never get on very well together; and she +does make herself dreadfully ridiculous, and I think it was too bad of +Captain O'Connor putting you up with her." + +"Thank you, Miss Regan," Ralph said earnestly. "The fact is I haven't +joined long, and I don't care much for parties. You see, I have only +left school a few months, and haven't got accustomed to talk to ladies +yet; and O'Connor--who is always up to some fun or other--did it just +to cure what he calls my shyness. However, I can quite forgive him +now." + +"I don't think you are so very shy, Mr. Conway," Miss Regan said with +a smile. "That last sentence was very pretty, and if I had not hold of +your arm I should make you a courtesy." + +"No, please don't do that," Ralph said, coloring hotly. "I didn't mean +anything, you know." + +"Now, don't spoil it. You meant I suppose, what was quite proper you +should mean, that Captain O'Connor by introducing me to you had made +up for his last delinquency." + +"Yes, that is what I did mean," Ralph agreed. + +"Captain O'Connor tells me that you have been through all sorts of +adventures, Mr. Conway--been carried off by a French privateer, and +taken to a pirate island, and done all sorts of things." + +"The 'all sorts of things' did not amount to much, Miss Regan. I made +myself as useful as I could, and picked up French; and at last when +the privateer sailed away I walked down to the shore and met our +sailors when they landed. There was, I can assure you, nothing in any +way heroic about the part I had to play." + +"Still it was an adventure." + +"Oh! yes, it was that; and upon the whole I think I liked it, except +when there was a chance of having a fight with our own people." + +"That would have been dreadful. What would you have done?" + +"Well, I certainly wouldn't have fought; but what I should have done +would, I suppose, have depended upon circumstances. I suppose I should +have jumped overboard if I had the chance." + +"And is it true what Captain O'Connor was saying, that you had to do +like the other pirates on the island?" + +"I don't know that there was anything particular they did, except to +get drunk, and I didn't do that." + +"He hinted that the rule was that each man had to take a wife from the +people they captured." + +"What nonsense!" Ralph exclaimed indignantly. "The idea of my taking a +wife. You mustn't believe what Captain O'Connor says, Miss Regan; +except, of course," he added slyly, "when he is saying pretty things +to you." + +"I think you will do, Mr. Conway," the girl laughed, "Six months in +Ireland and you will be able to give Captain O'Connor points if you go +on as well as you are doing. You have paid two very nicely-turned +compliments in ten minutes. But there, our dance is finished." + +"May I have another later on, Miss Regan?" + +"Yes. Let me see; I am engaged for the next five. You can have the +sixth if you like, if you haven't secured my aunt for that." + +"You are getting on, Conway," Captain O'Connor said as they drove away +from the Regans. "I have had my eye upon you. Three dances with Polly +Regan, beside taking her down to supper." + +"It was too bad of you putting me on to her aunt in that way." + +O'Connor laughed. "It was a capital thing for you, youngster, and +paved the way for you with Polly; who, by the way, is not such a +respectful niece as she might be. But she is a very nice little girl. +I had thought of making up in that quarter myself, but I see it's no +use now." + +"None at all," Ralph said seriously. "We are not actually engaged, +you, know, but I think we understand each other." + +"What!" Captain O'Connor exclaimed in a changed voice. "You are not +such a young ass as to get engaged before you have joined three +months?" + +Ralph burst into a laugh. "That's good," he said. "It is not often I +get a rise out of you, O'Connor." + +"Well, you did there fairly," the captain admitted, joining in the +laugh. "I thought for a moment you were serious." + +"No," Ralph said. "I may make a fool of myself in other directions; +but I don't think I am likely to in that sort of way." + +"Prior attachment--eh?" Captain O'Connor asked quizzically. + +"Ah, that's a secret, O'Connor," Ralph laughed. "I am not going to lay +my heart bare to such a mocker as you are." + +When they reached the village they found a body of twenty men drawn up +opposite their quarters. + +"Is that you, O'Connor?" the lieutenant asked as the trap stopped. +"Just after you had gone the gauger came in and requested that a party +might accompany him at three o'clock this morning to hunt up a still +among the hills. I am glad you are back in time, as I did not like +going away without there being any one in charge here. It's a +nuisance; for it is just beginning to rain. However, it can't be +helped." + +"I will go if you like Desmond," Ralph said, jumping down. "I should +like a good tramp this morning after that hot room." + +"Are you quite sure you would like it?" the lieutenant asked. + +"Quite sure. Beside, it's my turn for duty this morning; so that +really it's my place to go with them, if Captain O'Connor has no +objection." + +"Not the least in the world, Conway. I don't suppose Desmond has any +fancy for tramping among the hills, and if you have, there is no +reason in the world why you should not go." + +A couple of minutes sufficed to exchange the full-dress regimentals +for undress uniform, covered by military greatcoat, then Ralph hurried +out just as the excise officer came up. + +"We are going to have a damp march of it, Mr. Fitzgibbon," Ralph said. + +"All the better, sir. There will be a thick mist on the hills that +will hide us better even than night. There is a moon at present, and +as likely as not they will have a boy on watch. Are you ready, sir?" + +"Quite ready. Attention! Form fours! March!" and the little party +started. + +"How far are we going?" Ralph asked the revenue officer. + +"About seven miles, sir. It's about half-past three now; we shall be +there somewhere about six. It does not begin to be light until seven, +so there is no particular hurry." + +"I hope you know the way, Mr. Fitzgibbon? It is so dark here I can +scarcely see my hand. And if we get into the fog you talk about it +will be as black as ink." + +"Oh, I know the way," the officer said confidently. "We keep along the +road for two miles, then turn up a track leading up a valley, follow +that for three miles; then branch to the right, cross over one or two +slight rises, and then follow another slight depression till we are +within a hundred yards of the place. I could find my way there with my +eyes shut." + +"That sounds easy enough," Ralph said; "but I know how difficult it is +finding one's way in a fog. However, we must hope we shall get there +all right. Sergeant, have the men got anything in their haversacks?" + +"Yes, sir. Captain O'Connor ordered them to take their breakfast +ration of bread, and he told me to see that their water bottles were +filled; and--" (and here he moved closer up to Ralph, so that he +should not be heard by the men) "he gave me a couple of bottles of +whisky to mix with the water, and told me to fill the bottles myself, +so that the men shouldn't know what was in them till they had their +breakfast; otherwise there would be none left by the time they wanted +to eat their bread. He is always thoughtful the captain is." + +"That's a very good plan, sergeant. I shall bear it in mind myself for +the future. They will want something before they get back after a +fourteen-mile march." + +The fine mist continued steadily as they tramped along; but the night +seemed to grow darker and darker. They turned off from the road; and +as they began to ascend the track along the valley the cloud seemed to +settle round them. The excise officer walked ahead, keeping upon the +path. Ralph followed as closely as he could in his footsteps; but +although almost touching him he could not make out his figure in the +darkness. + +"Tell the men to follow in single file, sergeant," he said; "keeping +touch with each other. As long as we are on the beaten track we know +we are right, but there may be bowlders or anything else close by on +one side or the other." + +Marching as closely as they could to each other the party proceeded. + +"How on earth are you going to find the place where we turn off, Mr. +Fitzgibbon?" Ralph asked. + +"We shall find it easy enough sir. The path regularly forks, and there +is a pile of stones at the junction, which makes as good a guide as +you can want on a dark night. We can't miss that even on a night like +this." + +Ralph had struck a light with his flint and steel, and looked at his +watch at the point where they turned off from the road, and he did the +same thing two or three times as they went along. + +"It's an hour and twenty minutes since we turned off, Mr. Fitzgibbon. +Even allowing for our stoppages when we have got off the path, we +ought to be near the turning now." + +"Yes, I fancy we are not far off now, sir. I can feel that we are +rising more sharply, and there is a rise in the last hundred yards or +so before we reach the place where the road forks. We had better go a +little more slowly now, sir." + +Another five minutes there was a stumble and a fall in front of Ralph. + +"Halt!" he exclaimed sharply. "What is it, Mr. Fitzgibbon?" + +"I have fallen over the pile of stones," the officer said, "and hurt +myself confoundedly." + +"Don't you think we had better halt till daylight?" + +"I think we can keep on, sir. The nearer we get there the better; and +if we should miss the path we can halt then and wait till daybreak." + +"Well, we can do that," Ralph agreed. + +"I will go on ahead, sir, twenty or thirty yards at a time and then +speak, and you can bring the men on to me, then I will go on again. It +will be slow work, but I can keep the path better if I go at my own +pace." + +Ralph agreed, and they proceeded in this manner for some time. + +"I don't think we are on the track now," Ralph said at last. + +"Oh, yes, we are," the officer replied confidently. + +Ralph stooped and felt the ground. "The grass is very short," he +observed, "but it is grass." + +The officer followed his example. + +"Oh, it is only a track now," he said. "Just a footpath, and the grass +is not worn off. I am convinced we are right." + +"Well," Ralph said, "just go a little way to the right and left, and +see if the grass gets longer. It seems to me all the same." + +The officer did so, and was obliged to own that he could not perceive +any difference. Ralph now spread his men out in a line and directed +them to feel on the ground to see if they could discover the track. +They failed to do so, and Ralph then ordered them together again. + +"We will halt here, sergeant, till daylight. It's no use groping about +in the dark. For anything we know we may be going exactly in the wrong +direction. The men can of course sit down if they like; and they may +as well eat a piece of bread and try their water-bottles. But tell +them not to eat more than half their ration. We may be longer before +we get out of this than we expect." + +The order was given, the men piled their arms and seated themselves on +the short turf. Presently Ralph heard a sudden exclamation of surprise +and satisfaction as one of the men tasted the contents of his +water-bottle, and in a minute there was a buzz of talk. Before scarce +a word had been spoken; the men had been marching in a sort of sulky +silence, disgusted at being taken from their beds for work they +disliked, and at their long march through the damp night air; but +their satisfaction at this unexpected comfort loosened their tongues. + +Pipes were produced and lighted, and the discomfort of the situation +altogether forgotten. Desmond had handed to Ralph the flask and packet +of sandwiches he had prepared for himself, and he, too, felt less +strongly the chilling effects of the damp and darkness after partaking +of them. The excise officer had also made his preparations. + +"We should be more certain as to our whereabouts if we had stopped at +that heap of stones as I proposed, Mr. Fitzgibbon." + +"I don't deny, sir, you were right as it has turned out; only I +wouldn't have believed that I could have missed the path, and I did +want to get close to the place before we were observed. I knew that we +couldn't actually surprise them till morning; for the hut lies some +distance in a bog, and there would be no crossing it unless we could +see. Still if we could have got to the edge without the alarm being +given, they would not have time to hide the things before we reached +them. I have ridden across this place many a time after dark, and +never missed my way." + +"That was the sagacity of your horse more than your own, I expect," +Ralph said. "A horse can find his way along a path he has once +traveled better than any man can do. In the first place, I think he +can see better in the night; and in the second, he has some sort of +instinct to guide him. However, I don't suppose it much matters; we +shall find the path easily enough in the morning. And, as you said, +the mist will hide our movements quite as effectually as the darkness +would do." + +At last the morning began to break in a dim misty light, and as it +grew stronger they were able to perceive how dense was the fog that +surrounded them. At three paces distant they were invisible to each +other. + +"It does not seem to me that we are much better off than we were +before, so far as finding the path lies. What do you think?" + +"It looks bad, certainly," the officer admitted reluctantly. "I am +awfully sorry I have led you into this mess." + +"It can't be helped," Ralph said. "We must make the best of matters. +At any rate it's better than it was, and the mist is not nearly as +heavy as when we were marching up that valley." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +STILL-HUNTING. + + +"Now, sergeant, the men may as well fall in," Ralph said cheerfully, +"and then we will set about finding this path. On which side do you +think it is most likely to lie, Mr. Fitzgibbon?" + +"I really can't give an opinion, sir. You see there is not a breath of +wind to help us, and in this sort of light there is no telling where +the sun is, so I don't know at the present moment which way we are +facing." + +"Well, we will try to the right first, sergeant," Ralph said. "I will +lead the way. Let the men follow at a distance of about ten paces +apart. I will keep on speaking. Do you stand at the left of the file, +and when the last man has gone ten paces from you pass the word along. +By that time I shall be about two hundred yards away. If I have not +found the path then we will come back to you and do the same thing on +the left. If we don't light upon the path itself we may come upon some +rise or bog or something that will enable Mr. Fitzgibbon to form an +idea as to where we are." + +This was done, but beyond finding that the ground on the right was +higher than that on the left no index as to their position was +discovered. + +"You see, Mr. Fitzgibbon, we are on sloping ground rising to the +right. Now, does that help you at all?" + +"Not much sir. The country here is all undulating." + +"Very well, then, we must try a march forward. Now, sergeant, place +the men five paces apart. Do you put yourself in the center. I will +move on three yards ahead of you. I shall go as straight forward as I +can, but if you think I am inclining either to the right or left you +say so. The fact that the ground is sloping ought to be a help to us +to keep straight. I wish it sloped a little more, then one would be +able to tell directly whether one was keeping straight. Let the men +speak to each other every few paces so as to keep the right distances +apart." + +Mr. Fitzgibbon placed himself by Ralph's side, and they started. For +half an hour they kept on, then Ralph cried, "Halt. I am certain I am +going downhill, it may be because I have changed my direction, or it +may be because there is a change in the lay of the ground. What do you +think?" + +"It's impossible to say," Mr. Fitzgibbon replied. "It seems to me that +we have been going straight, but when one can't see a yard before one +one may have turned any direction." + +"How long do you think that this rascally fog is likely to last?" + +"It may clear up as the sun gets high, sir, but I must acknowledge +that it may last for days. There is never any saying among these +hills." + +"Well, at any rate you must give up all idea of making a raid on this +still, Mr. Fitzgibbon. That has become a secondary object altogether +now. What we have to do is to find our way out of this. Hitherto I +have tried what we could do in silence. Now I shall give that up. Now, +sergeant, get the men together again. I will go ahead, and shall, if I +can, keep on descending. If one does that one must get out of these +hills at last. When I get about fifty yards I will shout. Then you +send a man on to me. When he reaches me I will shout again and go on +another fifty yards. When I shout send another man forward. When he +gets to the first man the first man is to shout and then come on to +me, and you send off another. In that way we shall make a regular line +fifty yards apart, and I don't think any one can get lost. Should any +one get confused and stray, which he can't do if he keeps his head, he +must shout till he hears his shouts answered. After a time if he +doesn't hear any answer he must fire his gun, and we must answer till +he rejoins us. But if my orders are observed I do not see how any one +can miss their way, as there will be posts stationed every fifty +yards. You remain till the last and see them all before you. You quite +understand? When each man comes up to the one in front of him he is to +stop until the next man joins him, and then move on to the man ahead." + +"I understand, sir." + +"They must not be in a hurry, sergeant; because moving ahead as I +shall, I shall have to move to the right or left sometimes so as to +make as sure as I can that I am still going down. Now, Mr. Fitzgibbon, +if you keep with me, between us we ought to find the road." + +The plan seemed a good one, but it was difficult to follow. The fall +of the ground was so slight that Ralph and the officer often differed +as to whether they were going up or down, and it was only by +separating and taking short runs right and left, forward or backward, +that they arrived at any conclusion, and even then often doubted +whether they were right. The shouting as the long line proceeded was +prodigious, and must have astonished any stray animals that might have +been grazing among the hills. So bewildering was the fog that the men +sometimes went back to the men behind them instead of forward to the +men in front, and long pauses were necessitated before they got right +again. Ralph, finding the cause of the delays, passed the word down +for the first man to keep on shouting "number one," the second "number +two," and so on, and this facilitated matters. The line of shouting +men had at least the advantage that it enabled Ralph to keep a fairly +straight course, as the sound of voices told him if he was deviating +much to the right or left. + +"We may not be going right," he said to his companion, "but at least +we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are not moving in a +circle." + +After some hours' marching Ralph, to his great delight, came upon a +hill rill of water. + +"Thank goodness," he said, "we have got a guide at last. If we follow +this we must get somewhere. We need not go on in this tedious way, but +will halt here till all the men come up." + +It was half an hour before the sergeant arrived. + +"We have got a guide now, sergeant, and can push on. I suppose you +have no idea what stream this is, Mr. Fitzgibbon?" + +"Not at present," the officer admitted. "There are scores of these +little rills about. They make their way down from the bogs at the top +of the hills, and there is nothing to distinguish one from the other." + +They now tramped on briskly, keeping close to the little stream. +Sometimes the ground became soft and marshy, and it was difficult to +follow its course; but they went straight on and after three more +hours' marching came upon a road that crossed the stream over a little +culvert. There was a cheer from the tired men as they stood on hard +ground again. + +"Now, the question is shall we turn to the right or the left, for we +have not the faintest idea as to the points of the compass. What do +you say, Mr. Fitzgibbon?" + +"I should say that it is an even chance; but at any rate whichever way +we go we are sure to come in time upon a hut or village, and be able +to find out where we are." + +"Very well, then; we will take the right," Ralph said. "Form fours, +sergeant. We shall get on better by keeping in step. Now, sergeant, if +any of the men can sing let him strike up a tune with a chorus. That +will help us along." + +There was a little hesitation, and then one of the men struck up a +song, and with renewed life and energy they all marched along. It was +nearly an hour before they heard the welcome sound of voices close by. +Ralph halted his men and proceeded toward this sound, and then +discovered what the fog had prevented them from seeing before, that +they were passing through a village, the voices being those of some +women who were brought to their doors by the sound of music, and who +were somewhat puzzled at the, to them, mysterious sounds. + +"What place is this?" Ralph asked. + +"It is Kilmaknocket." + +"Bless me!" Mr. Fitzgibbon exclaimed, "we are twenty miles away from +Ballyporrit if we are an inch." + +"Then it's evident we can't get there to-day," Ralph said. "We must +have come more than that distance since we halted in the night. Now, +my good woman, I have a party of twenty men here, and we have lost our +way in the hills, and must stop here for the night. How many houses +are there in the village?" + +"There are ten or twelve, sir." + +"That is all right, then. We must quarter two men on each. I will pay +every one for the trouble it will give, and for something to eat, +which we want badly enough, for we have come at least twenty-five or +twenty-six miles, and probably ten more than that, and have had +nothing but a bit of bread since we started." + +"It's heartily welcome you will be, sir," the woman said, "and we will +all do the best we can for you." + +The men were now ordered to fall out. The sergeant proceeded with them +through the village, quartering two men on each house, while Ralph +went round to see what provisions were obtainable. Potatoes and black +bread were to be had everywhere, and he also was able to buy a +good-sized pig, which, in a very few minutes, was killed and cut up. + +"We have reason to consider ourselves lucky indeed," Ralph said, as he +sat down with the excise officer half an hour later to a meal of +boiled potatoes and pork chops roasted over a peat fire. "It's +half-past four now, and will be pitch dark in another half-hour. If we +had not struck upon that stream we should have had another night out +among the hills." + +Ralph's first measure after seeing his men quartered in the village +was to inquire for a boy who would carry a message to Ballyporrit, and +the offer of half a crown produced four or five lads willing to +undertake it. Ralph chose one of them, an active-looking lad of about +fifteen, tore out a leaf from his pocketbook, and wrote an account of +what had happened, and said that the detachment would be in by two +o'clock on the following day. Then directing it to Captain O'Connor or +Lieutenant Desmond, whichever might be in the village, he gave it to +the lad, who at once started at a trot along the road in the direction +from which they had come. + +"He will be there in four hours," Mr. Fitzgibbon said. "It's a regular +road all the way, and he can't miss it even in the dark. It's lucky we +turned the way we did, for although it was taking us further from home +it was but two miles along the road here, while, if we had gone the +right way, it would have been six or seven before we arrived at the +next village." + +"I think we are lucky all round," Ralph said. "An hour ago if any one +told us we were going to sit down at half-past four to a hot dinner of +pork and potatoes we should have slain him as a scoffer. It would have +seemed altogether too good to be true." + +Ralph had no difficulty in purchasing whisky, and he ordered the +sergeant to serve out a tot to each man with his dinner and another +half an hour later, and by seven o'clock there was scarcely one of the +tired men who was not already asleep. The next morning they started at +eight o'clock, having had a breakfast of potatoes before they fell in. +Ralph rewarded the peasants generously for their hospitality, and the +men set off in high spirits for their tramp, and reached Ballyporrit +at half-past two in the afternoon. + +"You gave us a nice scare yesterday, Conway," was Captain O'Connor's +greeting as they marched in. "When twelve o'clock came and you didn't +come back I began to think you must have lost yourselves; and a nice +time we had of it till your messenger arrived at eight. It was no use +sending out to look for you on the hills. But I went out with a party, +with two or three men to guide us, to the end of a valley, up which a +path went; beyond that there was no going, for one couldn't see one's +hand. I stayed there an hour, firing off guns once a minute, and as +there was no reply was sure that you must be a good distance off, +wherever you were; so there was nothing to do but to come back and +hope you had found shelter somewhere. Come in, lad; I have got some +hot lunch waiting for you. Come in, Mr. Fitzgibbon. It's lucky I +didn't catch you yesterday, or I should have considered it my duty to +have hung you forthwith for decoying his majesty's troops among the +hills." + +"Well, Conway, you didn't bargain for all this when you offered to +change places with me," Lieutenant Desmond said when they were seated +at table. + +"No; but now it's all over I am glad I did change, in spite of the +tramp we had. It has been an adventure, and beside, it was a good +thing to learn how best to get out of a fog." + +"How did you manage, Conway?" Captain O'Connor asked; "for once lost +in such a fog as that on those hills there really does not seem +anything to be done." + +Ralph related the various steps he had taken, and how, eventually, +they had come upon running water and followed it down to a road. + +"Well, I really think you have done remarkably well, youngster. I +shouldn't be surprised if we have some more tramps before us, for I +had a letter this morning from the colonel saying that the fellow +known as the Red Captain, a notorious scoundrel who has been with his +gang committing all sorts of atrocities in Galway, has made the place +too hot for him at last, and is reported to have made his way down to +the south coast, somewhere in this direction; and we are ordered to +keep a sharp lookout for him. He is an unmitigated ruffian, and a +desperate one. He has shot several constables who have tried to +capture him, and as he has three or four men with him nearly as bad as +himself I expect we shall have some trouble with him. There has been a +reward of a hundred pounds for his capture for a long time, but so far +without success. One man, whom he suspected rightly or wrongly of +intending to betray him, he killed by fastening the door of his +cottage and then setting the thatch alight; and the man, his wife, and +four children were burned to death." + +That evening, just as dinner was over, the sergeant came in and said +that a woman wished to speak to the captain. + +"What does she want, sergeant?" + +"She won't say what she wants, sir; only that she wishes to speak to +you privately." + +"Show her in then, sergeant." + +The sergeant brought in the woman and then retired. As soon as the +door closed behind him the woman threw back the shawl which had +hitherto almost covered her face. She was about twenty-five years old, +and strikingly pretty. + +"What can I do for you?" Captain O'Connor asked. "The sergeant says +you wish to speak to me on some particular business." + +"Yes, sir; sure, and it is very particular business." + +"You don't wish to speak to me quite alone, I suppose?" O'Connor +asked, seeing that she hesitated. + +"No, your honor; seeing that these gentlemen are all officers there is +no reason in life why they should not hear what I have to say. But, +sure, sir, it's little my life would be worth if it were known outside +these walls that I had been here. My name is Bridget Moore, sir, and I +belong to County Galway. Well, your honor, there was a desperate +villain, they call the Red Captain, there. He was hiding in the hills +for some time near the little farm my husband holds. We did not know +who he was--how should we? but thought he was hiding because the +revenue officers were after him on account of a bit of a still or +something of that kind; but we found out one day, when he had been +taking too much of the cratur and was talking big like, that he was +the Red Captain. + +"My Denis was troubled in his mind over it. Av coorse he was not one +to inform, but he had heard so much of the Red Captain and his doings +that he was onaisy at the thought of having him as a neighbor. He +wasn't one to pretind to be frindly when he wasn't, and the captain +noticed it and took offince, and there were mighty high words between +them. One night, your honor, he and his gang came down and broke in +the door, and tould Denis he was a black-hearted informer, Denis said +it was a lie, and they were nigh shooting him, but at last they said +he should have the choice either of joining them or of being shot; and +Denis, being druv to it, and seeing no other way to save his life, was +forced to agree. Then the villains made him kneel down and take a +great oath to be faithful and secret. + +"I was away off; for I had caught up the child and run out by the back +door when they came in, but I crept round to a broken window there +was, so that I could hear what was said. When they took him away wid +them and went off, I followed at a distance, for I wasn't sure whether +after all they didn't mean to murther him. But they went up to the hut +where they lived at the edge of the bog, and as they seemed more +friendly like I went back to see after the child, who was left all +alone. The next morning I took it over to a neighbor and asked her to +keep it till I came back. Then I went up to the hut again and found it +was empty. + +"A day or two after that I found out from a man who run a still, and +knew the Red Captain well, that he had made up his mind to lave Galway +and come down south, where he had some friends; so I just shut up the +house and walked down here. Now you know, your honor, that I don't +come here for the sake of the reward. Not a penny of it would I touch +if I were dying of hunger, and sooner than be pointed at as an +informer I would throw myself over them big rocks. But they have got +Denis, and either they will make him as bad as themselves--which I +don't think--or they will shoot him; and if they don't shoot him he +will be shot one of these days by the soldiers. What I want you to +promise, your honor, is, that if I point out where you can lay your +hands on the villains, you won't say who tould you, and that you will +tell your soldiers not to shoot Denis. + +"You will know him aisy enough, your honor, for he is a dacent-looking +boy; and when the time comes you will find he will do what he can to +help you. I found out who the people were that the Red Captain had +come down to, and I watched and watched their place, till one day I +saw him come there. Then I followed him and found out whereabout they +were hiding. I kept about till, that evening, I had a chance of +spaking to Denis for a minute. He is broken-hearted, your honor, but +he daren't lave them. He said they had sworn if he ever tried to run +away they would hunt him down; and the Red Captain said that he would +send information to the poliss that it was Denis who helped him fire +the hut when those poor cratures were burned, and would say, he had +been in the thick of it all along; and how could he prove the differ? +So he daren't for the life of him move, your honor; and tould me to +keep away and go home, for I could do him no good, and if they caught +me spaking to him they would kill the two of us." + +"I promise you willingly," Captain O'Connor said, "I will not say who +pointed out their hiding-place, and if your husband does not join in +the resistance he certainly shall receive no hurt. If he is caught +with them I am afraid that I shall be exceeding my duty in letting him +go; but surely he would have no difficulty in proving that he had only +accompanied them in consequence of their threats." + +"That's what he couldn't prove, sir. That's just what they tould him: +if they were caught themselves they knew there was no chance for them, +and they would all swear together that he had been with them all +along; and how could the boy prove that he wasn't?" + +"Well, Mrs. Moore, I will try and strain a point," Captain O'Connor +said. "You see, people sometimes escape after they are taken, and I +think we shall be able to manage somehow that Denis shan't appear at +the bar with the others; and if it should turn out that cannot be +managed I will engage to make such representations to the authorities +that your husband shall get off free." + +"Very well, sir; then I will tell you where they are to be found. I +can't take you there, your honor, but I can tell you whereabout it is. +There is a footpath turns oft from the road at the end of the village, +and goes straight down to the top of them big rocks that come out of +the sea. Well, sir, a few hundred yards to the right of that there is +a sort of break in the rocks, and there is a track goes down there. +You won't see it onless you look close for it, and it gets lost a +little way down, becase the rocks are all broken about and heaped on +each other. It's down there they go. There's always a man on watch not +far from the top; and there is generally a gossoon from their friends +here somewhere at the edge of the bog behind, who would run forward +and tell the man on watch if he saw any soldiers coming from here. So +you will have to be mighty careful; but they are down there, sure +enough, somewhere. + +"Denis tould me there was no chance of their being taken, for they +have got a little boat hid away down among the rocks by the water, and +if the alarm was given they would make off in that. I can't tell you +any more than that, you honor; but I should think that may be enough +to help you to find them." + +"I should think so too, Mrs. Moore. And what do you propose doing +yourself?" + +"I shall go off, sir, at once. Folk have been wondering at me, and +asking where I came from and what I was doing here, and I want to get +away. If it came to the Red Captain's ears there was a woman about he +might guess it was me, and if he did he would like enough shoot Denis +and make away. I can't see as I can do any good by stopping, and I may +do harm; so I will go over to Dunmanway and stop there till I hear +what your honor has done. If I find Denis has got hurted I shall come +back, if not I shall go home to the farm. Maybe your honor will tell +him I shall be expecting him there." + +Captain O'Connor accompanied her outside to see that no one spoke to +her, and when he saw her disappear in the darkness he returned to the +room. + +"I think you have had a lucky escape, Conway," he said as he entered. +"The matter is explained now about your being watched and questioned, +and it is very lucky that they did not quite make up their minds you +were a spy; for if they had you may be sure they would have had no +more hesitation in putting an ounce of lead into you, and throwing you +over the cliff, than they would in shooting a sparrow. Well, this is +an important piece of news. The authorities have for a long time been +trying to lay their hands on this scoundrel and his gang, and if we +can catch him it will be a feather in our caps, for he has defied all +their efforts for the last three years. Now, we must arrange the line +of battle, how it is to come off, and when. + +"In the first place we must arrange with the coast-guard to have a +well-manned boat somewhere along the coast to cut the scoundrels off +if they try to escape by sea. The attack must be made by daylight, +that is evident, for half the men would break either their legs or +their necks if they tried to get down in the dark. I think it will be +best to place half the company along the top of the cliffs, posting +two or three men at every point where it looks possible that they may +ascend, then with the other half we will go down on this track she +speaks of and search the whole place thoroughly. If they are there we +must find them sooner or later; and find them we will, if the search +takes us a week." + +"Who is this Red Captain?" + +"I believe his real name is Dan Egan. He was mixed up in some brutal +outrage on an inoffensive farmer, had to leave the county, went to +Dublin, and enlisted. He went out to Spain with his regiment, was +flogged twice for thieving, then he shot an officer who came upon him +when he was ill-treating a Portuguese peasant; he got away at the +time, and it was months before he was heard of again. It was thought +that he had deserted to the French, but I suppose he got down to a +port somewhere in disguise and shipped on board a vessel for England. +The next thing heard of him was that he was back again at his native +place. The police here were of course ignorant as to what had become +of him from the time he disappeared; but the fellow made no secret of +what he had been doing, and boasted of having shot the officer. + +"The regiment was communicated with, and by a comparison of the date +of enlistment and the personal description there was no doubt that the +man who had enlisted as Mark Kelly was Dan Egan. Of course every +effort was made to capture him, but in vain. I believe the peasants +would have informed against him, for he was hated for his violence and +overbearing way, but he soon established a sort of terror in the +district. He was joined by three or four of the greatest ruffians in +County Galway, and unless the whole of these had been captured at one +swoop, vengeance would be sure to fall upon whoever had betrayed him. + +"He has killed four or five police officers at various times, and I +should say twice as many peasants who have ventured to offend him. He +and his band levied a sort of blackmail in the district, and woe +betide the small farmer who refused to send in a sheep or a bag of +meal once a month. Their cattle were killed and their ricks set on +fire; and so in a short time he had the whole neighborhood under his +thumb. Whenever a party went in pursuit of him he was sure to obtain +early information. Not from love, but from fear; for it was a well +understood thing that any one seeing a body of police and failing to +send instant word would suffer for it. + +"Just as we left I heard that a company of foot and a troop of cavalry +were to be sent from Galway to search every hut and hiding-place in +the district, and I suppose that it was this that drove him down here. +He has red hair and beard; and it is this partly, and partly no doubt +the fellow's murderous character, that has gained him the name of the +Red Captain. He is a prize worth taking, and if we can lay hands on +him and his band together we shall have done better work than if we +had unearthed a hundred illicit stills. At any rate we will lose no +time. I will write a letter at once to the revenue officer at the +coast-guard station. I shall mention no names, but say that we hope to +make an important capture to-morrow morning on the cliffs here, and +asking him to send a well-armed boat at daylight, with instructions to +stop and arrest any boat that may put out from the shore. If the +revenue cutter happens to be lying off his station, or within reach of +a messenger, I will tell him to have her off the shore if possible." + +Captain O'Connor at once wrote the letter. "Sergeant Morris," he said, +when the non-commissioned officer came in, "I want you to take this +letter yourself to Lieutenant Adcock at the coast-guard station in the +cove three miles along to the east. It is of the highest importance. I +want you to see the officer yourself and obtain an answer from him. +Take a man with you, and carry your side-arms. Don't go along the +cliff, but keep to the road till you come to the lane that leads +direct to the village in the cove. Just tell the landlord to come +here, will you?" + +"Landlord," he said, when the host appeared, "I want you to lend a +couple of long greatcoats and two hats or caps of any kind. I am +sending two of my men off on a mission, and I don't want them to be +noticed. It does not matter how old the coats are so that they are +long." + +"I will get them your honor. I have one that will do, and will borrow +the other for you in no time." + +"You see, sergeant, I don't want your presence in the village to be +noticed. You know how these fellows hang together. The sight of two +soldiers in uniform there would be sure to attract attention. Choose a +man you can rely on to play his part cleverly. I tell you to take your +side-arms, because I happen to know that there are men about who, if +they suspected your mission, would not have the least hesitation in +knocking you on the head. This is no question of finding a still, +sergeant, but of making the capture of one of the most desperate bands +in the country; and it is well worth taking the utmost pains and +precaution to insure everything going well." + +"I understand, sir. I will take Pat Hogan with me; he has plenty of +the brogue, and can talk the language too. So if any one should speak +to us as we go along he can do the talking, and no one will suspect +that we are not a couple of countrymen." + +"That will do very well, sergeant. It is just seven o'clock now. If +Lieutenant Adcock is in when you get there you ought to be back, well, +before ten. It's about four miles by road. I would borrow a couple of +heavy sticks if I were you. I don't think it at all likely there will +be any occasion to use them, but it is just as well to be prepared. +If, when you get near the village, or on your way back, you come +across any one who questions you inquisitively, and seems to you to be +a suspicious character, I authorize you to make him prisoner and bring +him over with you. Knock him down if he attempt resistance. You may as +well take a pair of handcuffs with you and a short coil of rope. The +object of the rope is, that if you capture any one on your way to the +village you had better handcuff him, gag him, and tie him up securely +to a tree or some other object at a distance from the road, and pick +him up as you come back. I need hardly say that you are not to go into +any house in the village, not to speak to any one beyond what is +absolutely necessary." + +"I understand, sir, and you can rely upon me to carry out your +orders." + +"You had better fetch Hogan in here, sergeant. Tell him what he has to +do before you bring him in, then we can see the disguises on you both; +and it's better for you to start from an inn, where people are going +in and out, than from one of the houses where you are quartered." + +The landlord returned with the disguises almost immediately after the +sergeant had gone out, and in a few minutes the latter came in with +Hogan. The greatcoats were put on, the hats substituted for military +caps, and with the collars of the coats turned up and the addition of +two heavy sticks, the disguise was complete, and the two smart +soldiers would pass anywhere as peasants. + +"You had better take your gaiters off, sergeant. You look too neat +about the feet; although that would not be noticed unless you went +into the light. Here is the letter, put it carefully inside your +jacket. There, now, I think you will do." + +It was nearly ten when the two soldiers returned. "Here's a letter +sir, from the revenue officer. He quite understands what is wanted, +and will have a boat off the cliffs at daybreak with a well-armed +crew. He does not know where the cutter is at present. She touched +there two days ago, sailing west." + +"You met no suspicious characters, sergeant?" + +"No, sir. We spoke to no one until we got to the village, beyond +asking a woman which was the turning from the main road. There didn't +seem to be a soul about in the village, and we had to wait about some +time before I could get hold of a boy to tell me which was the revenue +officer's cottage. I left Hogan outside when I went in; but he saw no +one, nor did any one speak to us on our return beyond one or two men +we met passing the time of night, which Hogan answered." + +"All the better, sergeant. The great object is secrecy. Now, leave +these things here and put on your caps again. If you go to the bar the +landlord has orders to give you a glass of grog each. Don't say a word +as to where you have been, Hogan, but get back to your quarters. When +you have had your grog, sergeant, look in again before you go." + +When the men had gone out Captain O'Connor opened the letter, which +merely confirmed what the sergeant said. When Sergeant Morris returned +Captain O'Connor told him that the company were to parade an hour +before daylight. + +"Don't give the order to-night, sergeant; but go round from house to +house yourself in the morning, rouse the men, and tell them to fall in +quietly without beat of drum. + +"Everything is going on well, boys," he said when the sergeant had +left, "and I think we have a good chance of laying these scoundrels by +the heels to-morrow. However, we must insure that word is not sent +from the village, when the troops begin to get up. A stir an hour +before the usual time is sure to excite remark, and as it is certain +these fellows will have arranged with some one in the village for +early news of any unusual movement, we must take steps to prevent a +messenger passing. I propose that you two shall be astir half an hour +before the troops; and that you shall, before any one else is moving, +go along the path leading to the cliffs, stop a couple of hundred +yards beyond the village, and arrest any one who may come along." + +"Yes, I think that will be a very good plan," Lieutenant Desmond said. +"No one shall pass us, I warrant." + +"Don't forget to take your pistols; it is likely enough you may have +to use them before the day is over. These scoundrels know they fight +with ropes round their necks, and are almost sure to resist +desperately. Now we will have one glass more, and then be off to bed. +The day will begin to break about seven, and I will impress upon the +landlord the urgent necessity of calling you both by five." + +"I suppose we are to stay where we take up our station till you come +along with the company, O'Connor, whether we take any prisoners or +not?" + +"Yes, that will be the best way, Desmond. If you have caught any one I +will send them back with a guard to the village. No, it would not do +for you to move before we come up, for there is no saying what time a +messenger will go along. They may not take the alarm until just as we +are starting, or even until they see which road we are taking. By the +way, you may as well take that pair of handcuffs the sergeant has left +on the table with you, otherwise if you do get a prisoner you would +have to keep your hands on his collar, or he might make a bolt any +moment. There is nothing like being on the safe side. + +"You had better take up your post at some place where your figures +will not be seen by any one coming along the road till he is close to +you, or instead of coming straight along he might make a bolt round; +and some of these fellows can run like hares. We must not let the +smallest chance escape us. If we succeed in the affair we shall get no +end of credit, beside the satisfaction of freeing the country of as +desperate a band of ruffians as any that infest it, and that's saying +a good deal. Now, here's success to our work to-morrow." O'Connor +drained his glass and placed it on the table, and then rising and +taking up his sword made his way to his room, his companions at once +following his example. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE CAVE AMONG THE ROCKS. + + +At five o'clock on the following morning Ralph was roused by the +landlord, who brought him a candle; he lost no time in dressing, +buckled on his sword, looked to the priming of the double-barreled +pistols Mr. Penfold had given him, and placed them in his belt. Then +he went downstairs and put the handcuffs into the pocket of his great +coat. He then went to the bar, where the landlord was kindling a fire. + +"I want a bottle of whisky, landlord, a loaf of bread, and a big lump +of cheese." As he was waiting for these, Lieutenant Desmond joined +him. + +"That's right, Conway, there is nothing like laying in a stock of +creature comforts when you have the chance. Look here, landlord, get +an empty bottle and put half the whisky in, and then fill them both up +with water. Cut that loaf of bread in halves; in that way we can get +it in our pockets. That's right; now do the same with the cheese. You +and I may not be together, Conway, so it's just as well to divide the +commissariat; to say nothing of the convenience of carriage. Now, have +you got the handcuffs? That's right, we will be off at once." + +The landlord went to the door with them and looked after them, +somewhat surprised at seeing no soldiers about. + +"What can they be up to by themselves at this hour of the morning?" he +said to himself. "Well, they are two nice young fellows anyway, and I +hope that they are not going to get into mischief. Now I will just +make up the fire, and then sit down for an hour's snooze in my +arm-chair. The captain said he was to be called at six. I suppose they +are going out still-hunting somewhere. Well, I wish them luck; for +when the boys can get their whisky for next to nothing they don't care +about coming here, and small blame to them, for I shouldn't myself." + +Not a soul was astir in the village as the two young officers passed +along. They turned off at the lane leading to the sea, and after +proceeding a quarter of a mile came to a point where the roadway +ended, the path beyond this being merely a track. Here there was a +gate across the lane, and a wall running right and left. + +"We can't find a better spot than this, Conway," Lieutenant Desmond +said. "If we sit down one on each side against the wall, a hundred men +might pass along without noticing us." + +"Which side shall we sit, Desmond?" + +"We will sit this side," the lieutenant replied. "If we were the other +side a man might possibly wrench himself way from our grasp, and might +outrun us, but on this side of the gate he couldn't do so; for even if +he did break away he would have to run back toward the village, the +gate would stop his going the other way." + +Accordingly the young officers took their posts against the wall, one +on either side of the gate, and with their swords drawn awaited the +coming of a messenger to the Red Captain. + +"There is no chance of any one being here for another twenty minutes," +Desmond said. "The sergeant will not rouse the men up till a quarter +to six, therefore no one is likely to come along until within a few +minutes of the hour. It's precious cold here, though the wall does +shelter us from the wind a bit; still it's not a lively job having to +wait here half an hour, with the thermometer somewhere below freezing +point." + +The time passed slowly. Occasionally they exchanged a few words in low +tones, but as the time approached when they knew that the sergeant +would be going his rounds to call the men they spoke less. + +"It must be nearly six o'clock now," Desmond said at last. "The men +would be called at a quarter to, so if any one is coming he will most +likely be here in a few minutes. Hush! I think I can hear footsteps." + +A few seconds later they dimly saw a figure running toward them at +full speed. As it dashed up to the gate they sprang out and seized it. +There was a sharp frightened cry. + +"Don't make a noise," Desmond said sternly, "or it will be the worse +for you. Where were you going?" + +It was a girl of about twelve years old whom they had captured. She +was silent a moment. + +"Sure, your honor," she said in a whimper, "I was doing no harm. I was +only running to tell Mike Brenan that his ould mother is taken bad +with the cramps, and wanted to see him bad." + +"Where do you expect to go to, you little liar?" Desmond asked. "We +know what you are up to. You were running to tell some one that the +soldiers were getting up. Now, if you are quiet and keep still no harm +will come to you; but if you try to scream or to get away we shall +hand you over to the police, and there's no saying whether they may +not make it a hanging matter for aiding the king's enemies." + +"I suppose we needn't fasten her?" Ralph said. + +"Not fasten her! Why, she is as slippery as a young eel, and if you +take your hand off her for a moment she would be off like a hare. No, +no, we must make her safe. Beside," he whispered in Ralph's ear, "she +would scream to a certainty if she saw any one else coming, then they +might strike off and get round us. No, no, we can't run any risks; +there is too much depends on it. Now just sit down there, young woman, +by the wall. We are not going to hurt you, but you have got to keep +quiet. Now put your feet together." Desmond took out his pocket +handkerchief and folded it, and tied the girl's ankles firmly +together. "Now then, Ralph, do the same with her wrists. That's right +now. Wrap that shawl of hers three or four times tightly round her +mouth. That's it; let her breathe through her nose. Now you keep a +sharp watch over her, and see she doesn't wriggle out of these things. +If you see any one coming clap your hand over her mouth, and see she +doesn't make a sound. When he comes up you can let go and help me if +necessary; it won't matter her giving a bit of a scream then." + +"Now," he went on, this time speaking aloud, "if that girl makes the +least noise, run her through with your sword at once. Don't hesitate a +moment." + +"Very well," Ralph said in the same tones. "I will silence her, never +fear." + +Ralph sat down close to the girl and watched her sharply. They had +fixed the shawl as well as they could, but he felt sure that by a +sudden effort she could free her mouth sufficiently to scream. She sat +perfectly still; but in about three minutes he saw her suddenly throw +her head back, and in an instant he clapped his hand over her mouth. +She struggled violently in spite of her bonds, and tried to bite; but +with the other arm he held her head firmly, and succeeded in +preventing the slightest sound escaping her. Then he glanced up the +path. As he had expected the girl's quick ear had heard approaching +footsteps that were inaudible to him. A figure was bounding rapidly +toward them. As it reached the gate Desmond sprang upon it. There was +a sharp scuffle for a moment. + +"All right, Conway. I have got him." + +It was a lad of some fifteen years old this time. He struggled +furiously till Desmond placed a pistol against his head, and told him +that he would blow his brains out if he was not quiet, and taking out +the handcuffs fastened them on to his ankles. + +"There is no fear of his doing any running now. Just come and sit down +by this wall, my lad, and remember if you make the slightest sound I +will run my sword through your body." + +The lad shuffled to the wall and sat down. Ralph released his grasp of +the girl. + +"This is a regular young wildcat, Desmond. She very nearly got my hand +in her mouth, and if she had she would have bitten a piece out. Well, +I shouldn't think there will be any more of them." + +"No, I should think not. They would scarcely send off more than two +messengers. However, we must still keep a sharp lookout." + +But no one else came along, and in a quarter of an hour they heard the +deep tramp of a body of men approaching, and Captain O'Connor soon +came up at the head of the company. + +"Well, any news, gentlemen?" he asked as the two young officers +stepped out. + +"Yes, Captain O'Connor. We have two prisoners--a girl and a boy. They +came along about ten minutes apart, both running at full speed and +evidently going with messages. We put the handcuffs on the boy's +ankles, and tied the girl's with our handkerchiefs." + +"Sergeant, tell off two men and let them take these prisoners back to +the village, and guard them carefully till we return. They may as well +keep the handcuffs on the boy's ankles, and untie the girl's; but let +one of them keep a tight hold of her arm, and be sure that she doesn't +slip away." + +Two men were told off for the duty, and the march was then resumed. +Daylight was faintly breaking when they reached the edge of the cliff. +Ralph, with ten men, was posted at the spot where a slight track was +visible going down into a sort of gulley. Captain O'Connor then +proceeded with half the company to the right, Desmond taking the +remainder to the left; each posting men at intervals along the edge of +the cliff, and placing parties of four at every point where there +appeared the smallest probability of an ascent being practicable. + +All were ordered to load at once. They were to make prisoner any one +coming up the cliff, and in case of resistance to fire without +hesitation. The two officers then returned to the spot where they had +left Ralph. It was now nearly broad daylight. Leaving the soldiers +they went a short distance to a point where the rocks fell away +precipitately, and from here had a clear view of the face of the +cliffs. + +"We had better wait here for a time," the captain said. "The chances +are that before long one of them will look out from their +hiding-place, and perhaps make his way up to the top to look round. If +he does, that will give us an index as to the direction at any rate of +their hiding-place. Now, I will take the ground in front; do you watch +to the left, Conway, and you to the right, Desmond. We had better lie +down, or on this jutting point we may catch the eye of any one down +there before we can see him. Keep a sharp lookout lads; it will save +us a world of trouble if we can see one of them." + +For half an hour they lay quiet, then Desmond suddenly exclaimed: + +"There is a man among those fallen rocks halfway up the side. There! +he is gone. Perhaps we shall see him again in a moment." + +For five minutes they lay with their eyes fixed on the rocks that +Desmond pointed out, but there were no signs of life. + +"Are you sure you were not mistaken, Desmond?" O'Connor asked. + +"Quite certain. He suddenly appeared by the side of that gray bowlder, +stood there for a moment, and sunk down again. I expect he must have +got a view of one of the men somewhere along the top." + +"We will wait another ten minutes," O'Connor said, "and then we will +take a party to the spot and search it thoroughly. There is the +coast-guard boat, so there is no fear of their getting away by water." + +Another quarter of an hour passed. + +"It is no use waiting any longer. Go along the line, one each way, and +bring ten men from points where they can be spared. We will leave them +at the top of the path and take the party there down with us. There +are only four or five of them, and ten men beside ourselves are ample +for the business." + +The arrangements were soon made. Before starting on the descent +O'Connor said to the men: "We wish to take the fellows who are hiding +down there alive if possible. They are the gang of the fellow known as +the 'Red Captain,' and have committed a score of murders; but if it is +absolutely necessary you will of course fire. There is one man among +them who is there on compulsion, and is less guilty than the rest. He +is a fair-haired man, and I should think you would notice the +difference between him and the rest. Whatever resistance they make it +is not probable that he will join in it. At any rate, do not fire at +him unless it is absolutely necessary to save life. Now see to your +priming before we start, and fix bayonets. Mind how you climb over +these rocks, because if any of you fall your muskets may go off and +shoot some one in front of you. Wherever it is possible scatter out +abreast of each other, so as to prevent the possibility of accident. +Now, then, march!" + +Leading the way, Captain O'Connor descended the little track. It +extended but a short distance. Beyond that a chaos of fallen +rocks--the remains of a landslip many years previously--stretched away +to the shore. + +"There is no working along these sideways, Desmond," Captain O'Connor +said after they had climbed along for some little distance. "We had +better make straight down to the shore, follow that for a bit, and +then mount again to the spot where you saw the man." + +It was difficult work, but at last the party reached the shore. +Lieutenant Adcock, who was himself in command of the boat, had watched +the party making their way down the rocks, and now rowed in to within +a few yards. + +"Good-morning, lieutenant," Captain O'Connor said. "I think we have +got them fairly trapped; but doubtless they would have made off if +they hadn't seen you on the watch outside. It's that notorious +scoundrel the Red Captain of Galway who is, I hear, hiding here with +his gang." + +"Indeed!" the revenue officer said; "that will be a capture worth +making. Shall I come ashore with four of my men? I expect they are +more accustomed to climbing about among the rocks than yours are, and +I should like to lend a hand." + +"Do, by all means," Captain O'Connor replied. "I see you have got ten, +and six will be quite enough in the boat, even if they do manage to +get down and embark, which I don't think they will. Your men are all +armed, I suppose?" + +"Yes; they have all carbines and cutlasses. Now, coxswain, I leave you +in charge. Row out a quarter of a mile, and if any boat pushes off you +are to stop it and arrest all on board. They will almost certainly +resist, and in that case you must use your arms. Now, the four bow +oars get out and step ashore." + +When the lieutenant and his four men had landed, the boat again pushed +off, and the party on shore made their way along over the rocks at the +edge of the water until they were opposite the rock where Lieutenant +Desmond had seen the man appear. Then the ascent was commenced. The +four officers went first, the men following in a line. + +"Bear a little to the left," Captain O'Connor said; "it is likely to +lie somewhere in that direction. The man we saw would have been making +toward the path and not from it. Keep a sharp lookout between these +great rocks; there is no saying where the entrance to their +hiding-place may be." + +Almost as he spoke there was a sharp crack of a rifle, and the bullet +struck the rock on which he was standing. + +"Come on, lads!" he shouted, "the sooner we are there the less time +they have got to fire;" and with a cheer the men hurried forward, +scrambling recklessly over the rocks. Again and again puffs of smoke +darted out from the rocks in front; and one of the soldiers fell, shot +through the heart. + +"Don't stop to fire!" Captain O'Connor shouted as a yell of rage broke +from the men; "you will do no good, and it will only give them more +time." + +A dozen more shots were fired. One of the coast-guard men was shot +through the shoulder; but this was the only casualty, for the quick +movements of the men as they scrambled over the bowlders disconcerted +the aim of those above. Breathless and panting the four officers +gained the spot from which the shots had been fired, the men close up +behind them; but not a soul was to be seen. + +"Wait a moment till you get breath, lads," their leader said. "They +can't be far from here. We will find their hiding-place presently, +never fear." + +As they stood panting there was a shout from above. The soldiers were +standing along the edge of the cliff, looking down upon the fight. +Sergeant Morris waved his arm. + +"They have made away to your left, sir!" he shouted at the top of his +voice. "We have just caught sight of them among the rocks!" + +In two or three minutes Captain O'Connor led the way in that +direction. + +"Keep your eyes sharply about, lads. No doubt the place is cunningly +hidden. Search among every clump of bushes between the rocks." + +Presently the sergeant shouted down again from above: + +"I think you are far enough now, sir! We did not catch sight of them +beyond that!" + +For an hour the search continued, but without avail. + +"They must be here somewhere, lads!" Captain O'Connor said. "We will +find them if we have to stop here a week, and have provisions brought +down from the village. It's pretty evident there is no opening between +the great rocks or we must have found it. We must examine the smaller +bowlders. They may have one so placed that it can be dropped down over +the entrance. That flat slab is a likely-looking place, for instance. +Three or four of you get hold of it and heave it up." + +The men gathered round to lift it. Ralph stooped down and peeped under +as they did so. + +"Hurrah!" he shouted, "there is an opening here." + +Several of the others now got hold of the stone. It was up-ended and +thrown backward, and the entrance to a passage some three feet high +and two feet wide was revealed. + +"I can smell a peat fire!" one of the men exclaimed. + +"This is the entrance, no doubt," Captain O'Connor said. "See, the +bottom is evidently worn by feet. The passage must have been used for +a long time; but it's an awkward place to follow desperate men into." + +"It is, indeed," Lieutenant Adcock agreed. "They could shoot us down +one after one as we go in. They would see us against the light, while +we should be able to make out nothing." + +"Surrender in there!" Captain O'Connor shouted. "You can't get away; +and I promise you all a fair trial." + +His summons was followed by a taunting laugh; and a moment later there +was a sharp sound within, and a rifle bullet struck the side of the +entrance and flew out. + +"It would be throwing away one's life to go in there," Captain +O'Connor said. "At any rate we have got them secure, and they must +come out in time. But it would be madness to crawl in there on one's +hands and feet to be picked off by those scoundrels at their ease. +Now, lads, two of you stand by this entrance. Keep out of the line of +fire, and be ready with your bayonets to run any one through who comes +out. Let the rest scatter and search round this place. They may have +another entrance. If so, we must find it. In the first place, it may +be easier of entry; in the second they might escape from it after +dark." + +Again the search began. + +"Do you think it is likely to be higher up or lower down, O'Connor?" +Lieutenant Desmond asked. + +"There is no saying, Desmond; the passage seems to go straight in. I +should fancy above rather than below." + +For a long time they searched without success; then Ralph, who had +gone higher up the rocks than the rest, came upon a clump of low +bushes growing between some large bowlders. There was nothing +suspicious about them, and he was just turning away when he perceived +a slight odor of peat smoke. + +Silently he made his way down to the captain. + +"I have found another entrance," he said. "At any rate I think so; for +I certainly smelled smoke. If we go quietly we may take them +unawares." + +Captain O'Connor passed the word along for the men to gather silently, +and Ralph then led the way up to the clump of bushes. + +"Yes, I can smell the peat plainly enough. Now, Conway, do you search +among the bushes. Carefully, lad, we don't know what the place is +like." + +Cautiously Ralph pushed the bushes aside. He saw at once that these +had been carefully trained to cover a large hole. This was about three +feet wide; and descended at a sharp angle, forming a sloping passage +of sufficient height for a man to stand upright. Captain O'Connor +knelt down and looked in. + +"This looks more possible," he said; "but it's very steep. I should +say it is not used by them, but acts as a sort of chimney to ventilate +the cavern and let the smoke out. At any rate we will try it; but we +must take our boots off so as to get a better hold on the rocks, +beside we shall make less noise. Blunt and Jervis, do you go down to +the other entrance again. It is likely enough that they may try to +make a bolt that way if they hear us coming. Keep a sharp lookout down +there, and be sure no one escapes." + +"Don't you think, Captain O'Connor, that it will be a good thing to +enter from there also the moment a row is heard going on within. Their +attention will be taken up with your attack, and we may get in without +being noticed." + +"That's a very good idea, Conway; and you shall carry it out. Take two +more men with you, and make your way in as soon as you hear us +engaged. But remember that it is quite possible we may not be able to +get down. This passage may get almost perpendicular presently; and +though I mean to go if possible, even if I have a straight drop for +it, it may close up and be altogether impracticable. So don't you try +to enter till you are quite sure they are engaged with us, otherwise +you will be only throwing away your life." + +"I understand, sir," Ralph said as he turned to go off. "If you get in +you can reckon on our assistance immediately; if not, we shall make no +move." + +Ralph now took up his station at the mouth of the cavern with his six +men, and lay down just in front of the opening listening attentively. +He could hear a continued murmur as of many voices. + +"Get ready, lads, to follow me the instant you see me dive in," he +said. "I am sure by the sound there are more than four men in there, +and Captain O'Connor may want help badly." + +Grasping a pistol in his left hand, and his sword in his right, Ralph +listened attentively. Suddenly he heard a shout, followed by a volley +of imprecations, and then the discharge of a gun or a pistol. + +In an instant he threw himself forward along the low narrow passage. +He had not gone more than three or four yards when he found that it +heightened, and he was able to stand upright. He rushed on, keeping +his head low in case the roof should lower again, and after a few +paces entered a large cabin. It was dimly illuminated by two torches +stuck against the wall. In a moment a number of figures rushed toward +him with loud shouts; but before they reached him two of the soldiers +stood by his side. + +"Fire!" he shouted as he discharged his pistol, and at the same moment +the soldiers beside him discharged their muskets. + +A moment later he was engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand conflict. +Several firearms had flashed off almost in his face. One of the +soldiers fell with a sharp cry, but those who were following rushed +forward. Ralph narrowly escaped having his brains dashed out by a +clubbed rifle, but springing back just in time he ran his opponent +through before he could recover his guard. + +Just at this moment a big man with a shock of red hair and a huge +beard leveled a blunderbuss at him. It flashed across him that his +last moment had come, when a man behind leaped suddenly upon the +ruffian's back and they fell to the ground together, the blunderbuss +going off in the fall and riddling a soldier standing next to Ralph +with slugs. + +For two or three minutes a desperate struggle went on between Ralph +and his six men and those who attempted to break through them. +Sturdily as the soldiers fought they had been driven back toward the +entrance by the assailants, armed with pikes and clubbed guns. There +was no sound of conflict at the other end of the cave, and Ralph felt +that the attack there had for some reason failed. + +"Shoulder to shoulder, lads!" he shouted. "We shall have help in a +minute or two." + +He had emptied both his double-barrelled pistols. His sword had just +broken short in his hand while guarding his head from a heavy blow. He +himself had been almost struck to the ground, when there was a rush of +men from behind, and the rest of the soldiers poured in. + +"Give them a volley, lads!" he shouted; "and then charge them with +the bayonets!" + +The muskets rang out, and then there was a shout of "We surrender! we +surrender!" + +A minute later the men were disarmed. There was still a desperate +struggle going on on the ground. + +"Here, lads," Ralph said to two of his men. "Secure this red fellow, +he is their leader. One of you bring a torch here." + +The light was brought. It was seen that the man who had sprung upon +the Red Captain's back had pinioned his arms to his sides, and held +them there in spite of the efforts of the ruffian to free himself. Two +of the soldiers took off their belts and fastened them together, +passed them between the back of the man and his captor, and then +strapped his arms firmly to his side. The man who held them then +released his grip. + +"Stand over him with fixed bayonets, and if he moves run him through. +Now, where's Captain O'Connor?" + +"I don't know, sir. He and Mr. Desmond and the naval officer went down +the hole in front of us. We were following when the naval officer +shouted up to us to run round to this entrance and make our way in +there, for he could go no further." + +"I am here, Conway," a faint voice said from the other end of the +cabin; "but I have broken my leg I think, and Desmond has knocked all +the wind out of my body." + +Ralph hastened to the spot whence the voice came and found Captain +O'Connor lying on the ground, and Lieutenant Desmond insensible beside +him. + +"What has happened?" Ralph exclaimed. "Have they shot you?" + +"No. Hold the torch up and you will see the way we came." + +The soldier did so, and Ralph looking up saw a hole in the top of the +cave twenty feet above. + +"You don't mean to say you came through there, O'Connor?" + +"I did, worse luck to it!" O'Connor said. "The passage got steeper and +steeper, and at last my foot slipped, and I shot down and came plump +into the middle of a peat fire; and a moment later Desmond shot down +on to the top of me. We scattered the fire all over the place, as you +can imagine; but I burned my hands and face, and I believe the leg of +my breeches is on fire--something is hurting me confoundedly." + +"Yes, it is all smoldering!" Ralph exclaimed, putting it out with his +hands. + +"Have you got them all?" Captain O'Connor asked. + +"Everyone; not one has made his escape. It would have fared badly with +us, though, if Lieutenant Adcock had not sent down the men to our +assistance. Where is your leg broken, O'Connor?" + +"Above the knee," the captain said. + +"Here is some whisky and water," Ralph said, handing him his bottle. +"Now, I will see what has happened to Desmond," and he stooped over +the insensible officer. + +"He has got a nasty gash on his forehead, and I think his right arm is +broken," he said. "I will pour a little spirits between his lips, and +then he had better be carried out into the air." + +This was done; and then Ralph went outside, and shouted to Sergeant +Morris to bring down another twenty men. + +"If you please, sir," one of the coast-guard men said, touching his +hat, "I don't see any signs of our officer. Have you seen him?" + +"No," Ralph said. "Perhaps he is still in that passage. You had better +run up to the top and see." + +Two minutes later the man returned: + +"He's down there, sir; but he says he can't get up or down." + +"You had better run down to the boat at once," Ralph said. "I see she +is close inshore. Bring a couple more of your men up with you and a +rope. If you tie that round your body you can go down and bring him +up." + +Ralph then returned to the cavern, where the men were still guarding +the prisoners. + +"You can march them outside now," he said. "Then make them sit down, +and stand over them with fixed bayonets till Sergeant Morris arrives. +Now let us look to the wounded." + +An examination showed that two of the soldiers were dead, and three +others badly wounded. Seven of the party in the cave lay on the +ground. One only was alive; the rest had fallen either from bullet or +bayonet wounds. Seeing that nothing could be done here Ralph looked +round the cavern. He soon saw that just where Captain O'Connor had +fallen there was an entrance into another cave. He reloaded his +pistols before he entered this, but found it deserted. + +It contained two large stills, with mash tubs and every appliance, two +or three hundred kegs of whisky, and some thirty sacks of barley. This +at once accounted for the cave being known, and for the number of men +found in it; for in addition to the seven that had fallen six +prisoners had been taken. The walls of the cave were deeply +smoke-stained, showing that it had been used as a distillery for a +great number of years. + +"That is satisfactory," Captain O'Connor said when Ralph reported to +him the discovery he had made. "That place where I came down is of +course the chimney. Peat does not give much smoke, and making its way +out through that screen of bushes it would be so light that it would +not be noticed by any one on the cliffs. Well, it's been a good +morning's work--a band of notorious scoundrels captured and an illicit +still discovered in full work. It was a cleverly contrived place. Of +course it is a natural cavern, and was likely enough known before the +fall of rocks from above so completely concealed the entrance. I wish +those fellows would come, though, for my leg is hurting me amazingly, +and these burns on my hands and face are smarting horribly. Shout out +to them on the cliff, Conway, and tell them to send at once to fetch +Dr. Doran from the village. The wounded ought to be seen to as soon as +possible, and it is likely enough that some of them cannot be taken up +over the rocks to the top of the cliff. I dread the business myself." + +In a quarter of an hour Sergeant Morris arrived with his party. By +this time Lieutenant Desmond had recovered consciousness, and although +in great pain from his broken arm was consoled upon hearing of the +complete success of the expedition. The soldiers were furious on +hearing that three of their comrades had been killed, and two of their +officers badly injured. + +"Sergeant," Ralph said, "bring four of your men into the cave with me. +Now," he continued when they entered, "there is a pile of blankets in +that corner; take one of them and fasten it across two of the men's +muskets, so as to make a litter. Then we must lift Captain O'Connor +carefully and put him on it and get him outside. It will be a +difficult business getting him through the narrow entrance, but we +must manage it as well as we can. But first let us thoroughly examine +the caves; there may be another entrance somewhere." + +Searching carefully they found a passage behind the stack of kegs. It +was some eight feet high and as much wide. They followed it for a +short distance, and then saw daylight. Their way was, however, +speedily blocked by a number of rocks piled over the entrance. + +"This was evidently the original entrance to these caves," Ralph said, +"but it was covered up when the rocks came down from above. That would +account for the place not being known to the coast-guards. I thought +the passage we came in by looked as if it had been enlarged by the +hand of man. No doubt it was originally a small hole, and when the +entrance was blocked the men who made up their minds to establish a +still here thought that it would be the best way to enlarge that and +to leave the original entrance blocked. + +"Well, it's evident we must take Captain O'Connor and the wounded out +by the small entrance. It would be a tremendous business to clear +those great rocks away." + +Captain O'Connor and the two wounded men were with great difficulty +taken through the narrow passage. The soldier who was alive was the +one who had received the charge of the blunderbuss in his legs; he was +terribly injured below the knee, and Ralph had little doubt that +amputation would be necessary. The other man lived but a short time +after being brought into the air. + +Ralph now turned to the peasant who had saved his life by grappling +with the Red Captain at the moment he was about to discharge his +blunderbuss, and who had by his orders been left unbound. He was +sitting a short distance from the other prisoners. + +"Your name is Denis Moore?" he said. + +"It is, your honor," the man replied in surprise; "though how you came +to know it beats me entirely." + +"I heard it from your wife last night," Ralph said. + +"From Bridget?" the man exclaimed. "Why, I thought she was a hundred +miles away!" + +"She came down here like a brave woman to try and save you," Ralph +said, "and gave us information that brought us to this hiding-place; +but her name is not to appear, and no one will know how we heard of +it. We promised her that no harm should come to you if we could help +it, and, thanks to the act by which you saved my life, you have +escaped, for being down on the ground you were out of the line of the +fire of our bullets. Of course at present we shall treat you as a +prisoner, as you were captured with the others; but I think we shall +manage to let you slip away. Your wife is to remain at Dunmanway till +she hears the news of this affair and that you are safe, and she bade +me tell you that you would find her at home, so no one will dream that +either she or you had any hand in this affair. Now, point me out which +are the four men that belong to this gang that brought you down here." + +"The man who has just died was one of them," Denis replied. "None of +the other three are here, so I expect they fell in the cabin. They +were in the front of the fight. I saw one go down just as I grappled +with our captain." + +"So much the better," Ralph said. "As to their leader, there will be +no difficulty in getting evidence about him. The regiment he belonged +to is in Dublin, and they can prove the shooting of his officer; +beside, they can get any amount of evidence from Galway." + +"Ay; they will be ready enough to speak out now the whole gang are +down," Denis Moore said. "They would not have dared to open their lips +otherwise. The other prisoners all belong about here. One of their +party is the captain's brother. That's how it is they came to take us +in. But I think they would have been glad to get rid of us, for the +Red Captain's lot were too bad for anything; and it isn't because men +are ready to cheat the king's revenue that they are fond of such +villains and murderers as these." + +In a short time the doctor arrived. He had brought a case of +instruments with him. + +"There's nothing for it but amputation here," he said when he examined +the wounded soldier. "His legs are just splintered. The sooner I do it +the better." + +Sergeant Morris and three of the men held the poor fellow while the +operation was performed. As soon as it was over the doctor applied +splints and bandages to Captain O'Connor's leg and Lieutenant +Desmond's arm, and dressed the wounds of three of the other men, who +had suffered more or less severely. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +STARTLING NEWS. + + +"What do you think is the best thing to be done now doctor?" Ralph +asked. + +"I don't know," he replied. "I don't see how on earth we are going to +get them over these rocks and up to the top. A slip or a fall would +cost either of your friends their limbs, and that poor fellow his +life. I don't see how it is to be managed. It's hard work for a man to +climb those rocks, and how a litter is to be carried I can't see. If +it were anywhere else I should say build a hut for them; but it would +be a tremendous business getting the materials down, and I don't think +it could possibly be managed by night." + +"I am sure it couldn't," Ralph said, shaking his head. "I think, +though, if we got two long poles and slung a piece of canvas like a +hammock between them we may possibly get them down to the shore. You +see we have plenty of strength to get them over rough places." + +"We could manage that easy enough," Lieutenant Adcock, who had some +time before joined the party, said. "There are some sixteen-feet oars +in the boat and some sails. We could easily rig up the hammock. I +suppose you mean to take them off in the boat, Mr. Conway?" + +"Yes; that's what I meant," Ralph said. "Then you can land them in +your cove, and they might stop in the village till they are fit to be +moved." + +"That would be an excellent plan," the doctor said. "Let us set about +it at once." + +In half an hour the sailors brought up the hammock. + +"I will go first," Captain O'Connor said, "as I am the heaviest. You +will see how you manage to get me down. If it's done pretty easily you +can bring down the two others; if not, they had better stop in the +cave for to-night, and we will get a hut for them to-morrow. By the +way, Conway, you had better get the dead carried out and taken down to +the seashore. Have them laid down out of reach of the tide. Some of +them belong about here, and their friends will wish to give them a +decent burial. Our own dead had better be put in the boat, if Mr. +Adcock will allow it, and taken to the village with us. Then they can +be carried over to Ballyporrit for burial. A corporal with four men +must be left for to-night in charge of the caves." + +"I shall want my men to row the boat," Lieutenant Adcock said. "In the +morning I will send over a warrant officer and four men to take charge +of the cave till I can take its contents round to our stores." + +Captain O'Connor was now lifted into the hammock, and six sailors +carried him down to the water. They managed it excellently, easing him +down with the greatest care over the rocks, and succeeded in getting +him down to the sea without a single jerk. Lieutenant Desmond and the +wounded soldiers were then taken down in the same way, while the men +carried down the dead bodies of their three comrades and of the +peasants who had fallen. + +"I will take charge of the wounded," Lieutenant Adcock said, "and see +them comfortably housed and cared for. I suppose Dr. Doran will go +with us." + +"Certainly," the doctor said, stepping into the boat. "I shall not +give up charge of them until I see them all safely in bed." + +"I shall come over and see you O'Connor," Ralph said, "as soon as I +get the company back to the village. Shall I write a report of this +business, or do you feel equal to doing so?" + +"I will manage it, Conway. I can dictate it if I don't feel up to +writing it. But you had better not come over to-day. There will be a +good deal of excitement over this capture, and no doubt several of the +killed and prisoners belong to Ballyporrit; so it wouldn't do for you +to leave the detachment without an officer. Be sure you have a strict +guard put over the prisoners, and keep an eye upon them yourself. You +can send over to inquire about us, but till you have got them off your +hands you had better not leave the village. If a party are wanted for +still-hunting send Sergeant Morris with them. I shall dispatch my +report to-night, and no doubt the colonel will send an officer out to +help you as soon as he gets it." + +The boat now pushed off. A corporal and four men were told off to +occupy the cave until relieved by the revenue men, and then, with the +prisoners in their center, the party climbed the cliff, and again, +having been joined at the top by the rest of the company, marched to +Ballyporrit. They found the village in a state of excitement. The +soldier who had gone to fetch the doctor had brought the news that a +fight had take place down on the face of the cliff, but he could not +say whether any had been killed. As soon as the detachment returned +with the prisoners in their midst many women flocked round with cries +and lamentations, and exchanged greetings with the prisoners. + +Ralph at once took possession of the stables at the inn, and saw that +the prisoners were all handcuffed, the Red ruffian's legs being also +securely bound. Then he placed two sentries inside and two out. The +news that some of the men had been killed soon spread, and many of the +villagers who did not see their relations among the prisoners hurried +off toward the scene of action. Ralph informed the landlord that the +dead had all been placed together on the seashore, and that their +friends were at liberty to remove and bury them without any questions +being asked. He then sent a corporal over to bring back news how the +wounded men had borne the journey, and how they were disposed. But +before his return the doctor drove up in a trap that he had borrowed. + +"Adcock has put up the two officers in his own house," he said, "and +his wife will look after them, so you need not worry about them. The +other poor fellows are in the cottage next door. It belongs to the +coxswain of the boat, who is also a married man. So you need be under +no uneasiness about any of them. As far as I can see, they are all +likely to do well. I shall go over the first thing in the morning, and +will bring you news of them as soon as I get back." + +Ralph had given orders that Denis Moore was not to be treated as a +prisoner; and he now told the sergeant to send him in to him. + +"I have been thinking it over, Moore," he said; "and it seems to me +the best plan will be to allow you to go quietly away. Your conduct in +the fight in the cave in itself showed that you were not voluntarily +with the others; and I do not think, therefore, that it is necessary +to report you among the prisoners. I suppose the Red Captain's gang +have not done any unlawful act beyond taking part in the still +business since they took you away from home?" + +"No, your honor. We just came straight down here, traveling at night +and hiding away by day." + +"Very well. In that case you can give no special evidence against +them. It is probable that at the trial evidence may be required from +Galway as to the deeds that that red-bearded scoundrel committed +there; and it is possible that you may be summoned with others, but I +should think that the evidence of the constabulary will be sufficient. +So, if you will give me your address there I will take it upon myself +to let you go at once. In that case you can join your wife this +evening and travel back with her." + +"Thank you, sir," Denis replied. "I have no objection at all to give +evidence as to what I know, so that it does not come out it was +Bridget who tould you where they were hiding." + +"You need not be afraid of that, Denis. Captain O'Connor gave her his +word that her name should not be mentioned. At the same time I have no +doubt he will claim for her the hundred pounds reward that was +offered; and if he obtains it he will send it to you, so that nobody +will be any the wiser." + +"I should not like to take informer's money," Denis said. + +"Not in ordinary cases," Ralph replied. "But you see she spoke out, +not for the sake of money, but to get you out of their hands. And +considering how much mischief those fellows have done, and how much +more they would have done had we not laid hands on them, it is a very +different case from that of an ordinary informer. None of your +neighbors will know that she has had anything to do with the capture +of these men, therefore no one will be any the wiser, and no doubt a +hundred pounds will be very useful to you. I am sure you deserve some +sort of compensation for being dragged away from home, and for the +risk you ran in that fight; for a bullet might just as well have +struck you as any of the others. I know that if I were in your place I +should accept it without the least hesitation. And now, as I don't +suppose they have left any money on you, and as your wife is not +likely to be very well provided, I will give you five pounds on +account; and remember that I shall always feel your debtor for the +manner in which you saved my life by springing upon that ruffian just +at the critical moment." + +"You will deduct it from the other money, your honor?" Denis said, +hesitating. + +"Certainly I will, Denis. I should not think of offering you money for +such a service as you rendered me. Now, if you will just give me your +address in Galway I will make a note of it; though I don't think it at +all likely you will be wanted at the trial. They will most likely +proceed against him on the charge of shooting his officer and +deserting; for they will have no difficulty in proving that, as the +regiment he belonged to is in Dublin." + +Denis started at once to rejoin his wife, highly pleased to have got +away so quickly. Two days later Captain Morrison and Mr. Stapleton +arrived from headquarters. + +"I congratulate you, Conway," the latter said heartily. "We all pitied +your being ordered away to this dreary place; and now you have been +getting no end of honor and credit. O'Connor's report speaks in the +strongest terms of you, and says it was entirely owing to your +promptness and courage that the band was captured, and his life and +that of Desmond saved. The Cork papers are full of the affair; and the +capture of that notorious scoundrel, the Red Captain, created quite an +excitement, I can tell you. The only bad part of the affair is that we +have had to come out here, for I am afraid there is no chance whatever +of another adventure like yours." + +"Oh, I fancy there are plenty more stills to be captured, Stapleton; +and that's good fun in its way, though it involves a good deal of +marching and hard work." + +"And how are O'Connor and Desmond getting on?" Captain Morrison asked. + +"I had a very good report of them this morning from the doctor, and +now that you have come I shall take a trap and drive over and see them +at once. I had O'Connor's orders not to leave here till you arrived." + +"You are to go back yourself to-morrow morning, Conway," Captain +Morrison said. "You are to take the prisoners in with an escort of a +corporal and ten men, and to hand them over to the civil authorities; +which means, I suppose, that you are to take them to the prison." + +"I suppose I shall come straight out again?" Ralph asked. + +"I should think so; for with all this still-hunting business three +officers are wanted here. But of course you will report yourself to +the colonel and get orders. Here are the orders he gave me to give +you. You are to start early, make a twenty-mile march, halt for the +night, and go on again the first thing in the morning. You are to hire +a cart for the wounded prisoners, and to exercise the utmost vigilance +on the way. The men are to carry loaded muskets. It is not likely +there will be any attempt at a rescue; but such things have happened +before now. If anything of the sort should take place, and you find +that you are likely to get worsted, your orders are that you are not +to let the Red Captain be carried off alive. Put a man specially over +him, with instructions to shoot him rather than let him be taken away +from him. The colonel will hold you harmless. The scoundrel has +committed too many murders to be allowed to go free." + +"I understand," Ralph said, "and will carry out the orders; and now I +will be off at once, for it will be dark in an hour." + +Ralph was glad to find that the two officers were going on better than +he had expected. Lieutenant Desmond was already up, with his arm in +splints and a great patch of plaster across his forehead. O'Connor was +still in bed, and was likely to remain so for some time. The +regimental surgeon was with him, having left the other two officers at +the turn of the road leading to the village. + +"I am glad to see you, Conway," Captain O'Connor said cheerfully. "I +was expecting you. The doctor said Morrison and Stapleton had gone on +to Ballyporrit. None the worse for your brush, I hope?" + +"Not a bit," Ralph said. "The bump on my head caused by that musket +blow hurt me a bit the first day or two, but it's going down now. I am +glad to see you and Desmond looking so well." + +"Oh, we shall soon be all right; though I am afraid I shall be kept on +my back for some little time. Desmond is rather in despair, because he +is afraid his beauty is spoiled; for the doctor says that cut on his +forehead is likely to leave a nasty scar. He would not have minded it +if it had been done by a French dragoon saber; but to have got it from +tumbling down a chimney troubles him sorely. It will be very painful +to him when a partner at a ball asks him sympathizingly in what battle +he was wounded, to have to explain that he tumbled head foremost into +a peat fire." + +Desmond laughed. "Well, it is rather a nuisance; and you see Conway, +the ashes have got so ground up in the place that the doctor is afraid +it will be a black scar. O'Connor chaffs me about it, but I am sure he +wouldn't like it himself." + +"Why, my dear fellow, it's a most honorable wound. You will be able to +dilate upon the desperate capture of the noted ruffian the Red +Captain, and how you and that noble officer Captain O'Connor dashed +alone into the cavern, tenanted by thirteen notorious desperadoes. +Why, properly worked up, man, there is no end of capital to be made +out of it. I foresee that I shall be quite a hero at tea-fights. A +battle is nothing to such an affair as this. Of course it will not be +necessary to say that you shot down into the middle of them like a +sack of wheat because you could not help it. You must speak of your +reckless spring of twenty feet from that upper passage into the middle +of them. Why, properly told, the dangers of the breach at Badajos +would pale before it." + +"I am glad to see that you are in such high spirits," Ralph said when +the laugh had subsided. "There's no fear of your being lame after it, +I hope?" + +"No, Dr. Doran says it is a clean snap of the bone, and it will, he +thinks, mend all right; and as Macpherson, who has been examining it, +says the same, I hope it is all right. It is very good of the colonel +sending the doctor over to us; but I think Doran understands his +business well, and has made a capital job of both of us." + +"How is Rawlinson going on?" + +"Oh, I think he will do very well," the surgeon said. "Of course he's +a little down in the mouth about himself. It is not a pleasant +prospect for a man to have to go about on two wooden legs all his +life. Still it's been done in the service; and as the fight was a +sharp one, and such an important capture was made, he will get his +full pension, and I shall strongly recommend him for Chelsea Hospital +if he likes to take it. But he tells me he was by trade a carpenter +before he enlisted, and I expect he would rather go down to live among +his own people. His wooden legs won't prevent him earning a living at +his trade; and as he is rather a good-looking fellow I dare say he +won't have much difficulty in getting a wife. Maimed heroes are +irresistible to the female mind." + +"That's a comfort for you, Desmond, anyhow," O'Connor laughed. "That +black patch on your forehead ought to add a thousand a year to your +marketable value." + +The next morning Ralph marched with his detachment, and arrived at +Cork without adventure. Here he handed his prisoners over to the civil +authorities of the jail, and then marched up to the barracks. He at +once reported himself to the colonel, who congratulated him warmly +upon the success that had attended the capture, and upon his own +conduct in the affair. + +"I will not keep you now," the colonel said, "for the mess-bugle +sounded five minutes ago. I shall see you again in the morning." + +As Ralph entered the messroom the officers had just taken their seats. +He was greeted with a boisterous outburst of welcome. His comrades got +up and shook his hand warmly, and he had to answer many inquiries as +to how O'Connor and Desmond were going on. + +"Sit down, gentlemen!" the major who was president of the mess +shouted. "Conway has had a twenty-mile march, and is, I have no doubt, +as hungry as a hunter. Let him eat his dinner in peace, and then when +the wine is on the table he shall relate his adventures in detail. By +the way, Conway, I hope you have lodged that ruffian safely in jail?" + +"Yes, sir, I have handed him over, and glad I was to get him off my +hands; for though I had him handcuffed and his feet tied, and brought +him along in a cart, I never felt comfortable all the way. The fellow +is as strong as a bull, and as he knows what is before him he was +capable of anything desperate to effect his escape." + +"I remember the man well," one of the officers said; "for, as you +know, I was in his regiment before I exchanged into the Twenty-eighth. +He was a notorious character. He had the strength of two ordinary men, +and once or twice when he was drunk it took eight men to bring him +into barracks. I am heartily glad he is caught, for the poor fellow he +killed was one of the most popular men in the regiment--with the +soldiers as well as with us--and if they could have laid hands on this +fellow I believe they would have hung him up without a trial. I shall +have real pleasure in giving evidence against the scoundrel for I was +present at the time he shot poor Forrest. I wasn't five yards away, +but it was all over and the villain was off before I had time to lift +a hand." + +After dinner was over Ralph gave the full history of the capture in +the cavern, of which Captain O'Connor had sent but an outline. + +"It was a sharp fight indeed," the major said when he had finished; +"for, for a time you were greatly outnumbered, and in the dark +discipline is not of much avail. I think on the whole you got very +well out of it, and O'Connor and Desmond were lucky in having got off +with a broken limb each." + +Ralph was detained some days in Cork, as he had to be present at the +courthouse when the prisoners were brought up before the magistrates. +After giving his evidence as to the capture, his attendance was no +further required. All with the exception of the Red Captain were +committed at once upon the charges of working an illicit still, and of +offering a forcible resistance with arms to the authority of the +king's officers. The Red Captain was charged with several murders, and +was remanded in order that evidence might be obtained from the +regiment to which he belonged in Dublin, and of the constabulary and +other people in County Galway. Ralph then returned to Ballyporrit. + +A fortnight later the detachment was recalled, the colonel having +received the news that the regiment would be shortly under orders for +America. Lieutenant Desmond was able to travel to Cork at once, +although still unfit for duty; and the surgeon reported that in +another fortnight Captain O'Connor would be also fit to be removed. + +Ten days later definite orders were received for the regiment to be +ready for embarkation, as soon as the two transports which had been +ordered round from Plymouth arrived. Soldiers are always fond of +change; and although there were few more pleasant quarters than Cork, +there was a general feeling of animation and excitement at the thought +of service at the other side of the Atlantic. All officers and men on +furlough were at once recalled. The friends of many of the officers +came across from England, to be with them till they sailed upon what +was then considered a long and perilous voyage. Balls and dinners were +given to and by the regiment. Officers overhauled their kits and +belongings, getting what new things were required, bargaining with +brokers for their furniture, and making all preparations for a +prolonged absence from England. + +"Ah, Stapleton," Ralph said, as the young ensign came into his +quarters one day in high spirits, "there will be a sad change come +over you before long. You almost wished you might die on your way +round here from London. What will be your feelings when you have to +face the waves of the Atlantic?" + +"Don't talk about it, Conway. The very thought makes me feel queer. +However, I expect I shall get on better now than I did last time. What +an ass I was, to be sure, on that voyage!" + +"Well, I do think your four months with the regiment have done you a +world of good, Stapleton. You certainly were a stuck-up sort of +personage when you came on board in the Thames. I think it is an awful +mistake for a fellow to be educated at home, instead of being sent to +school; they are sure to have to suffer for it afterward." + +"Well, I have suffered for it to some extent," Stapleton said. "The +lessons I got at first were sharp ones; but they certainly did me +good." + +"There is no doubt about that," Ralph agreed; "and I think there is a +good deal of credit due to you, Stapleton, for having taken things in +the right way. I wonder where we shall be stationed in America, and +whether we shall have any fighting? Upon the whole we have no very +great reason to be proud of our feats of arms in America; but I hope +we shall do better next time. You see, in the last struggle we knew +nothing of their tactics, and were at a great disadvantage; but after +fighting its way through the Peninsular, I don't think there is any +fear of the regiment not giving a good account of itself, if it is +called upon to do so, out there." + +The next day an orderly came into the room just after mess-dinner had +commenced. He whispered to the adjutant, who at once rose. + +"Mr. President," he said to the major who was at the head of the +table, "I must ask you to excuse me leaving the table. The colonel +wishes to see me immediately at his quarters." + +"What can be the matter now?" one of the officers said. "It must be +something of importance or the colonel would never have called +Hallowes out in that way." + +"Heard of some still away among the hills, I suppose. That means a +night's tramp for some of us. Too bad to be put to this sort of work +within a week of sailing on foreign service," grumbled another. + +Various guesses were made as to the nature of the business, and +several wagers were laid on the subject. In ten minutes the adjutant +returned. He was evidently excited, and all listened with great +interest as, instead of resuming his seat, he remained standing. + +"Gentlemen," he said, "I have great news for you. A vessel has just +come in from Plymouth with dispatches. Napoleon has escaped from Elba. +He has landed in France, and been received with enthusiasm. The troops +have joined him, and he is already close to Paris, which he is +expected to enter without opposition. The King of France has fled." + +For a moment there was silence, then the major leaped to his feet. + +"Three cheers, gentlemen!" and all of those present joined in a hearty +cheer. + +Then a sudden silence fell upon them. The first idea that had struck +each man was that the news meant their again taking the field for +another stirring campaign. Then the dismal thought occurred to them +that the regiment was under orders for America. It soon found +expression in words. + +"Why, major, they surely won't be sending us across the Atlantic now +this news has arrived. The Powers will never permit all their work to +be undone, and Napoleon to mount the throne of France again. Why, in a +short time all Europe will be in a blaze, and how is England to take +the field again? The greater portion of Wellington's army are +scattered over the world--in America, India, and the Colonies. I don't +believe there are half a dozen of the old fighting regiments +available, and even their ranks are half-filled with raw recruits. +Almost all the regiments at home are mere skeletons. Surely they will +never be sending us away at such a moment?" + +"That I can say nothing about," the adjutant replied. "Certainly no +counter orders have reached the colonel this evening. I don't suppose +anything will be decided upon for some time. The Powers will all +exchange notes and hold councils and spend weeks in talk before they +make up their mind whether anything is to be done, and if so what; and +long before they come to any decision on the subject we shall be on +the other side of the Atlantic, and then, possibly, after all the +trials and monotony of perhaps a two months' voyage, we may land there +only to be fetched back again. I quite agree with you that England can +put nothing worth calling an army in the field, and that it would be +madness to send a fine regiment out of the country at the present +moment. But everyone knows the lack of wisdom with which we are +governed, and the miserable slowness of our military authorities. It +is not likely even to occur to any one to countermand our orders, but +it will certainly be disgusting in the extreme to have to start just +at the present moment." + +"Beside," another officer said, "it will be maddening to be two months +at sea without news, and to know that perhaps all Europe is in arms +and tremendous events going on and we out of it altogether." + +"I should think nothing will be done just at present," the major said. +"Every country in Europe has been disbanding its armies just as we +have since peace was proclaimed, and it will be a long time before any +of them are ready to take the field in anything like force. Even +Napoleon himself, great organizer as he is, will take some time to put +all France under arms again. An army is a machine that cannot be +created in a day. The soldiers have to clothed, arms to be +manufactured, the cavalry to be mounted, the artillery to be +organized, and a field train got together. No, I should say that at +least four months must elapse before fighting begins in earnest. With +anything like a favorable wind we should be across in America in a +month. If orders are sent out a month after we start we may be back in +time for the opening ball. Judging from the past, it is likely to be a +long business unseating Napoleon again, and if we are not in for the +first of it we may be in plenty of time for a fair share of the +fighting, always supposing that the authorities are sufficiently awake +to the merits of the regiment to recall us." + +"How is the wind this evening?" one of the officers asked. + +"It was westerly when we came in," Lieutenant Desmond said. "Why do +you ask?" + +"Why, as long as it blows from the west there is not much chance of +the transports getting in here." + +"That is so," the major agreed. "The question for us to consider is +whether we ought to pray for a fair wind or a foul. A fair wind will +take us quickly across the Atlantic and will give us a chance of +getting back in time. A foul wind may possibly give them time to make +up their minds at the Horse Guards, and to stop us before we start. It +is a nice question." + +"There is no hope whatever, major, that our government will make up +their minds before the wind changes, not if it blew in one quarter +longer than it has ever been known to do since the beginning of the +world. Especially, as not only they, but all the governments of Europe +have to come to a decision." + +"Oh, if we had to wait for that it would be hopeless; but at the same +time, as it must be evident to any individual of the meanest capacity +that something or other for which troops will be required will have to +be done, surely a month ought to be sufficient for the idea to occur +to some one in authority that it would be as well not to be sending +soldiers abroad until matters are finally settled." + +"I agree with you," the adjutant said. "Therefore I think we had best +decide that our hopes and wishes shall be unanimous in favor of a +continuance of westerly winds." + +Never were the weathercocks watched more anxiously than they were by +the officers and men of the Twenty-eighth for the next fortnight. The +elements certainly appeared favorable to their wishes, and the wind +blew steadily from the desired quarter, so that it was not until ten +days after they were expected that the two transports which were to +convey the Twenty-eighth to America dropped anchor in Cork harbor. + +Captain O'Connor rejoined the regiment on the evening before the +transports arrived. He walked with two sticks, but this was a measure +of precaution rather than of necessity. + +"I feel like an impostor," he said, laughing, as he replied to the +welcome of his comrades. "I believe I could safely throw away these +sticks and dance a jig; but the doctor has laid his commands on me, +and my man, who has been ruling me with a rod of iron, will not permit +the slightest infringement of them. He seems to consider that he is +responsible for me in all respects, and if he had been master and I +man he could not have behaved with grosser despotism." + +"I am glad to see you looking so well, O'Connor," Ralph said, shaking +his captain warmly by the hand. + +"I don't know whether I do right in shaking hands with you, Conway," +O'Connor said. "I have been thinking it over while I have been lying +there, and I have come to the conclusion that it's you I have to thank +for this affair altogether." + +There was a general laugh. "How do you make that out?" Ralph asked. + +"It's clear enough, now my eyes are opened. It was you who discovered +that passage, and when you did so you said at once to yourself, now, I +will get O'Connor and Desmond to go down this place, they are safe to +break their necks, and then I shall get all the honor and glory of the +affair. And so it came about. There were Desmond and I lying on the +top of each other with the breath knocked clean out of our bodies, +while you were doing all the fighting and getting the credit of the +affair. I appeal to all friends here if it is not a most suspicious +affair." + +There was a chorus of agreement. "We did not think it of you, Conway;" +"A most disgraceful trick;" "Ought to be sent to Coventry;" "Ought to +be drummed out of the regiment;" mingled with shouts of laughter. + +"By the way, the trial of those fellows comes on next week," one of +the officers said when the laughter subsided; "so if the transports +don't come in you will be able to see the last of them, O'Connor." + +"I shall have no objection to see that red rascal hung; but as to the +other poor devils, I should be glad enough for them to get off. An +Irish peasant sees no harm in making whisky, and it's only human +nature to resist when you are attacked; beside it was the Red +Captain's gang that set them to fighting, no doubt. If it hadn't been +for them I don't suppose there would have been a shot fired. I hope +that's the view the authorities will take of it." + +As it turned out this was the view taken by the prosecuting counsel at +the trial. The Red Captain was tried for the murder of his officer and +for the shooting of two constables in Galway, was found guilty, and +hung. The others were put on trial together for armed resistance to +his majesty's forces, and for killing and slaying three soldiers. +Their counsel pleaded that they were acting under the compulsion of +the gang of desperadoes with them, that it was these and these only +who had fired upon the soldiers as they ascended the rocks, and that +the peasants themselves had no firearms; indeed, it was proved that +only five guns were found in the cave. He admitted that in their +desperation at the last moment the men had defended themselves with +pikes and bludgeons; but this he urged was but an effort of despair, +and not with any premeditated idea of resisting the troops. He pointed +out that as all the soldiers had fallen by gunshot wounds, none of the +prisoners at the bar had any hand in their death. The counsel for the +crown did not press for capital sentences. Two of the men, who had +before suffered terms of imprisonment for being concerned in running +illicit stills, were sentenced to transportation. The others escaped +with terms of imprisonment. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE NEW HOUSEMAID. + + +"What do you think of the new housemaid, Charlotte?" + +"As she has only been here twenty-four hours," Miss Penfold replied, +"I don't think I can say anything about it, Eleanor. All servants +behave decently for the first week or two, then their faults begin to +come out. However, she seems quiet in her way of going about, and that +is something. My room was carefully dusted this morning. These are the +only two points on which I can at present say anything." + +"I met her in the passage this morning," Eleanor Penfold said, "and it +seemed to me that her face reminded me of some one. Did that strike +you?" + +"Not at all," the elder sister replied decidedly. "I am not given to +fancies about such things. I saw no likeness to any one, and if I had +done so I should not have given it a second thought. The one point +with us is whether the woman is clean, quiet, steady, and thoroughly +up to her work. Her reference said she was all these things, and I +hope she will prove so. She is older than I like servants to be, that +is, when they first come to us. A young girl is teachable, but when a +servant has once got into certain ways there is never any altering +them. However, if she knows her work it does not matter; and there's +one comfort, at her age she is less likely to be coming to us one day +or other soon and saying that she wants to leave us to get married." + +The new servant, Anna, as she was called in the house soon settled +down to her duty. Miss Penfold allowed that she knew her work and did +it carefully. The servants did not quite understand the newcomer. She +was pleasant and friendly, but somehow "she was not," as one of them +said, "of their sort." This they put down partly to the fact that she +had been in service in London, and was not accustomed to country ways. +However, she was evidently obliging and quiet, and smoothed away any +slight feeling of hostility with which the under housemaid was at +first disposed to feel against her for coming in as a stranger over +her head, by saying that as she had no acquaintances in the village +she had no desire to go out, and that whenever her turn came to do so +the other might take her place. As Jane was keeping company with the +blacksmith's son, this concession greatly pleased her; and although at +first she had been disappointed that she had not on Martha's leaving +succeeded to her place, the fact that she was but twenty-one, while +the newcomer was a good many years her senior, went far to reconcile +her to being passed over. + +Mrs. Conway had not been twenty-four hours in the house before she +discovered there was an obstacle in the way of her search that she had +not foreseen. She had dusted the drawing-room and dining-room, and +then went to the door of the room which she supposed to be the +library. She found it locked. At dinner she asked the other housemaid +what the room opposite the dining-room was, and where was the key. + +"That was master's library," the girl said. "Miss Penfold always keeps +it locked, and no one is allowed to go in. It's just as he left it; at +least Martha said so, for I have never been inside since. On the first +day of each month it is opened and dusted. Miss Penfold always used to +go in with Martha and stay there while she did the work. She said it +was to see that nothing was moved, but Martha used to think there was +another reason." + +"What is that?" Mrs. Conway asked. + +Jane shook her head and glanced at the butler, as much as to say she +did not care about speaking before him; but presently when she had an +opportunity of talking alone with the newcomer she said: "I didn't +want to say anything before James, he holds with the Miss Penfolds. He +only came a month or two before master's death and did not know much +about him, and he will have it they have been ill treated, and that +the lawyer and all of them ought to be punished for going on as if the +Miss Penfolds had done something wrong about the will. Cook, she +doesn't give no opinion; but Martha and me both thought they knew +something about it, and were keeping Miss Withers and young Conway out +of their rights. But I forgot that you were a stranger, and didn't +know nothing about the will." + +Then she told Mrs. Conway all about the will being missing, and how +Mr. Tallboys, who had made it for Mr. Penfold, said that all the +property had been left to Mabel Withers, who was the daughter of the +clergyman and a great pet of the master's, and to a boy who had been +staying there some months before, and whose name was Conway. + +"Well, Martha and me believed that they," and she nodded toward the +drawing-room, "must know something about it; for Mr. Tallboys would +have it that it was stowed away in some secret hiding place, and has +been looking for it here and pulling down the wainscotting and all +sorts. And, of course, if there was a secret hiding-place the Miss +Penfolds would know of it as well as their brother. Martha used to +think that the reason why the Miss Penfolds had the room shut up, and +would never let her go into it without one of them being there to look +after her, was that the hiding-place was somewhere in the library, and +that they were afraid that when she was dusting and doing up she might +come upon the will." + +The same conclusion had flashed across Mrs. Conway's mind as soon as +she heard that the room was kept locked. + +"If the will is really hidden away," she said, "it's likely enough to +be as you say; but I shouldn't think two ladies would do such a thing +as that." + +"Oh, you don't know them," Jane said sharply. "They are two regular +old cats they are, and hunt one about all over the house as if they +thought one was going to steal something. They was fond of their +brother in their way, but, bless you, they treated him like a child, +and he das'ent call his soul his own; and you may be sure they didn't +like the thought that he had left his money away from them, and that +some one else would become master and missis of the Hall while they +were living. Martha and me was both of one mind that the old women +were likely enough to do it if they had a chance. I would give a good +deal if I could find the will myself just to see their faces; +interfering old things. It was only two Sundays ago they told me after +I came out of church that they didn't approve of the ribbons in my +bonnet; just as if a girl was to go about as if she was a convict." + +"But you say there were men searching here, Jane. How was it they +didn't find it if it's in the library, and how was it the Miss +Penfolds allowed them to search?" + +"They couldn't help it," Jane replied. "There was an order from the +court in London, or a judge or some one, and they couldn't stop it. +They went away when the men came and didn't come back till it was all +over. I don't know how it was that they didn't find it in the library, +for they searched it regular. I was in there two or three times while +they were at work, and they took out all the books from the shelves +and pulled down a lot of the wood-work and turned it all upside down, +but they couldn't find anything. Still, you see, it ain't a likely +tale of theirs as they keeps the door locked because they want it to +be just as he left it, when it's all been turned topsy-turvy and +everything put out of its place. + +"That's what Martha and me couldn't get over, though Martha told me +they done their best to have it put just as it was; and there's paper +and pens on the table, just to pretend it is exactly as it used to be +and that no one hadn't been in. As if they cared so much about him. I +call it sickening, that's what I calls it. The Withers don't come here +now. They used to be often here in the master's time, but they are not +friends with them now. Last Sunday the parson he made it hot for them, +and preached a sermon about secrets being known and undiscovered +things coming to light. Of course he didn't say nothing special about +wills, but they felt it, I could see. Our pew's on the opposite side +of the church, and I could see their faces. Miss Penfold she got +white, and pinched up her lips, and if she could have given a piece of +her mind to the parson she would have done so; and Eleanor she got red +and looked as if she was going to cry. + +"She is a lot better than her sister, she is; and if any wrong's been +done it's the old one that's done it, I am sure, and Martha always +said so too. I could put up with the younger one very well, but I +can't abide Miss Penfold." + +"I am quite anxious to see the room, Jane, after what you have been +telling me about it." + +"Well, you will see it in about a week. It's always on the first of +the month that it is done up; and you will see the old woman will go +in with you, and watch you all the time like a cat watches a mouse. +Martha used to say so, But there--as you are not from this part of the +country, and she won't think as you know nothing about the will or +care nothing about it, she won't keep such a sharp lookout after you +as she did with Martha." + +Upon the following Sunday Mrs. Withers, on the way home from church, +asked her husband with some anxiety whether he was not well. "I +noticed you were quite pale in church, James, and you lost your place +once or twice, and seemed as if you really weren't attending to what +you were doing?" + +"Then I am afraid, my dear, I seemed what I was, for I was +tremendously surprised; and though I tried hard to keep my thoughts +from wandering I am afraid I succeeded very badly." + +"Surprised, James! What was it?" + +"I will tell you, my dear. You know that letter we had a fortnight ago +from Mrs. Conway, and that we puzzled over it a good deal. After +talking as usual about her being determined to find the will and set +matters straight, she said that we might possibly see her before long, +and begged us not to show any surprise or to seem to recognize her. +Well, you know, we talked it over, and could make nothing of it. Now I +know what she means." + +"What! Did you see her in church to-day, James?" + +"I did, Amy; and where do you think she was?" + +"I can't guess, James. Why, where could she be, and where can she be +staying if not with us? I didn't see her. Are you sure you are not +mistaken?" + +"She was sitting behind you, Amy, which will account for your not +seeing her. She was sitting in the Penfolds servants' pew, in a plain +straw bonnet and quiet clothes like the others." + +"Among the Penfolds' servants, James! Are you dreaming?" + +"Not at all, my dear; there she was, sure enough. I could not possibly +be mistaken." + +Mrs. Withers was silent for some time with surprise. + +"But what can she be doing there, James? Do you mean to say that you +think that she has really gone to service at the Hall?" + +"That is what I do think," the clergyman replied. "You know how she +said over and over again that she was determined somehow to find the +will. Well, I believe that she has in some way in pursuance of that +purpose gone as a servant to the Penfolds. Now, my dear, you will not +be surprised that I found it somewhat difficult to keep my thoughts +from wandering." + +"No, indeed, James. I am sure if I had been in your place I should +have stopped altogether. Well, if that is so, it explains what she +said in her letter about our not recognizing her; but how could she do +such a thing, and what will come of it?" + +"I have no idea how she managed to get there, Amy; but certainly she +must have managed very cleverly somehow. What she is there to do is +clear enough. She is going to search herself for the will. Whether she +will ever find it or not is another matter; but I can hardly believe +she can succeed after the thorough search Tallboys said he made of the +house. Still that is what she means, I have not a shadow of doubt +about it." + +"I should never have thought for a moment she was the sort of woman to +undertake such a thing," Mrs. Withers said. "Why, she will have to do +servant's work, and to run all sorts of risks of being found out, and +then I don't know what they mightn't do to her!" + +"I don't see that they could do much, my dear, unless perhaps they +prosecuted her for obtaining the place with a false character, which I +suppose she must have done. Still it required no ordinary pluck for a +woman to undertake such a scheme, and it will require patience and +nerve to carry it through; but I don't know that I agree with you that +she is not the sort of woman I should have thought capable of +undertaking such a business. She was quiet enough when we met her in +the town; but I believe from what I have heard that she was a +high-spirited girl, and when we saw her, you know, she was on the eve +of parting with her son. As she was evidently wrapped up in him, that +would of course make her more quiet and silent than usual. I thought +she bore up remarkably well, and admired the effort she made to +prevent any display of her feeling marring the pleasant time we were +having in London." + +"But how about Mabel, James? Had we better tell her about this? You +see, if she happens to meet Mrs. Conway she might betray her +secret--might run up and address her by her name." + +"That is certainly a difficulty, my dear; and I don't quite know what +to do about it. What do you think yourself?" + +"I think we had better postpone the matter, James, by sending Mabel +away for a bit. You know my sister has asked her several times to go +and stay with her on a visit at Bath. We have never cared to let her +go away from us; but I do think now that it will be a good thing for +me to write to Harriet, and tell her that if it will be convenient for +her to take Mabel, we shall be glad to send her to her for a few +months in order that she may take lessons in French and music. There +are, of course, plenty of good masters there. In that way we shall get +rid of the necessity for speaking to Mabel about it at all, and I +should think it likely that Mrs. Conway would have left the Hall long +before she returns." + +"Perhaps she will, my dear, though I would not count upon that too +much. I imagine that as Mrs. Conway has had nerve and courage enough +to propose and so far carry out this singular plan of hers, she will +have resolution enough to continue to play her part till she either +finds the will, or becomes thoroughly convinced that it is absolutely +not to be found." + +And so Mrs. Withers wrote to her sister, and ten days later Mr. +Withers started with Mabel for Bath. + +Mrs. Conway had some difficulty in restraining all show of excitement, +and in assuming a passive and indifferent air as upon the first of the +month Miss Penfold unlocked the door of the library and led the way +into the room. + +"This was my brother's library. You will understand, Anna, that I wish +everything to remain exactly as it is. You will therefore be careful +to place everything as you find it--each article of furniture, and the +books and papers on the table. You will just sweep the floor and dust +everything. Beyond that we wish nothing done to the room." + +Mrs. Conway began her work quietly. Miss Penfold watched her for some +little time, and then said: + +"You will leave the door open, Anna; it is better to let the air +circulate as much as possible. When the weather gets warmer you will +also leave the windows open while you are at work; but the air is too +damp at present." + +"Would you like me to light a fire to air the room, Miss Penfold?" + +"Certainly not," Miss Penfold said decidedly, "there is no occasion +whatever for it. If I have not returned by the time you have finished +the room, come and tell me when you have done. I always make a point +of locking the door myself." + +So saying Miss Penfold went out, leaving the door wide open behind +her. + +"Have you left her alone there?" Eleanor asked her sister as she +entered the sitting-room. + +"Certainly I have," Miss Penfold said coldly. "I do wish you would not +be so nervous, Eleanor. The woman can have no interest in this matter. +She may have heard of it from the other servants, but it can be +nothing to her. You know as well as I do that there is no chance of +her stumbling upon it by accident. It was different with the last +girl. Of course they were always talking about the will, and she might +have tried, as a matter of curiosity, to find it, or she might have +been bribed by those Withers or by that man Tallboys; but it is +different now. This woman can have no interest in it, and will only +want to get her work done as soon as possible. My being always in the +room with her as I was with Martha might excite comment. I should +never have done it in Martha's case if you had not been so absurdly +nervous; for you know very well there was no real danger of her ever +finding the place however closely she looked for it. But now there's a +change it is quite time to drop it, or a rumor will be getting about +that we are afraid of any of our servants remaining for a moment alone +in the library." + +"I wish we had never done it. I do wish we had never done it," Eleanor +murmured pitifully. + +"I am ashamed of you, Eleanor," Miss Penfold said coldly. "You are +worse than a child with your laments and complainings. What have we +done? Nothing. We have no certainty that there is a will in existence; +and if we had, it's not our business to assist to carry out a +monstrous wrong against ourselves, and to put that woman's son as +master here. How many times have we talked this over, and it's always +the same. You keep on trembling at shadows." + +"I should not care if it was not for the night, Charlotte. I am always +dreaming that Herbert is coming to my bedside and looking so stern and +angry, and saying, 'Let justice be done.'" + +"Bah!" Miss Penfold said contemptuously. "You must eat less supper, +Eleanor. If you were not such a coward you would not dream such +things. I have no patience with your folly." + +"I know it is foolish, Charlotte, but I can't help it; my nerves were +never as strong as yours. I quite agreed with you from the first about +it. I think it was infamous that Herbert should have passed us over, +and that it is not to be expected we should aid in the discovery of +such a wicked will. Still I can't help being unhappy about it, and +lying awake at night and dreaming. No one can help their dreams." + +"Your dreams are a mere repetition of your thoughts," Miss Penfold +said scornfully. "If you worry while you are awake, you will worry +while you are asleep. We have done nothing criminal. We have meddled +with no will, nor hidden one. We simply refuse to aid in the discovery +of an unjust document, and by so doing prevent a great wrong being +done to ourselves. To my mind the thing is perfectly simple, and my +conscience wholly acquits me of any wrong-doing." + +Left to herself, Mrs. Conway took an earnest look round the room. +Somewhere no doubt within its limits lay the key of the secret that +would give wealth to Ralph. Where was it? The walls were completely +covered by bookshelves. These were handsomely carved, and dark with +age. One of the Penfolds had evidently been a bookworm, and had spared +no pains and expense in carrying out his hobby. The housemaid had said +that all the books had been removed, and that nothing had been found +behind them. Still there might well be some spring that had escaped +their notice. At any rate the ground must be gone over again. + +Then the spring might lie among the carved work of the bookcases +themselves. This must be gone over inch by inch. That was evidently +the first work to be done. The mantel and its supports were of richly +carved woodwork. These, too, must be searched. In the first place, +however, she had to carry out her work; and laying aside determinately +all thought of the missing will, she began to dust and sweep. At the +end of an hour, when she happened to turn round, she saw Miss Penfold +standing in the doorway. She had not heard her footstep, and at once +decided in her mind that it would be necessary to be extremely careful +in her search, as at any moment Miss Penfold might look in upon her +without warning. + +"Have you nearly finished, Anna?" Miss Penfold asked. + +"It will take me another hour at least to dust the woodwork properly, +Miss Penfold. I have done the carpet and furniture." + +Miss Penfold made no remark but went away again. + +"She is not likely to come back for a few minutes," Mrs. Conway said +to herself. "I think I can safely carry out one of my plans." + +She took from her pocket a ball of thin string, one end of which was +attached to a tiny brad awl. Going into one corner of the room she +fixed the brad awl into the woodwork; then, unwinding the ball, +proceeded to the other end of the room, straining the string tightly, +and tied a knot to mark the length. Then she went back and crossed the +room, and again make a knot to mark the width. Then she hastily +gathered up the string, pulled the brad awl from the woodwork, and put +them in her pocket. While she had been carrying this out she retained +a duster in one hand, and dusted the wood work as she moved along, +trusting that if Miss Penfold should look in, the string, which was of +a dark color, would be unnoticed by her. However she gave a sigh of +relief when the operation was complete, and the string and brad awl +hidden away. She then continued her work until in about three-quarters +of an hour Miss Penfold again appeared. + +"I think that will do very well, Anna; it is quite impossible to get +all the dust out of the carving. It would take you all day to go over +it, and you would need steps for the upper part. That need only be +done occasionally." She gave an approving glance round as she noticed +that the new housemaid had carefully placed every article in the exact +place in which she had found it. Mrs. Conway gathered up the brooms +and dusters and left the room, Miss Penfold carefully locking the door +after her. + +"That is something done," Mrs. Conway said to herself; "and will, I +think, save me an immense deal of trouble. To-morrow I will measure +the rooms next to it. The passage runs along the side and it is hardly +possible that there can be any receptacle there; the wall is not thick +enough for a place of any size. It must be at one end or the other, or +else under the floor." + +The following morning she measured the dining-room, and what was now +known as the housekeeper's room, but which in years gone by had been +called the still room; and the following day slipped out of doors as +soon as she came downstairs and took the outside measurement of the +side of the house, marking on the string the position and width of +each window. She had only now to make a plan and compare the figures. +She found that between the back of the bookcase--for she had taken out +a few books to ascertain its depth--and the panel of the dining-room +there was a thickness of two feet; but between the library and the +housekeeper's room there were fully five feet unaccounted for. + +In both were deep old-fashioned fireplaces back to back; and even +allowing but six inches between these, the depth there would be +accounted for, but on either side of the fireplaces there would be a +wide space. There were certainly no cupboards visible in the library, +for the bookcases extended from the fireplace to the wall on each +side. In the housekeeper's room there were cupboards on each side of +the chimney-piece, but these were shallow, not being above nine inches +in depth; therefore behind these there was a considerable space +unaccounted for. It was evident to Mrs. Conway that her first search +must lie in this direction. Here might lie two chambers each three +feet wide by eight feet long. + +Mrs. Conway's spirits rose at this discovery, and she sighed +impatiently at the thought that another month must elapse before she +could even commence the search. Brooding over the matter continually, +there was one point that did not escape her. These old hiding-places +were made either to conceal proscribed priests or hunted fugitives, +and were constructed with the greatest care. As she had so easily +discovered the spot where a hidden room might be situated, it would be +discovered with the same ease by those who were on the search for +fugitives, and who would naturally be well acquainted with the +positions where hiding-places would be likely to be situated. The +moment they looked into the cupboard, its shallowness would suggest to +them that there must be a wide empty space behind it, and by setting +to work with axes, picks, and crowbars, they would soon discover by +force the secret she was trying to penetrate by stratagem. + +This reflection considerably damped her hopes; but she thought that +possibly from this easily-discoverable hiding-place there might be +some access, much more difficult to trace, to another lying below. At +any rate she determined that if she did find the secret entrance to +these little rooms, and found that they were empty she would not be +disheartened, but would search further until she found either some +secret closet where the will might be placed, or an entrance to some +perhaps larger hiding-place below. Her subsequent search outside +showed her that there existed several small iron gratings about six +inches long and three deep, close down to the soil of the border. No +doubt these were intended to give ventilation underneath the floors, +which were some two feet above the outside level, but one of them +might also afford ventilation to an underground chamber. + +Three months passed, and on the occasion of each of her visits to the +room she devoted some time to the examination of the carved woodwork +round the fireplace and that of the bookcases, but without making any +discovery whatever; and it became evident to her that a far closer +search would be needed than the short and hasty examination that was +all she dared to make, with the possibility that at any moment Miss +Penfold might appear at the door. Accordingly she wrote to Mr. +Tallboys, and told him that it would be necessary for her to obtain a +cake of very soft wax, four inches long and two inches wide, and asked +him to procure it for her, and to send it in a wooden box to her by +the carrier's cart that once a week journeyed from Weymouth to the +villages in the neighborhood of the Hall. + +Ten days later she received the wax, and the next time the day for +cleaning the library arrived she quietly withdrew the key from the +door as soon as Miss Penfold had left her, laid it on the wax, and +pressed it steadily until a deep impression was made upon its surface. +Then she carefully examined the key to see that no particle of wax had +stuck between the wards, replaced it in the door, closed the lid of +the little box in which the wax lay, and put it in her pocket, and +then set to at her work of cleaning. + +Upon this occasion she spent no time in trying to find the spring. +There was danger now as always of Miss Penfold's coming, and as she +would soon have the means of entering the room at her will she would +run no risk. A few days later she asked for a day to go to Weymouth to +purchase some things of which she had need, and when there she called +upon Mr. Tallboys. + +"How are you, Mrs. Conway?" the lawyer said when the door had closed +behind her. "Have you come to tell me that you give up the search as +hopeless?" + +"Not at all," she replied with decision. "I told you in my letter that +I had discovered the probable position of the hiding-place, and told +you of the difficulties there were in making a thorough search for it +owing to the room being always kept locked. I have come now to ask you +to get a key made from this," and she produced the wax. "It would be +suspicious if I were to go to a locksmith here and ask for such a +thing; he would think at once that I was a servant who wanted to rob +my mistress. But of course it will be different with you. Beside, I +thought that if you did not like to get it done here, you might send +the wax up to London and get the key made there." + +"This is becoming more and more serious, Mrs. Conway," Mr. Tallboys +said gravely. "Nothing very terrible could happen to you beyond being +turned out of the house even were it discovered who you really are; +but if you were found at night, and I suppose your intention is to +work at night, in the library, with a false key in your possession, +you might be arrested for an attempt at theft, and could only clear +yourself by explaining before the magistrates who you were, and with +what motive you were acting, which would give rise to much unpleasant +talk, would render any pursuance of your plan impossible, and might +not improbably induce these women to destroy the will, if they have +not already done so." + +"I am quite convinced they have not done that, Mr. Tallboys. The +anxiety they have about any one entering the room, and the manner in +which Miss Penfold pops in occasionally to see what I am doing, is +quite proof in my mind that the will is still in existence; for if +they had destroyed it, they would have no further anxiety on the +subject. No, I have thought it all over, and must run the risk. There +is no other way of making a complete search; and in one night there by +myself I could do far more than in a twelvemonths' visits as at +present. There are two or three more things I wish you would procure +for me. I want a man's coat and cap, rough ones, such as a burglar +might wear. You see, if by any chance I am met by those women going +downstairs, or returning to my room, I must give them a start. Dressed +up like that, and with a piece of crape over my face, I should be +taken for a burglar. I don't think Miss Penfold is very easily +frightened; but at the same time I fancy I might alarm her into +returning to her room, and should be able to get back to mine before +the house was roused. I shall always unfasten a window on the ground +floor and lift it a little, so that it would be supposed that the +intruder entered and escaped that way." + +Mr. Tallboys smiled a little, but said, "It is a very risky business, +Mrs. Conway. Miss Penfold is just the sort of woman to keep pistols in +her bedroom." + +"One must risk something when one is fighting for a fortune," Mrs. +Conway said quietly. "I hope that I shall not be heard. There are +always creakings and noises in an old house like that. The doors are +thick and well fitting, and there is little chance of my footsteps +being heard. It is only by an accident, such as one of them being +unable to sleep and getting up and walking over the house, that they +are likely to run against me, and it is not probable she would have a +pistol in her hand then. No, I do not think there is the least fear of +anything of that sort. The only fear I have is of being detected in +some other way before I have done what I have to do, and the risk of +that grows less and less every day. + +"I have been there over four months now, and am perfectly at home. I +was at first afraid of a sudden meeting with Mr. Withers, or his wife, +or Mabel; but that has passed away now. I saw he recognized me the +first Sunday in church, and I wrote to him; of course sending the +letter to Dover to be sent back from there. He answered me praying me +to give up what he called my mad-brained attempt, and saying it made +him and his wife quite unhappy to think of my being at the Hall. He +told me that at present they had not told Mabel that I was there, but +had sent her away to school at Bath. She is with an aunt, and will not +be home again for some months; so I am safe from her. No, I am not in +the least anxious about myself. I cannot say as much about Ralph. His +regiment has just gone out to Belgium, and I suppose there will be +fighting presently. I think of that more now than I do of this will, +Mr. Tallboys. If I had known what was coming, I would not have begun +this search until it was all over. What use would it be for me to find +the will if anything happened to him." + +"It is clearly of no use my trying to dissuade you from carrying out +your plans, Mrs. Conway; and although I cannot altogether approve of +them, I will do my best to help you as far as lies in my power, and +you shall have the key down very shortly. How shall I send it over?" + +"I have ordered a dress and some other things at Wilson's in the High +Street. The dress has to be made up, and will not be ready for a week. +I have told them there will be three or four other parcels, which they +are to put in the box and send it on by the carrier. I have ordered a +pair of boots to be made for me and one or two other things, and told +them not to close the box until this day fortnight, by which time all +the other things I have ordered will be sent in to them. I hope you +will have got the key before that." + +"Oh, yes, I should think it would be done in a week at latest. You +certainly deserve success, Mrs. Conway, for you seem to provide for +every contingency." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +IN BELGIUM. + + +There was a general feeling of depression in the regiment when it was +known that the transports had arrived in harbor. As a rule regiments +embarking for service abroad start in high spirits, and whatever +private regrets are felt at parting from friends, the troops march +gayly down to the point of embarkation. But this was not the case as +the Twenty-eighth with the band at its head playing "The girl I left +behind me," passed through the streets of Cork on its march down to +the spot ten miles away where the transports were lying. There was not +one from the colonel down to the youngest drummer-boy but felt that he +had been deprived of the chance of taking part in a stirring campaign, +and that he was going into a sort of exile. The baggage had been sent +on the previous day, and the regiment on arriving at the harbor was +speedily transferred in large lighters to the two transports. + +"They are two fine ships, anyhow," Captain O'Connor said to Ralph as +the barge carrying his company approached the side of one of them. +"Rather different craft to that in which we made our last voyage +together. We shall have comfortable quarters on board her, and ought +to make a pleasant passage if we have but decent weather." + +"Yes, if anything could make our voyage pleasant under the +circumstances," Ralph replied dismally. + +"Oh, it's no use thinking any more about that," O'Connor said +cheerfully. "We must make the best of matters, and hope that we shall +soon be on our way back again; if not, I dare say we shall have a +pleasant time in Canada. With your knowledge of French, Conway, you +will make a great hit among the fair Canadians." + +"I didn't think of that," Ralph laughed. "Yes, the prospect is a +cheering one. I promise you, O'Connor, that I will do the best I can +for you. Well, here we are alongside." + +"Good afternoon, captain. When are we going to sail?" O'Connor asked +the master of the vessel as he stepped on deck. + +"You must ask the clerk of the weather," the skipper replied. "At +present there is not a breath of wind stirring, and from the look of +the sky I see no chance of a change at present." + +Day after day passed, and still the vessels remained at anchor. Not a +breath of wind stirred the water, and the troops had nothing to do but +to lounge idly about the decks and whistle for a breeze. Whenever a +vessel came in from England boats were lowered and rowed alongside to +get the latest news. This was little enough. It was, however, known +that all the powers had determined to refuse to recognize Napoleon as +Emperor of France, and that a great coalition against him was being +arranged. There were rumors that Belgium was likely to be the scene of +operations. + +Already, by the terms of the late treaty, several English regiments +were stationed on the Belgian frontier, and three or four more were +already under orders to embark for that country. It was reported that +Russia, Austria, and Prussia were taking steps to arm. The militia had +been called out at home, and high bounties were offered for volunteers +from these regiments into the line. Recruiting was going on vigorously +all over the country. Horses were being bought up, and efforts made to +place the attenuated regiments on a war footing. All this was +tantalizing news to the Twenty-eighth. The colonel was known to have +written to influential friends in London, begging them to urge upon +the authorities the folly of allowing a fine regiment like his to +leave the country at such a moment. But little was hoped from this, +for at any moment a change in the weather might place them beyond the +possibility of a recall. + +Three weeks passed and then the barometer fell, and there were signs +of a change. There was bustle and movement on board the ships, and +even the soldiers were glad that the monotony of their imprisonment on +board was about to come to an end, and their voyage to commence. The +sails were loosed from their gaskets, and the sounds of the drum and +fifes struck up as the capstans were manned, the soldiers lending a +hand at the bars, and the chains came clanking in at the hawse-holes. + +"There is a vessel coming in round the point," O'Connor said. "But we +shall hardly get the last news; we shall be under way before she +anchors." + +"She is signaling to the fort on the hill," Ralph said, as he watched +the flags run up on the signal-staff on the summit of Spike Island; +"and they are answering down below there at the station in front of +the commandant's house." + +A moment later a gun was fired. + +"That's to call our attention, I think," the skipper said, taking up +his glass and directing it to the shore. "Yes, there is our number +flying. Get the signal-book, boy. Mr. Smith, run up the answering +pennant." + +As soon as this ascended the flags on shore were lowered, and a fresh +set run up--3. 5. 0. 4. + +"Give me the book. 'The vessels are not to sail until further +orders,'" he read aloud. + +"Hooray, lads!" Captain O'Connor shouted at the top of his voice. "We +are stopped until further orders." + +A loud cheer broke from the troops, which was echoed by a roar from +the other vessel; and for a few minutes the greatest excitement +reigned. The men threw their caps into the air, and shouted until they +were hoarse. The officers shook each other by the hand, and all were +frantic with delight at the narrow escape they had had. + +As soon as the brig had dropped anchor boats rowed off to her, but +nothing further was learned. Just as she was leaving Plymouth an +officer had come on board with dispatches, and instructions to the +captain to signal immediately he arrived at Cork that if the +Twenty-eighth had not already sailed they were to be stopped. Owing to +the lightness of the wind the brig had been eight days on her passage +from Plymouth. + +For another fortnight the regiment remained on board ship. The +imprisonment was borne more patiently, now they felt sure that they +were not at any rate to be sent across the Atlantic. Then a vessel +arrived with orders that the Twenty-eighth were at once to proceed to +Ostend, and two hours afterward the transports set sail. + +Belgium was hardly the spot which the troops in general would have +approved of as the scene of operations, for the disastrous expedition +to Walcheren was still fresh in mens' minds. They would, moreover, +have preferred a campaign in which they would have fought without +being compelled to act with a foreign army, and would have had all the +honor and glory to themselves. Still Belgium recalled the triumphs of +Marlborough, and although every mail brought news of the tremendous +efforts Napoleon was making to reorganize the fighting power of +France, and of the manner in which the veterans of his former wars had +responded to the call, there was not a doubt of success in the minds +of the Twenty-eighth, from the colonel down to the youngest +drummer-boy. + +Ralph was sorry that he had not been able to pay a flying visit to his +mother before his departure on active and dangerous service. + +He had been somewhat puzzled by her letters ever since he had been +away. They had been almost entirely devoted to his doings, and had +said very little about herself beyond the fact that she was in +excellent health. She had answered his questions as to his various +friends and acquaintances in Dover; but these references had been +short, and she had said nothing about the details of her daily life, +the visits she paid, and the coming in of old friends to see her. She +had evidently been staying a good deal, he thought, with the Withers, +and she kept him fully informed about them, although she did not +mention when she went there or when she had returned. + +She frequently spoke about the missing will, and of her hopes it would +some day be recovered; and had mentioned that the search for it was +still being maintained, and that she felt confident that sooner or +later it would come to light. But even as to this she gave him no +specific details; and he felt that, even apart from his desire to see +his mother, he should greatly enjoy a long talk with her, to find out +about everything that had been going on during his absence. + +Mrs. Conway had indeed abstained from giving her son the slightest +inkling of the work upon which she was engaged; for she was sure he +would be altogether opposed to her plan, and would be greatly +disturbed and grieved at the thought of her being in any menial +position. Whether if, when he returned, and she had not attained the +object of her search she would let him know what she was doing she had +not decided; but she was determined that at any rate until he came +home on leave he should know nothing about it. + +"So we are going to fight Bony at last, Mister Conway," Ralph's +servant said to him. "We've never had that luck before. He has always +sent his generals against us, but, by jabbers, he will find that he +has not got Roosians and Proosians this time." + +"It will be hot work, Denis; for we shall have the best troops of +France against us, and Napoleon himself in command." + +"It's little we care for the French, your honor. Didn't we meet them +in Spain and bate them? Sure, they are are hardly worth counting." + +"You will find them fight very much better now they have their emperor +with them. You know, Wellington had all his work to beat them." + +"Yes, but he did bate them, your honor." + +"That's true enough, Denis; but his troops now are old soldiers, most +of whom have been fighting for years, while a great part of our force +will be no better than militia." + +"They won't fight any the worse for that, your honor," Denis said +confidently. "We will bate them whenever we meet them. You see if we +don't." + +"We will try anyhow, Denis; and if all the regiments were as good as +our own I should feel very sure about it. I wish, though, we were +going to fight by ourselves; we know what we can do, but we do not +know how the Belgians and Dutch and Germans who will be with us can be +depended upon." + +"If I were the duke I wouldn't dipend on them at all, at all, your +honor. I would just put them all in the rare, and lave our fellows to +do the work. They are miserable, half-starved cratures all them +foreigners, they tells me; and if a man is not fed, sure you can't +expect him to fight. I couldn't do it myself. And I hope the duke +ain't going to put us on short rations, because it would be murther +entirely on the boys to make them fight with impty stomachs." + +"I fancy we shall be all right as to that, Denis. I expect that we +shall wait quiet till the French attack us, and waiting quiet means +getting plenty of food." + +"And dacent food, I hope, your honor; not the sort of thing they say +them foreigners lives on. Denis Mulligan could live on frogs and +snails as well as another, no doubt; but it would go sorely against +me, your honor." + +"I don't think there's much chance of your having to live on that +Denis. You will get rations there just the same as you did in Spain." + +"What! beef and mutton, your honor? I suppose they will bring them +across from England?" + +"They may bring some across, Denis; but I suppose they will be able to +buy plenty for the supply of the army out there." + +"What! have they got cattle and sheep there, your honor?" Denis asked +incredulously. + +"Of course they have, Denis; just the same as we have." + +"The hathens!" Denis exclaimed. "To think that men who can get beef +and mutton should feed upon such craturs as snails and such like. It's +downright flying in the face of Providence, your honor." + +"Nonsense, Denis; they eat beef and mutton just the same as we do. As +to the frogs and snails, these are expensive luxuries, just as game is +with us. There is nothing more nasty about snails after all than there +is about oysters; and as to frogs they were regarded as great dainties +by the Romans, who certainly knew what good eating was." + +"Sure, I am a Roman myself, your honor--so are most of the men of the +regiment--but I never heard tell of sich a thing." + +"Not that sort of Roman, Denis," Ralph laughed. "The old +Romans--people who lived long before there were any popes--a people +who could fight as well as any that ever lived, and who were as fond +of good living as they were of fighting." + +"Well, your honor, there is no accounting for tastes. There was +Bridget Maloney, whom I courted before I entered the regiment. Well, +your honor, if you would believe it, she threw over a dacent boy like +myself, and married a little omadoun of a man about five feet high, +and with one shoulder higher than the other. That was why I took to +soldiering, your honor. No, there is no accounting for tastes anyhow. +There's the mess-bugle, your honor. Next time we hear it, it will be +at say, and maybe there won't be many ready to attind to it." + +Denis' prediction was verified. The vessel sailed at two o'clock in +the afternoon, and by six was rolling heavily, and a brisk wind was +blowing. The Twenty-eighth had not long before made the voyage from +the south of France, but they had been favored by exceptionally fine +weather, and had experienced nothing like the tossing they were now +undergoing. The consequence was that only about half a dozen officers +obeyed the bugle call to mess. + +There was a general feeling of satisfaction when the low coast round +Ostend was sighted, for the voyage throughout had been a rough one. +Under certain circumstances a sea voyage is delightful, but +confinement in a crowded transport in rough weather is the reverse of +a pleasant experience. The space below decks was too small to +accommodate the whole of the troops, and a third of their number had +to be constantly on deck; and this for a ten days' voyage in a heavy +sea, with occasional rain-showers, is not, under ordinary +circumstances, calculated to raise the spirits of troops. But men +bound on active and dangerous service are always in the highest +spirits, and make light of disagreeables and hardships of all kinds. + +They had expected to find Ostend full of troops, for several regiments +had landed before them; but they soon found they were to be marched +inland. As soon as the regiment had landed they marched to a spot +where a standing camp had been erected for the use of troops on their +passage through. Their baggage was at once sent forward, and the men +had therefore nothing to do but to clean up their arms and +accoutrements, and to wander as they pleased through the town. They +started early next morning, and after two days' marching arrived at +Ghent, where several regiments were quartered, either in the town +itself or in the villages round it. Ralph's company had billets +allotted to them in a village a mile from the town, a cottage being +placed at the disposal of the captain and his two subalterns. The next +morning, after the parade of the regiment was over, most of the +officers and many of the men paid a visit to the town, where the +fugitive King of France had now established his court. + +Ralph, who years before had read the history of Ghent, was greatly +interested in the quaint old town; though it was difficult to imagine +from the appearance of its quiet streets that its inhabitants had once +been the most turbulent in Europe. Here Von Artevelde was killed, and +the streets often ran with the blood of contending factions. Was it +possible that the fathers of these quiet workmen in blouses, armed +with axes and pikes, had defeated the chivalry of France, and all but +annihilated the force of the Duke of Anjou? What a number of convents +there were! The monks seemed a full third of the population, and it +was curious to hear everyone talking in French when the French were +the enemy they were going to meet. The populace were quite as +interested in their English visitors as the latter were with them. The +English scarlet was altogether strange to them, and the dress of the +men of the Highland regiment, who were encamped next to the +Twenty-eighth, filled them with astonishment. + +For a fortnight the regiment remained at Ghent, then they with some +others of the same division marched to Brussels, and took up their +quarters in villages round the town. The Twenty-eighth belonged to +Picton's division, which formed part of the reserve concentrated round +Brussels. The first army corps, consisting of the second and third +divisions of Dutch and Belgians, and the first and third of the +British, extended from Enghien on the right to Quatre Bras on the +left. The first British division were at the former town, the third +between Soignies and Roeulx, while the Belgians and Dutch lay between +Nivelles and Quatre Bras. + +The second army corps held the ground on the right of the first, and +extended to Oudenarde on the Scheldt. The cavalry, with the exception +of the Brunswick brigade, were posted at Grammont, Mons, and Roeulx, +their outposts being thrown forward as far as Maubeuge and Beaumont. +The Prussians were on the left of Wellington's force, and extended +from Ligny through Namur toward Liege, their advanced posts being at +Charleroi, where Zieten's division had their headquarters. But +although the allied armies thus formed together the arc of a large +circle covering Brussels, they were entirely distinct. The British +drew their supplies from Ostend, on the right of their position, while +Liege on the extreme left was the base of the Prussians. + +Napoleon's movements were uncertain. He might either advance upon +Namur and cut off the Prussians from their base, or between Grammont +and Oudenarde, by which measure he would similarly cut the British off +from Ostend; or he might advance from Charleroi direct upon Brussels, +breaking through at the point where Wellington's left joined the +Prussian right. The Duke of Wellington believed that he would attempt +the second of these alternatives, as in that case he would fall upon +the British before the Prussians could come up to their assistance, +and if successful would not only cut them off from the base of +supplies, but would be able to march straight upon Brussels. It was to +defeat this plan that the duke posted the largest proportion of his +British troops along the frontier, holding, however, two British +divisions and the Brunswick and Nassau troops in and round Brussels, +where they were nearly equidistant from any point that could be +attacked, and could be moved forward as soon as the enemy's intentions +became manifest. + +By the time that the whole of the forces were assembled Wellington had +ninety thousand men under his orders; Blucher, the Prussian general, +had one hundred and sixteen thousand; while Napoleon had one hundred +and twenty-five thousand with which to encounter this vastly superior +force. Upon the other hand, Napoleon's were all veteran troops, and +the French had for a long time been accustomed to victory over the +Prussians. Of Wellington's force fully a half were of mixed +nationalities: Belgians, Dutch, Brunswickers, and Hessians; while his +British division consisted chiefly of young troops, so hastily raised +that a great number of them absolutely fought at Waterloo in the +uniforms of the militia regiments from which they had been drafted. + +It seemed, however, a well-nigh desperate enterprise for Napoleon to +attack so greatly superior a force. But he had, in fact, no choice but +to do so; for Russia and Austria were arming, and their forces would +soon be advancing upon France, and it was therefore necessary if +possible to defeat the British and Prussians before they could arrive. +Could he succeed in doing this the enthusiasm that would be excited in +France would enable him vastly to increase his army. In the meantime +his confidence in his own military genius was unbounded, and the +history of his past was contained many triumphs won under +circumstances far less favorable than the present. + +During the weeks that elapsed while the three great armies were +assembling and taking up their positions, the troops stationed round +Brussels had a pleasant time of it. The city itself was crowded with +visitors. Here were a number of the wives and friends of the officers +of the various armies. Here were many of the French nobility, who had +abandoned France upon the landing of Napoleon. Here were numbers of +people attracted by curiosity, or the desire of being present at the +theater of great events, together with a crowd of simple +pleasure-seekers; for Europe had for many years been closed to +Englishmen, and as soon as peace had been proclaimed great numbers had +crossed the Channel to visit Paris, and had traveled in Germany, +Italy, and Switzerland. + +The news of Napoleon's return to France had occasioned a great scare +among the tourists. A very few days sufficed for the desertion of +Paris and other French towns, and so great was the crowd that the +packet-boats between Calais and Dover were insufficient to carry them. +Many of the visitors to Paris instead of leaving for England made for +Belgium, and were joined there by travelers hurrying back from +Austria, Germany, and other parts of Europe; for none could say what +course the events that would follow Napoleon's return from Elba might +take. At Brussels, however, they felt safe; the distance to England +was short, and they could, if necessary, leave at any time. Beside, +between Belgium and France twelve thousand British troops had been +stationed in the strong places, in accordance with the terms of the +treaty of Fontainebleau and an agreement made with her allies after +the fall of Napoleon. + +The streets of Brussels were ablaze with bright colors. Staff-officers +in the uniforms of a number of nationalities dashed through the +streets, followed by their orderlies. Now and then two or three +general officers, riding at a slower pace and engaged in earnest talk, +passed along, while the pavements were occupied by crowds of men and +officers in all the varieties of British, Dutch, Belgian, Brunswick, +Hanoverian, Hessian, and Prussian uniforms. Although Belgium had cast +in her lot with the allies the people were by no means unanimous in +their sympathies; and, indeed, the majority, from their similarity +both in religion and tongue to the French, sympathized with them +rather than with the allies, who were for the most part both +Protestant and foreigners. + +Those who entertained these sentiments, however, kept them to +themselves, while the rest fraternized to the best of their power with +the troops, many of whom were quartered in the town. As for +amusements, there were for the officers the theaters and an opera, +while many of the ladies staying in Brussels kept almost open houses; +races and athletic sports were got up for the men. The weather at the +latter end of May and during the early days of June was delightful; +and although all knew that the storm might at any moment burst, it was +difficult to believe while so enjoying themselves that to-morrow they +might be called upon to meet the enemy in deadly conflict. Even Denis +Mulligan had nothing to complain about in his rations, and allowed to +Ralph that the Belgians were much more decent people than he had +expected to find them. + +The months of April and May had passed quietly on the frontier. The +cavalry of the allied army on one side, and the French mounted +gendarmerie on the other, maintained a vigilant watch over each +others' movements, and each endeavored to prevent the passing out of +persons who might carry news of the intentions and position of their +armies. But the line was far too long to be strictly watched, and +French loyalists on the one side and Belgian sympathizers with France +on the other, managed to pass with sufficient regularity to keep the +generals informed of the movements of their opponents. + +Wellington, then, was perfectly aware of the gathering of Napoleon's +forces upon the other side of the frontier; but they, like his own +troops were scattered over a long front, and yet there was no +indication whatever as to the point where Napoleon was likely to break +through. During the past three months large bodies of men had labored +to restore the ruined fortifications of the frontier towns. The moats +had been cleared out and deepened, the walls repaired, and the sluices +restored, so that in case of necessity a wide tract of country could +be laid under water. + +These precautions had been specially taken on the right of the British +position where Wellington expected Napoleon's attack, and the general +calculated that with the aid of the obstacles so interposed to +Napoleon's advance, the troops stationed there would be able to check +the tide of invasion until the whole army arrived to their assistance. +The country between Brussels and the frontier was reconnoitered, and +engineer officers were employed in making sketches of all the +positions that appeared likely to offer special advantages as +battlefields for an army standing on the defense. + +Among others the fields lying in front of the village of Waterloo were +mapped, and the spot was specially marked by the duke as one to be +occupied in case the enemy forced a way between the British and +Prussian armies. On the 12th of June the Duke of Wellington learned +that Napoleon and the guards had left Paris for the North, and the +next day the officer in command of the cavalry outposts reported that +the pickets of French cavalry which had so long faced him had +disappeared, and that he had learned from some French custom-house +officers that hostilities were about to commence. + +On the 15th of June, Ralph Conway had gone with Stapleton into +Brussels as usual. Everything was going on with its accustomed +regularity. A military band was playing in the park. Numbers of +well-appointed carriages, filled with well-dressed ladies, drove to +and fro, and crowds of officers and civilians strolled under the +trees, greeting their acquaintances and discussing the latest gossip +of the town. As to the coming of the French, the topic was so +threadbare that no one alluded to it; and no stranger could have +imagined from the aspect of the scene that three great armies were +lying thirty or forty miles away in readiness to engage at any moment +in a desperate struggle. The great subject of talk was the ball that +was to be given that evening by the Duchess of Richmond; this was +expected altogether to outshine any of the other festivities that had +taken place in Brussels during that gay season. It was about half-past +four in the afternoon that the young men saw Captain O'Connor +approaching. + +"Can you young fellows keep a secret?" he asked. + +"I think so," Ralph laughed. + +"I suppose you are both going to the ball?" + +"Of course we are. We are both off duty, and Stapleton here is quite +absorbed in the thought of the conquests he intends to make." + +"Well, the secret is this. It is quite probable you will not go to the +ball at all." + +"Why! How it that?" the young officers exclaimed simultaneously. "Is +the regiment ordered away?" + +"Not yet, lads; but it may be. I have just seen the colonel. He dined +with the duke at three o'clock. There were a lot of officers there, +and the Prince of Orange, who had just come in from the outposts for +the ball, told him that the Prussians at Thuin were attacked this +morning, and that a heavy cannonade was going on when he left. Orders +were issued half an hour ago for the whole of the troops to be in +readiness to march at a moment's notice. There's no saying yet which +way the French may come, and this attack upon the Prussians may be +only a feint; so not a soldier can be moved till more is known. The +first division is ordered to collect at Ath to-night, the third at +Braine-le-Comte, and the fourth at Grammont. The fifth--that is +ours--with the Eighty-first and the Hanoverian brigade, and the sixth +division, of course collect here. All are to be in readiness to march +at a moment's notice. The Prince of Orange is to gather the second and +third Dutch divisions at Nivelles. Of course this first skirmish may +only be intended to feel our force and positions; but at any rate, it +is a sign that the game is going to begin." + +"But if the orders are issued, and the troops are to collect to-night, +the secret cannot be kept long." + +"No; by this time the divisional orders will be published, and +everyone will know it in an hour or two. There is really no secret +about it, lads. If there had been the colonel wouldn't have told me, +and I shouldn't have told you. See, the news is circulating already." + +A change was indeed taking place in the position of the scene. The +loungers were gathering in little groups, talking eagerly and +excitedly. The orders for the concentration of the divisions had +become known, though as yet all were in ignorance as to the reason for +their issue. The three officers joined some of the groups and listened +to the talk. The general idea was that the duke had heard that the +French were gathering for an attack, and these measures were merely +precautionary. It might be days yet before the affair really began. +Still it was important news; and there were pale faces among the +ladies at this sudden reminder that the assembly at Brussels was not a +mere holiday gathering, but that war, grim, earnest, and terrible, was +impending. + +"We had better be getting back to our quarters," Captain O'Connor +said. "Everything will have to be packed up this evening." + +"But does this mean that the troops are to be under arms all night?" +Stapleton asked. + +"That it does, Stapleton. Of course they won't be kept standing in +line; but when troops are ordered to be in readiness to march at a +moment's notice, on such a business as this, it means that they will +all be assembled. Then probably they will be allowed to lie down, and +perhaps will light bivouac fires. But it means business, I can tell +you." + +"Then I for one shan't go to the ball," Ralph said. "No doubt it will +be a pretty sight; but there have been lots of balls, and this bivouac +will be a new experience altogether." + +"I don't know that you are wrong, Conway," Captain O'Connor said. +"Beside, you will probably find the colonel will issue orders that +only a certain number of officers may go. I shall look in for an hour +or two just to see the scene. But I don't know many people, and with a +room full of generals and colonels, and three or four men to each +lady, there won't be much chance of getting partners." + +When they reached the village Stapleton said good-by to them, as his +company lay half a mile further on; and Captain O'Connor and Ralph +entered their quarters. They found their servants busy packing up the +baggage. + +"What is this all about, O'Connor?" Lieutenant Desmond asked. + +"It is in orders that the whole division is to assemble to-night in +readiness to march at a moment's notice. News has come that the French +have attacked the Prussian outposts, and the duke is not to be caught +napping. Of course it may be nothing but an outpost skirmish; still it +may be the beginning of operations on a grand scale." + +"And there is an order," Desmond said dolefully, "that only one +officer in each company is to go to the ball." + +"You want to go--eh, Desmond?" + +"Well, of course I should like to go, and so would everyone I suppose, +however, it can't be helped; for of course you will go yourself." + +"Well, I have made up my mind to look in for an hour or two. Conway +doesn't wish to go. I'll tell you how we will arrange, Desmond. What +the order means is that two officers must stop with their company. It +doesn't matter in the least who they are; so that there are two out of +the three with the men. Dancing will begin about eight o'clock. I will +look in there at nine. An hour will be enough for me; so I will come +back to the company, and you can slip away and stop there till it's +over." + +"Thank you very much," Desmond said gratefully. + +"And look here, Desmond. You had better arrange with your man to leave +your undress uniform out; so that when you get back from the ball you +can slip into it and have the other packed up. That's what I am going +to do. I can't afford to have my best uniform spoiled by having to +sleep in it in the mud. A captain's pay doesn't run to such +extravagance as that." + +"What will be done with the baggage if we have to march?" + +"Oh, I don't suppose we shall march to-night. But if we do, the +quartermaster will detail a party to collect all the baggage left +behind and put it in store. We needn't bother about that; especially +when, for aught we know, we may never come back to claim it." + +But although O'Connor did not know it, the duke had by this time +received news indicating that the attack upon the Prussian outpost was +the beginning of a great movement, and that the whole French army were +pressing forward by the road where the Prussian and British army +joined hands. + +At daybreak the French had advanced in three columns--the right upon +Chatelet, five miles below Charleroi, on the Sambre; the center on +Charleroi itself; the left on Marchienne. Zieten, who was in command +of the Prussian corps d'armee, defended the bridges at these three +points stoutly, and then contested every foot of the ground, his +cavalry making frequent charges; so that at the end of the day the +French had only advanced five miles. This stout resistance enabled +Blucher to bring up two out of his other three corps, Bulow, whose +corps was at Liege, forty miles away, receiving his orders too late to +march that day. The rest of the Prussian army concentrated round the +villages of Fleurs and Ligny. + +Accordingly at ten o'clock in the evening orders were issued by +Wellington for the third division to march at once from +Braine-le-Comte to Nivelles, for the first to move from Enghien to +Braine-le-Comte, and for the second and fourth divisions to march from +Ath and Grammont on Enghien. No fresh orders were issued to the troops +round Brussels; and although it was known at the ball that the troops +were in readiness to march at a moment's notice, there were none +except the generals and a few members of the staff who had an idea +that the moment was so near at hand. The regiments stationed at a +distance from Brussels were assembled in the park by ten o'clock in +the evening; then arms were piled, and the men permitted to fall out. + +Only a few lighted fires, for the night was warm. The artillery, +however, who had all along been bivouacked in the park, had their +fires going as usual, and round these many of the troops gathered, but +the greater part wrapped themselves in their cloaks and went quietly +to sleep. Ralph strolled about for an hour or two, chatting with other +officers and looking at the groups of sleepers, and listening to the +talk of the soldiers gathered round the fires. Among them were many +old Peninsular men, whose experience now rendered them authorities +among the younger soldiers, who listened eagerly to the details of the +desperate struggle at Albuera, the terrible storming of the +fortresses, and lighter tales of life and adventure in Spain. Many of +the men whose quarters lay near the scene of assembly had been +permitted to return to them, with strict orders to be ready to join +the ranks should the bugle sound. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +FOUND AT LAST. + + +As soon as Mrs. Conway received the box she set to work in earnest. +Directly the house was still and a sufficient time had elapsed for the +Miss Penfolds to have fallen asleep, she rose from the bed on which +she had lain down without undressing, put on the coat and hat, and +made her way noiselessly down to the library. As she kept the lock +well oiled she entered noiselessly, and then locking the door behind +her lighted a candle and commenced her search. On the fifth night she +was rewarded by finding that the center of what looked like a solidly +carved flower in the ornamentation of the mantelpiece gave way under +the pressure of her finger, and at the same moment she heard a slight +click. Beyond this nothing was apparent; and after trying everything +within reach she came to the conclusion that it needed a second spring +to be touched to reveal the entrance. + +It took her another three weeks before she found this. It was a slight +projection, about as large as a button, in the inside of the chimney +behind the mantel. Pressing this and the other spring simultaneously, +the bookcase on the left of the fireplace suddenly swung open three or +four inches. For a moment she stood breathless with excitement, +hesitating before she entered; then she swung the bookcase open. +There, as she had expected, was a little room seven feet long by four +deep; but, to her bitter disappointment, it was bare and empty. A few +scraps of paper lay on the ground, but there was no furniture, chest, +or boxes in the room. The revulsion was so great that Mrs. Conway +returned into the library, threw herself into a chair, and had a long +cry. Then she went back into the room and carefully examined the +pieces of paper lying on the ground. One of them was a portion of a +letter, and she recognized at once the handwriting of Mr. Tallboys. + +It contained only the words: "My dear Mr. Penfold--In accordance with +your request I send you the--" But above was the date, which was ten +days only anterior to Mr. Penfold's death. Mrs. Conway had no doubt +that the word that should have followed the fragment was "will," and +that this was the letter that Mr. Tallboys had sent over with that +document. It was important evidence, as it showed that Mr. Penfold had +been in the habit of using this place during his lifetime, and that he +had entered it after he had received the will from his solicitor a few +days before his death. Why should he have entered it except to put the +will in a place of security? Where that place was she did not know, +but she felt certain that it was somewhere within reach of her hand. + +"If it is here it must be found," she said resolutely; "but I won't +begin to look for it to-night. It must be three o'clock already, and I +will think the matter over thoroughly before I begin again. It is +something to have found out as much as I have. I ought to be +encouraged instead of being disappointed." + +That day she wrote to Mr. Tallboys, giving him a full account of the +discovery which she had made, and inclosing the fragment of his +letter. She did not renew her search for the next two nights; for her +long watchfulness and excitement had told upon her, and she felt that +she needed rest before she set about the second part of the search. +She received a letter from Mr. Tallboys in reply to that she had sent +him: + +"MY DEAR MRS. CONWAY: I congratulate you most heartily upon the great +success you have met with. I own that I have never been very hopeful, +for after the thorough search we made of the room I hardly thought it +likely that you would succeed when we had failed; however, you have +done so, and I cannot doubt that a similar success will attend your +further efforts. In a small bare room such as you describe the +difficulties in the way of finding the hidden receptacle cannot be so +great as those you have already overcome. You are perfectly correct in +your supposition that the fragment you sent me was part of the letter +that I sent over with the will to Mr. Penfold by my clerk. I have +compared it with the copy in my letter book, and find that it is the +same. As you say, this letter proves conclusively that Mr. Penfold was +in this secret room after he received the will, and one can assign no +reason for his going there unless to put the will away in what he +considered a secure hiding-place. That it is still somewhere there I +have no doubt whatever, and I shall await with much anxiety news as to +your further progress." + +Thinking the matter over, Mrs. Conway had come to the conclusion that +the hiding-place could only be under one of the stone flags of the +floor or in the wall against the fireplace, or rather in that part of +it above the fireplace. There would not be thickness enough in the +walls separating the secret chamber from the passage or the rooms on +either side of it; but the chimney would not be of the same width as +the open fireplace below, and there might well be a space there +sufficient for a good-sized closet. It was here, therefore, that she +determined to begin her search. The next night, then, after touching +the springs and entering the secret chamber, she began carefully to +examine each stone in the wall next the fireplace at a distance about +four feet above the ground. + +In five minutes she uttered an exclamation of satisfaction. One of the +stones, above eighteen inches square, although like the rest fitting +closely to those adjoining it, was not, like the others, bedded in +cement. So close was the join that it needed a close inspection to see +that it was different from those around it. Still, upon close +examination, it was evident that it was not cemented in. Taking out a +penknife from her pocket, she found that the joint was too close even +to allow this to be inserted for any distance. There was no keyhole or +any other visible means of opening it, and she searched the walls in +vain for any hidden spring. + +For a whole week she continued the search, but without the slightest +success, and at last began almost to despair; for at the end of that +time she was convinced that she had passed her fingers again and again +over every square inch of the floor and walls within her reach. +Completely worn out with her sleepless nights, she determined to take +a little rest, and to abstain altogether for a few nights from the +search. On the third night, however, an idea suddenly occurred to her. +She rose at once, dressed herself, and was about to go downstairs, +when she thought that she heard a noise below. She returned at once to +her room, hid away her hat and coat, and again went to the top of the +stairs and listened. + +Yes, she had not been mistaken; she distinctly heard sounds below, +and, she thought, the murmur of men's voices. After a moment's thought +she returned again to her room, took off her dress and threw a shawl +round her shoulders, and then stole quietly down the stairs to the +next floor and knocked gently at Miss Penfold's door. She repeated the +knock two or three times, and then heard Miss Penfold's voice asking +who was there. She did not speak, but knocked again. This time the +voice came from the other side of the door. + +"It is me, Miss Penfold--Anna Sibthorpe." + +The door was unlocked and opened. + +"What is it, Anna?" + +"There is some one in the house, ma'am; I can hear them moving about +down below, and I think I can hear men's voices." + +Miss Penfold came out and listened. + +"Yes, there is some one there," she said. "Go and call the butler and +the others. I shall be ready by the time you come down." + +In two or three minutes the servants, headed by the butler, who had +armed himself with a blunderbuss that always hung in his room ready +for action, came downstairs. Miss Penfold came out to meet them +half-dressed. She had a pistol in her hand. The maids had armed +themselves with pokers and brooms. + +"Have you looked to the priming of your blunderbuss?" Miss Penfold +asked quietly. + +"No, ma'am." + +"Well, then, look now," she said sharply. "What's the use of having a +weapon if you don't see that it's in order?" + +"It's all right, ma'am," the butler said, examining the priming. + +"Well, then, come along and don't make a noise." + +They went downstairs noiselessly, and paused when they reached the +hall. The sounds came from the drawing-room. Miss Penfold led the way +to the door, turned the handle, and flung it open. Three men were seen +in the act of packing up some of the valuables. They started up with +an exclamation. Miss Penfold fired, and there was a cry of pain. A +moment later there was a roar as the blunderbuss went off, the +contents lodging in the ceiling. "Without hesitating for a moment the +three men made a rush to the open window, and were gone. + +"John Wilton," Miss Penfold said sternly, "you are a fool! I give you +a month's notice from to-day. Fasten up the shutters again and all go +off to bed." And without another word she turned and went upstairs. As +she reached the landing her sister ran out of her room in great alarm. + +"What is the matter, Charlotte? I heard two explosions." + +"It is nothing, Eleanor. Some men broke into the house, and we have +gone down and frightened them away. I did not think it was worth while +disturbing you, as you are so easily alarmed; but it is all over now, +and the servants are shutting up the house again. I will tell you all +about it in the morning. Go to bed again at once, or you will catch +cold. Good-night." + +Directly Miss Penfold had gone upstairs a hubbub of talk burst out +from the female servants. + +"It's disgraceful, John! With that great gun you ought to have shot +them all dead." + +"It went off by itself," John said, "just as I was going to level it." + +"Went off by itself!" the cook said scornfully. "It never went off of +itself when it was hanging above your bed. Guns never go off by +themselves, no more than girls do. I am surprised at you, John. Why, I +have heard you talk a score of times of what you would do if burglars +came; and now here you have been and knocked a big hole in the +ceiling. Why missus has twenty times as much courage as you have. She +shot straight, she did, for I heard one of the men give a squalk. Oh, +you men are pitiful creatures, after all!" + +"You wouldn't have been so mighty brave, cook, if Miss Penfold and me +hadn't been in front of you." + +"A lot of use you were!" the cook retorted. "Six feet one of flesh, +and no heart in it! Why, I would have knocked him down with a broom if +I had been within reach of him." + +"Yes, that we would, cook," the under-housemaid said. "I had got my +poker ready, and I would have given it them nicely if I could have got +within reach. Miss Penfold was just as cool as if she had been eating +her breakfast, and so was we all except John." + +John had by this time fastened up the shutter again, and feeling that +his persecutors were too many for him he slunk off at once to his +room; and the others, beginning to feel that their garments were +scarcely fitted for the cold night air postponed their discussion of +the affair until the following morning. The next morning after +breakfast the servants were called into the dining-room, and Miss +Penfold interrogated them closely as to whether any of them had seen +strange men about, or had been questioned by any one they knew as to +valuables at the Hall. + +"If it had not been for Anna," she said, when she had finished without +eliciting any information, "the house would have been robbed, and not +any of us would have been any the wiser. It was most fortunate that, +as she says, she happened to be awake and heard the sounds; and she +acted very properly in coming quietly down to wake me. If the one man +in the house," and she looked scornfully at the unfortunate butler, +"had been possessed of the courage of a man the whole of them would +have been shot; for they were standing close together, and he could +hardly have missed them if he had tried. + +"If that weapon had been in the hands of Anna, instead of those of +John Wilton, the results would have been very different. However, John +Wilton, you have been a good servant generally, and I suppose it is +not your fault if you have not the courage of a mouse, therefore I +shall withdraw my notice for you to leave. I shall make arrangements +for the gardener to sleep in the house in future, and you will hand +that blunderbuss over to him. I shall write to-day to the ironmonger +at Weymouth to come over and fix bells to all the shutters, and to +arrange wires for a bell from my room to that which the gardener will +occupy." + +At breakfast Miss Penfold informed her sister of what had taken place +the night before. + +"I shall write, of course, to the head constable at Weymouth to send +over to inquire about it, but I have very little hope that he will +discover anything, Eleanor." + +"Why do you think that, Charlotte? You said that you were convinced +you had wounded one of the men; so they ought to be able to trace +him." + +"I dare say they would if this had been an ordinary theft; but I am +convinced that it was not." + +"Not an ordinary theft! What do you mean?" + +"I have no doubt in my mind, Eleanor, that it was another attempt to +discover the will." + +"Do you think so?" Eleanor said in an awed voice. "That is terrible. +But you said the men were engaged in packing up the candlesticks and +ornaments." + +"Oh, I believe that was a mere blind. Of course they would wish us to +believe they were simply burglars, and therefore they acted as such to +begin with. But there has never been any attempt on the house during +the forty years we have lived here. Why should there be so now? If +Anna had not fortunately heard those men I believe that when they had +packed up a few things to give the idea that they were burglars, they +would have gone to the library and set to to ransack it and find the +will." + +"But they would never have found it, Charlotte. It is too well hidden +for that." + +"There is no knowing," Miss Penfold said gloomily. "So long as it is in +existence we shall never feel comfortable. It will be much better to +destroy it." + +"No, no!" Eleanor exclaimed. "We agreed, Charlotte, that there was no +reason why we should assist them to find it; but that is altogether a +different thing from destroying it. I should never feel happy again if +we did." + +"As for that," Miss Penfold said somewhat scornfully, "you don't seem +very happy now. You are always fretting and fidgeting over it." + +"It is not I who am fancying that these burglars came after the will," +Eleanor answered in an aggrieved voice. + +"No; that is the way with timid people," Miss Penfold said. "They are +often afraid of shadows, and see no danger where danger really exists. +At any rate, I am determined to see whether the will really is where +we suppose it to be. If it is I shall take it out and hide it in the +mattress of my bed. We know that it will be safe there at any rate as +long as I live, though I think it wiser to destroy it." + +"No, no," Eleanor exclaimed; "anything but that. I sleep badly enough +now, and am always dreaming that Herbert is standing by my bedside +with a reproachful look upon his face. I should never dare sleep at +all if we were to destroy it." + +"I have no patience with such childish fancies, as I told you over and +over again," Miss Penfold said sharply. "If I am ready to take the +risk of doing it, I do not see that you need fret about it. However, I +am ready to give in to your prejudices, and indeed would rather not +destroy it myself if it can be safely kept elsewhere. At any rate I +shall move it from its hiding-place. We know that it is there and +nowhere else that it will be searched for, and with it in my room we +need have no more uneasiness. I can unsew the straw _pailliasse_ at +the bottom of my bed, and when it is safely in there I shall have no +fear whatever." + +"Of course you can do as you like, Charlotte," Eleanor said feebly; +"but for my part I would much rather go on as we are. We don't know +now that the will really exists, and I would much rather go on +thinking that there is a doubt about it." + +"Very well, then; go on so, Eleanor. You need ask no questions of me, +and I shall tell you nothing. Only remember, if I die before you don't +part with the _pailliasse_ on my bed." + +Mrs. Conway thought a good deal during the day about the events of the +night before, and determined to be more cautious than ever in her +operations; for she thought it probable that Miss Penfold would be +even more wakeful and suspicious than before. She would have left the +search alone for a few days had it not been for the idea that had +taken her from her bed the night before. It had struck her then as +possible that the spring opening the secret closet might be in the +chimney behind it, and that it was necessary to touch this from the +outside before opening the door of the secret room. + +She was convinced that had there been a spring in the room itself she +must have discovered it, but it never before struck her that it might +be at the back of the closet. She felt that she must satisfy herself +on this point whatever the risk of discovery. Accordingly at the usual +hour she made her way downstairs. She had put the key in the door, and +was in the act of turning it when she heard a noise upstairs. She +opened the door and stood looking up the stairs. In a moment she saw a +light, and directly afterward Miss Penfold appeared at the top holding +a candle in her hand. Knowing she was as yet unseen, Mrs. Conway +entered the library and closed the door behind her. Then she hurried +to the fireplace, touched the two springs, pulled the bookcase open +and entered the secret chamber, and closed the bookcase behind her. + +She had often examined the lock, thinking that the secret spring of +the closet might be concealed here. It was a large old-fashioned one, +and moved two bolts, one at the top of the door and one at the bottom. +These she had already discovered could be easily opened from the +inside. She imagined that Miss Penfold was merely going round the +house to see that all was secure, and she had, contrary to her +practice, taken the key from the door of the library in order that +Miss Penfold might enter it if she chose. But the thought now flashed +across her that possibly she might intend to open the secret room; and +to prevent this she now thrust the barrel of the pistol she carried in +between the back of the bolt and the piece of iron against which it +shot, so that the action of the springs could not throw it out of its +place. + +Breathlessly she listened. Presently she heard a sharp click in the +wall behind her. She had scarcely time to wonder what this meant when +she heard a sound in the lock close to her. It was repeated again and +again. Then she felt a slight tremor of the door as if somebody was +trying to shake it. Her heart almost stood still. Miss Penfold was +evidently trying to open the chamber; and, though she knew the lock +could not open so long as she held the pistol in the place, she felt +her breath coming fast and her heart beating. For five minutes the +attempts to open the door continued. Then all was still again. + +For half an hour she remained without moving; then, as all continued +quiet, she guessed that Miss Penfold, finding the springs did not act, +had returned to her room. She now rose to her feet, drew out her dark +lantern, and turned to the wall by her side. She gave an exclamation +of joy--the stone that she had so long vainly endeavored to move was +swung open. Miss Penfold who of course had the secret, had touched the +spring outside before attempting to open the chamber, and the stone, +which was set in iron, had swung open on a hinge. In a moment Mrs. +Conway explored the contents. The closet was about two feet square by +nine inches in depth, and contained two shelves. There were several +papers in it, and the very first upon which she placed her hand was +marked "The Last Will and Testament of Herbert Penfold." + +So overwhelmed was Mrs. Conway at this termination to her long search +that she sank on the ground, and it was some time before she could +collect herself sufficiently to consider what was her best course. It +was evident that for some reason Miss Penfold had been about to visit +the secret room to see that the will was still in safety. The failure +of the springs to act had, of course, disconcerted her; but she might +try again in the morning, and would then be able to enter the room, +and would discover that the will was missing. + +It was clearly the best course to make off at once. She remembered now +that she had noticed a tiny hole no bigger than a nail-hole in the +door, and had found that upon the other side it was just above a row +of books in the shelves somewhat lower in height than the rest, and +was evidently intended to enable the occupant of the chamber to obtain +a view of the library, and see whether that room was occupied. She +applied her eye to it at once, and saw that all was dark. Concealing +the lantern again beneath her coat, she drew back the bolts gently and +stepped out. Then she went to one of the windows, took down the bell, +carefully unbarred the shutters, threw up the window and stepped out. + +She sped cross the garden, down the drive, and through the gate, and +then hurried at the top of her speed toward the village. She had gone +about half the distance when she heard a horse's footsteps +approaching. The road ran between two high hedges and there was no +place for concealment. She therefore walked along by the edge of the +road close to the hedge, hoping that the horseman would pass without +noticing her. His eyes, however, were too much accustomed to the +darkness. He reined in his horse when he came to her, and a moment +later the light of a small lantern fell on her face. + +"Who are you?" a voice asked, "and where are you going?" + +"I am going to the vicarage," she said, "to see Mr. Withers." + +"A likely story that," he said. "What is this? A woman with a man's +hat and coat! There is something wrong here," and leaning down he +caught her by the collar. She saw by the light of his lantern that he +was a mounted patrol. + +"It is quite true, constable," she said. "I have put these things on +in a hurry, but I am going to see Mr. Withers on a question of life +and death. Take me to the vicarage, and if when you get there you find +my story is not true you can lock me up if you like." + +The constable was puzzled. The voice was apparently that of a lady, +and yet her attire, and her presence abroad at two o'clock in the +morning, was suspicious in the extreme. He paused irresolute. + +"I don't like to disturb the vicar at this time of night," he said. "I +will take you to the village lockup and go up to him in the morning." + +"Please don't do that," she said. "I am a lady, and have a very good +reason for what I am doing. I can promise you that Mr. Withers will +not be angry at being called up; indeed he will be greatly pleased. +Come, constable," she went on, seeing that he hesitated, "I will give +you a couple of guineas to take me direct to the vicarage." + +"Well, ma'am," the constable said, "if you are sure Mr. Withers will +not be angry at being called up at such an hour I will take you; but +you know he is a magistrate, and it would never do to play tricks upon +him." + +"There are no tricks, constable. He knows me very well, and will be +pleased to see me even at this hour." + +Greatly puzzled over the whole proceeding the constable turned, and +still keeping a firm hold of her collar walked his horse back toward +the village. + +"You really need not hold me so tightly," Mrs. Conway said. "If I +wanted to get away I could have done so in a moment; for I have a +pistol in my pocket, and could have shot you the moment you turned +your lantern away from me." + +Somewhat startled at this information the constable released his hold, +satisfied that his prisoner could not escape by speed. As a measure of +precaution he made her walk a pace or two ahead, and kept the light of +his lantern upon her while he held his pistol ready for action in his +hand in case she should suddenly turn upon him. They went through the +village, and five minutes afterward entered the gate of the vicarage. +On reaching the door Mrs. Conway rang the bell. A moment later a +window above opened. + +"What is it?" a man's voice asked. "Am I wanted anywhere?" + +"I am the mounted patrol, sir," the constable said, "and I have met a +suspicious sort of person in the road. She said she was coming to you, +and you knew her; and though it didn't seem a likely sort of story, I +thought it better to run the risk of disturbing you instead of taking +her to the lockup." + +"It is I, Mr. Withers," Mrs. Conway said, taking off her hat and +stepping out so that the light of the policeman's lantern fell upon +her. "Please let me in, I have got it." + +"Good heavens!" Mr. Withers exclaimed, startled out of his usual +tranquillity. "It is all right, constable, I will be down in a +minute." + +"There, constable, you see I spoke truly," Mrs. Conway said, and +taking her purse from her pocket she extracted by the light of the +lantern two guineas and handed them to the man. + +"Oh, I don't want to take your money, ma'am," he said apologetically. +"You must excuse my not believing you, but it did seem a rum start." + +"You are quite right, constable," she replied. "The circumstances were +suspicious, and you only did your duty. However, you might have made +it very unpleasant for me if you had chosen to take me to the lockup +instead of bringing me here, and I am very willing to give you what I +promised you. I can afford it very well," she said cheerfully, as he +still hesitated, "and I dare say it will be useful to you." + +The man took the money and touched his hat, and sat quiet until the +door opened, and Mr. Withers in a dressing-gown and holding a candle +appeared. + +"You have done quite right in bringing the lady up here," Mr. Withers +said; "but you need not go talking about it in the village." + +"Very well, sir; I will say nothing about it. Good-night, sir. +Good-night ma'am." + +"My dear Mrs. Conway, what has happened to bring you here at this hour +of the night?" Mr. Withers asked as he closed the door behind. "Did I +understand you to say that you have got it? Is it possible that you +have found the will?" + +"Quite possible, Mr. Withers. Here it is in its envelope, with the +seals unbroken." + +"You astound me!" Mr. Withers exclaimed. At this moment Mrs. Withers +made her appearance at the top of the stairs, her husband having +briefly said as he hurried out of the room that it was Mrs. Conway. + +"Amy," he said, "here is Mrs. Conway. And, what do you think? she has +brought the missing will with her." + +With an exclamation Mrs. Withers ran downstairs and threw her arms +round Mrs. Conway. "You dear brave creature," she said, "I have been +longing to speak to you for the last six months. It seems so unnatural +your being close to us, and my not being able to see you, And you have +really found the will? I can hardly believe it. How has it all come +about?" + +"Don't bother her, Amy," Mr. Withers said; for now that the excitement +was past Mrs. Conway was trembling all over, and was scarcely able to +keep her feet. "She is overtired and overexcited. Take her straight up +to the spare room and get her to bed. I will make her a tumbler of hot +port wine and water. The water is sure to be warm in the kitchen, and +a stick or two will make it boil by the time she is ready for it. We +will hear all about it in the morning. We have got the will safe, and +we have got her; that is quite enough for us for to-night, all the +rest will keep very well until to-morrow." + +In a few minutes Mrs. Conway was in bed, and after drinking the +tumbler of hot negus Mr. Withers had prepared for her she soon fell +asleep. + +Mrs. Withers came into the room early in the morning. "My husband says +you are not to think of getting up unless you feel quite equal to it, +and I agree with him; so if you like I will bring breakfast up to you, +and then you can go off to sleep again for a bit." + +"Oh, no, thank you," Mrs. Conway replied. "Now that I am fairly awake +and realize where I am, I am perfectly ready to get up. I could not +think the first moment I opened my eyes where I had got to, and +fancied I had overslept myself and should get a nice scolding." + +"You must wear one of my dresses, my dear," the vicar's wife said. +"You have done with that servant's gown for good. I will bring you one +in a few minutes." + +In half an hour Mrs. Conway came down in a pretty morning dress of +Mrs. Withers'. Mabel had that moment made her appearance in the +breakfast-room. She had returned only a week before from her stay at +Bath, having positively mutinied against the proposal that she should +stay there for another six months. She started at the entry of a +stranger. + +"Don't you know me, Mabel?" Mrs. Conway said, holding out her hand. + +"Why--why--" Mabel exclaimed, "it's Mrs. Conway. When did you come, +and what have you been doing to yourself? Why, your hair is quite a +different color! What does it all mean, mamma?" she asked in +bewilderment. + +"Mrs. Conway came last night, Mabel, after you were in bed." + +"But you didn't tell me she was coming, mamma." + +"We didn't know ourselves, dear; she arrived quite unexpectedly." + +"And--" and Mabel stopped. + +"And I have got on one of your mamma's dresses," Mrs. Conway laughed, +interpreting Mabel's look of surprise. "Yes, dear, and as you say, I +have dyed my hair." + +"But why, Mrs. Conway? It was such a pretty color before." + +"And it will be again some day, I hope, for I am not going to dye it +any more." + +"I am glad of that," Mabel said frankly; "for you look quite different +somehow. But why did you do it? and why--Is there anything the matter, +Mrs. Conway," she broke off suddenly, "that you come here without +being expected, and are wearing one of mamma's dresses, and have dyed +your hair, and look so different altogether? Have you heard anything +about Ralph?" + +"You will hear all about it presently, Mabel," Mr. Withers, who had +just come into the room, said. "You owe a great debt of gratitude to +Mrs. Conway, as you will hear presently; for she has for six months +been working in the interest of Ralph and you. Now, don't open your +eyes so wide, but sit down to the table. After we have had breakfast +Mrs. Conway will tell us all about it." + +"By the way, Mrs. Conway, have you heard the news?" + +"What news, Mrs. Withers?" + +"In the newspaper I got yesterday evening it was said that a despatch +had just been received from the Duke of Wellington saying he had news +that Bonaparte was advancing, and that he had just issued orders for +the troops to march forward to support the Prussians, who were likely +to be first attacked." + +"No, I had heard nothing about it," Mrs. Conway said, turning pale. +"Then there is going to be a battle, and Ralph will be engaged." + +"You must not alarm yourself," the vicar said. "You know the troops +are very widely scattered, and his regiment may not be up in time; +beside, you see, the Prussians are likely to be first attacked, and +they may beat the French before the English get up to join in the +battle." + +"Now, Mrs. Conway," Mr. Withers said when they had finished breakfast, +"please take pity on us and tell us all about it." + +"Is Mabel to go away, or is she to hear it all, James?" Mrs. Withers +asked. + +"What do you think, Mrs. Conway?" + +"I see no reason whatever against her hearing. Mabel is fast growing +up. You are past fifteen now, are you not, Mabel?" + +"Yes, Mrs. Conway." + +"Then I think she has a right to hear all about it. She is, after all, +the party most interested." + +"Thank you, Mrs. Conway," the girl said. "Please let us go out into +the garden and sit in the chairs under the shade of that tree. I can +see it is going to be a long story, and it will be delightful out +there; and then papa can smoke his after-breakfast cigar." + +"Very well, Mabel; if your mamma has no objection, I am quite +willing." + +The chairs were taken out into the shade of the tree and the party sat +down, Mabel all excitement, for as yet she knew nothing whatever of +what had happened, and was puzzling herself in vain as to how Mrs. +Conway could have been working in her interest. + +"In the first place, Mabel," Mrs. Conway began, "I suppose you have no +idea why you were sent away to Bath?" + +Mabel opened her eyes in surprise. + +"I thought I went there to get lessons in music and French and +dancing." + +"Well, you did go for that purpose, but for something else also. You +were sent away in order that you might not see me." + +"Not see you, Mrs. Conway! Why, you must be joking. Why, papa, what +reason could there possibly be why I should not see Mrs. Conway? And +beside, you never told me in your letter that she had been here." + +"I have not been here--at least not in this house; but I was in the +church every Sunday. I was there before you went away, although you +did not see me. I was sitting in the pew with the Hall servants." + +"With the Hall servants!" Mabel repeated in astonishment. "What did +you sit with them for? and where were you staying? and why did you +come to the church every Sunday and not come here?" + +"That's just the story you are going to hear, Mabel. You heard of +course, that it was Mr. Penfold's intention to leave you half his +estates?" + +"Yes, I heard that; and then there was no will found so of course I +didn't get it." + +"No, my dear; but as we all believed that there was such a will, we +were naturally unwilling to let the matter rest. Still, the chance of +finding it seemed very remote. You remember we spoke to you about it +when they offered you that hundred a year." + +"Yes, papa, you told me then that you thought they were keeping me out +of my rights, and that was why I ought to refuse to take it. Yes, you +did say they were keeping Ralph out too, and that was partly why you +thought I ought not to agree to take the money; and of course I +thought so too, because that would seem as if we had deserted Ralph." + +"Well, Mabel, at that time the chance of our ever hearing anything of +the will was so remote that I think both your mother and myself had +entirely given up hope, and I am sure we should never have taken any +more steps in the matter. Fortunately Mrs. Conway possesses a great +deal more energy and perseverance than we have, and when she found +that we gave it up, and that Mr. Tallboys gave it up, she determined +to take the matter in her own hands. Now she will tell us how she has +succeeded, and you must listen quietly and not ask more questions than +you can help till she has finished." + +"Well, my dear," Mrs. Conway went on, "Mr. Tallboys, Mr. Penfold's +lawyer, did everything he possibly could to find the will, but he +could not do so; and as my son was with you the person that had been +robbed, I thought it was my duty to undertake the search myself." + +Mrs. Conway then related step by step the measures she had taken to +obtain a situation as servant at the Hall, and then went on to tell +the manner in which she had carried on the search, and how success had +finally crowned her efforts, her story being frequently interrupted by +exclamations and questions from her hearers. + +"What do you mean to do next?" Mr. Withers asked when she concluded. + +"I will ask you to drive me over at once to Weymouth. I shall not feel +comfortable until I have placed the will in Mr. Tallboys' hands; and +directly I have done that I shall go over to Brussels. I may perhaps +get there before any great battle is fought; and I should like to see +Ralph before that, if possible, and at any rate be there to nurse him +if he was wounded. I shall ask Mr. Tallboys if he can spare time to go +across with me to Brussels. I should not want him to stop there, but +only to take me over. I should think there would be no difficulty in +hiring a small vessel at Weymouth to take me to Ostend, especially as +money is no object now. If Mr. Tallboys cannot spare time himself, he +can send a clerk with me or get somebody who will take me in charge; +but at any rate I intend to go by myself if necessary. I do not +suppose it will cause any delay about the will, Mr. Withers; for of +course there must be some trouble in having it proved." + +"It can make no difference, Mrs. Conway. I do not give that the least +thought. I will go round at once and tell William to put in the +horses." + +"Mabel and I will go over too, James," Mrs. Withers said; "we cannot +sit quiet all day after this excitement. Beside, I want to hear what +Mr. Tallboys says." + +Mr. Withers returned in a few minutes, looking grave. + +"William has just come up from the village, and says that half an hour +ago a man rode up from the Hall with word that the doctor was to go +over at once, for that Eleanor Penfold had just had a stroke or fit of +some sort and was terribly bad. I am sorry this new trouble has +befallen them; but they have brought it entirely upon themselves, poor +ladies. However, justice must be done; but I am sure you will agree +with me, Mrs. Conway, that if the matter can possibly be arranged +without exposure and publicity it shall be done so." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +QUATRE BRAS. + + +At ten o'clock Captain O'Connor returned and Lieutenant Desmond +hurried off. + +"Were you sorry to leave, O'Connor?" Ralph asked that officer. + +"No; I was glad to get away," he replied. "Knowing as I do that in +another twenty-four hours we may be engaged, and that in forty-eight +the greatest battle of the age may take place, it was horribly sad to +look on at the scene and wonder how many of the men laughing and +flirting and dancing so gayly there would be so soon lying stark and +cold, how many broken hearts there would be among the women. I felt +heartily glad that I had neither wife nor sweetheart there. It is not +often I feel in low spirits, but for once one could not help thinking. +Here it is a different thing; we are all soldiers, and whatever comes +we must do our duty and take our chance. But the gayety of that scene +jarred upon me, and I could see there were many, especially the older +men, who were thinking as I did. I dare say if I had found any +partners and gone in for dancing I should have thought but little +about it; but standing looking on the thoughts came. I think you were +right, Conway, not to go." + +"Have you heard any news of what has taken place to-day?" + +"Yes. I was standing by the colonel when Picton came up to him and +said: + +"'There's been sharp fighting on the frontier. Zieten gave the French +a deal of trouble, and only fell back about six miles. The other +corps, except Bulow's, will all join them to-night. + +"'It is a thousand pities that Zieten did not send off a mounted +messenger to us directly he became engaged. If he had done so we might +have started at one o'clock to-day, and should have been in line with +the Prussians to-morrow. I suppose he thought Blucher would send, and +Blucher thought he had sent; and so between them nothing was done, and +we only got the news at seven o'clock this evening. Nine precious +hours thrown away. It is just a blunder of this sort that makes all +the difference between failure and success in war. Had the message +been sent, we and the Dutch divisions and the troops from Braine +le-Comte might all have been up by the morning. As it is, Blucher, +with only three out of his four army corps, has the whole of the +French army facing him, and must either fall back without fighting or +fight against superior numbers--that is, if Napoleon throws his whole +force upon him, as I suppose he will. It is enough to provoke a +saint." + +"'Which will Blucher do, do you think, general?" the colonel asked. + +"'He sends word that he shall fight where he is; and in that case, if +Napoleon throws his whole force on him, he is nearly certain to be +beaten, and then we shall have Napoleon on us the next day." + +"And now, Conway, I think it better to get a few hours' sleep if we +can; for to-morrow will be a heavy day for us, unless I am mistaken." + +It was some time before Ralph slept, but when he did so he slept +soundly, waking up with a start as the sound of a bugle rang out in +the night air. It was taken up by the bugles of the whole division, +and Brussels, which had but an hour before echoed with the sound of +the carriages returning from the ball, woke with a start. + +With the sound of the bugle was mingled that of the Highland pipes, +and in a few minutes the streets swarmed with the soldiers; for there +was scarce a house but had either officers or men quartered in it. The +upper windows were thrown up and the inhabitants inquired the cause of +the uproar, and soon the whole population were in the streets. There +was no delay. The soldiers had packed their knapsacks before lying +down to sleep, and in a quarter of an hour from the sound of a bugle +the regiments were forming up in the park. They were surrounded by an +anxious crowd. Weeping women were embracing their husbands and lovers; +the inhabitants looked pale and scared, and the wildest rumors were +already circulating among them; mounted officers dashed to and fro, +bugles kept on sounding the assembly; and the heavy rumble of guns was +heard as the artillery came up and took up their appointed position. + +In half an hour from the sound of the first warning bugle the head of +the column began to move, just as daylight was breaking. Comparatively +few of the officers of Ralph's regiment were married men, and there +were therefore fewer of those agonizing partings that wrung the hearts +of many belonging to regiments that had been quartered for some time +at home; but Ralph saw enough to convince him that the soldier should +remain a single man at any rate during such times as he is likely to +be called upon for serious service in the field. It was a relief when +the bands of the regiment struck up, and with a light step the troops +marched away from the city where they had spent so many pleasant +weeks. + +As the troops marched on their spirits rose--and indeed the British +soldier is always at his gayest when there is a prospect of +fighting--the hum of voices rose along the column, jokes were +exchanged, and there was laughter and merriment. The pace was not +rapid, and there were frequent stoppages, for a long column cannot +march at the same pace as a single regiment; and it was ten o'clock +when they halted at Mount St. Jean, fourteen miles from Brussels. Here +the men sat down by the roadside, opened their haversacks, and partook +of a hasty meal. Suddenly there was a cheer from the rear of the +column. Nearer and nearer it grew, and the regiment leaped to their +feet and joined in the shout, as the Duke of Wellington, with a +brilliant staff, rode forward on his way to the front. + +Already a booming of guns in the distance told that the troops were +engaged, and there was another cheer when the order ran along the line +to fall in again. + +Fighting had indeed begun soon after daylight. Prince Bernhard who +commanded the division of Dutch troops at Quatre Bras, had commenced +hostilities as soon as it was light by attacking the French in front +of him; and the Prince of Orange, who had ridden to Nivelles, directly +the ball was over, brought on the Dutch troops from that town, and +joining Prince Bernhard drove back the French to within a mile of +Frasnes. + +The Duke of Wellington reached Quatre Bras soon after eleven, and +finding that there was no immediate danger there, galloped away to +communicate with Blucher. + +He found that the latter had gathered three of his corps, and occupied +a chain of low hills extending from Bry to Tongres. The rivulet of +Ligny wound in front of it, and the villages of St. Armand and Ligny +at the foot of the slope were occupied as outposts. These villages +were some distance in front of the hills, and were too far off for the +troops there to be readily reinforced from the army on the heights. +The Duke of Wellington was of opinion that the position was not a good +one, and he is said to have remarked to Blucher: "Everyman knows his +own people best, but I can only say that with a British army I should +not occupy this ground as you do." + +Had the duke been able to concentrate his force round Quatre Bras in +time, he intended to aid the Prussians by taking the offensive; but +the unfortunate delay that had taken place in sending the news of the +French advance on the previous morning rendered it now impossible that +he should do so, and he therefore rode back to Quatre Bras to arrange +for its defence against the French corps that was evidently gathering +to attack it. + +It was well for the allies that Napoleon was not in a position to +attack in force at daybreak. His troops, instead of being concentrated +the night before at Fleurus, were scattered over a considerable extent +of country, and many of them were still beyond the Sambre. Marshal +Ney, who had been appointed to the command of the corps, intended to +push through Quatre Bras and march straight on Brussels, had only +arrived the evening before, and was ignorant of the position of the +various divisions under his command. Therefore it was not until two +o'clock in the afternoon that Napoleon advanced with sixty thousand +men to attack the Prussians at Ligny, while at about the same hour the +column under Ney advanced from Frasnes against Quatre Bras. The delay +was fatal to Napoleon's plans. + +Had the battles commenced at daybreak, Ney could have brushed aside +the defenders of Quatre Bras, and would have been at Mount St. Jean by +the time the English came up. The Prussians would have been beaten by +noon instead of at dusk, and before nightfall their retreat would have +been converted into a rout, and on the following day Napoleon's whole +army would have been in a position to have fallen upon the only +British divisions that Wellington could by that time have collected to +oppose him, and would probably have been in possession of Brussels +before night. + +Thus, while the delay in sending news to Wellington prevented the +allies combining against the French on the 16th of June, the delay of +Napoleon in attacking that morning more than counterbalanced the +error. There was the less excuse for that delay, inasmuch as he had +himself chosen his time for fighting, and should not have advanced +until he had his whole force well up and ready for action; and as the +advance during the first day's fighting had been so slow, the whole +army might well have been gathered at nightfall round Fleurus ready to +give battle at the first dawn of day. + +Fighting as he did against vastly superior forces, Napoleon's one hope +of success lay in crushing the Prussians before the English--who, as +he well knew, were scattered over a large extent of country--could +come up, and his failure to do this cost him his empire. + +The artillery fire ceased in front before the column continued its +march for Mount St. Jean. The Prince of Orange had paused in his +advance when he saw how strong was the French force round Frasnes, and +Ney was not yet ready to attack. Therefore from eleven until two there +was a cessation of operations, and the ardor of the troops flagged +somewhat as they tramped along the dusty road between Mount St. Jean +and Genappe. + +The Prince of Orange was having an anxious time while the British +column was pressing forward to his assistance. As the hours went by he +saw the enemy's forces in front of him accumulating, while he knew +that his own supports must be still some distance away. Nevertheless, +he prepared to defend Quatre Bras to the last. He had with him six +thousand eight hundred and thirty-two infantry and sixteen cannon, +while Ney had gathered seventeen thousand men and thirty-eight guns to +attack him. The latter should have had with him D'Erlon's corps of +twenty thousand men, and forty-six guns, but these were suddenly +withdrawn by Napoleon when the latter found that the Prussian force +was stronger than he had expected. They had just reached the field of +Ligny when an order from Ney again caused them to retrace their steps +to Quatre Bras, where they arrived just after the fighting there had +come to an end. Thus twenty thousand men with forty-six guns were +absolutely thrown away, while their presence with either Napoleon or +Ney would have been invaluable. + +Soon after two o'clock Picton's division, which headed the column, +heard several cannon shots fired in rapid succession, and in another +minute a perfect roar of artillery broke out. The battle had evidently +begun; and the weary men, who had already marched over twenty miles, +straightened themselves up, the pace quickened, and the division +pressed eagerly forward. A few minutes later an even heavier and more +continuous roar of cannon broke out away to the left. Napoleon was +attacking the Prussians. The talking and laughing ceased now. Even the +oldest soldiers were awed by that roar of fire, and the younger ones +glanced in each other's faces to see whether others felt the same +vague feeling of discomfort they themselves experienced; and yet +terrible as was evidently the conflict raging in front, each man +longed to take his part in it. + +The officers' orders to the men to step out briskly were given in +cheerful and confident voices, and the men themselves--with their +fingers tightening on their muskets, and their eyes looking intently +forward as if they could pierce the distance and realize the scene +enacting there--pressed on doggedly and determinedly. Messenger after +messenger rode up to General Picton, who was marching at the head of +the column, begging him to hurry on, for that the Prince of Orange was +step by step being driven back. But the troops were already doing +their best. + +The Dutch and Belgian troops had fought with considerable bravery, and +had held the village of Piermont and a farm near it for some time +before they fell back to the wood of Bossu. Here they make a stout +stand again, but were at length driven out and were beginning to lose +heart, and in a few minutes would have given way when they saw on the +long straight road behind them the red line of Picton's column. The +glad news that help was at hand ran quickly through the wood, and the +Belgians met their foes with fresh courage. + +Picton's force consisted of the Eighth and Ninth British Brigades, the +former under General Sir James Kempt, the latter under Sir Denis Pack. +With them were the Fourth Brigade of Hanoverians, with two batteries +of artillery--the one Hanoverian, the other British. The excitement of +the troops increased as they neared Quatre Bras, and a loud cheer ran +along the line as they neared the wood, and took their place by the +side of the hardly pressed Dutch and Belgians. Pack's brigade consisted +of the first battalion Forty-second, second Forty-fourth, first +Ninety-second, and first Ninety-fifth, while Kempt had under him the +first Twenty-eighth, first Thirty-second, first Seventy-ninth, and +Third Royals. + +The aspect of the fight was speedily changed now. The French, who had +been advancing with shouts of triumph, were at once hurled back, and +the defenders a few minutes later were strengthened by the arrival of +the greater part of the Duke of Brunswick's corps. In point of numbers +the combatants were now nearly equal, as the allies had eighteen +thousand infantry, two thousand cavalry, and twenty-eight guns on the +field. Of these, however, but eight thousand at most were British. +Picton at once sent forward the first battalion of the Ninety-fifth, +and these cleared a little wood in the front of Piermont of the French +light troops, and restored the communication between Quatre Bras and +Ligny. + +Ney, however, was preparing to advance again in force. His front was +covered with a double hedgerow, which afforded admirable shelter to +his skirmishers, while his artillery were so placed on rising ground +in the rear of his position as to sweep the whole country over which +his column would advance to the attack. At this moment the duke +returned from his conference with Blucher. He at once saw that the +enemy had gathered a heavy column behind the wood of Bossu, and +directed the Prince of Orange to withdraw the guns that were too far +advanced, and to gather the Dutch and Belgian troops to oppose the +advance, at the same time he sent forward the Twenty-eighth to their +assistance. + +They arrived, however, too late; for the French swept the Belgians +before them and advanced steadily, while their artillery from the high +ground opened a furious cannonade upon Picton's division. One of the +Brunswick regiments now joined the Belgians, but in spite of this +reinforcement the latter were driven from the wood of Bossu, which +they had occupied when the British first came up. The British troops +were suffering heavily from the artillery fire to which their own guns +could make no effectual reply. + +"Pretty hot this, Conway," Captain O'Connor said to Ralph. "It's not +pleasant standing here being made a target of." + +"That it's not," Ralph said heartily. "I call it horribly unpleasant. +I shouldn't mind it so much if we were doing something." + +It was indeed trying for young soldiers under fire for the first time. +The French had got the range accurately, and every moment gaps were +made in the line as the round shot plowed through them. The officers +walked backward and forward in front of their men with exhortations to +stand steady. + +"It will be our turn presently, lads," Captain O'Connor said +assuringly. "We will turn the tables on them by and by, never fear." + +There was not long to wait. Clouds of French skirmishers were seen +advancing through the hedgerows, and stealing behind the thickets and +woods that skirted the road, and a moment later the orders came for +the light companies of all the regiments of Picton's division to +advance. + +"Forward, lads!" Captain O'Connor said. "It's our turn now. Keep cool +and don't waste your ammunition." + +With a cheer his company followed him. Every hedge, bank, and tree +that could afford shelter was seized upon, and a sharp crackling fire +at once replied to that of the French skirmishers. The light companies +were then armed with far better weapons than those in use by the rest +of the troops, and a soldier could have told at once by the sharp +crackling sound along the front of the British line that it was the +light companies that were engaged. But now a heavy column of troops +was seen advancing from the village held by the French; and this, as +it approached the part of the line held by the Brunswickers, broke up +into several columns. The Germans were falling back, when the duke +sent Picton's two brigades to meet the enemy halfway. The +Ninety-second were left behind in reserve on the road, the light +companies were called in, Picton placed himself in front of the long +line, and with a tremendous cheer this advanced to meet the heavy +French columns. + +It was thus through the wars of the period that the English and French +always fought: the French in massive column, the English in long line. +Once again, as at Albuera and in many a stricken field, the line +proved the conqueror. Overlapping the columns opposed to it, pouring +scathing volleys upon each flank, and then charging on the shaken mass +with the bayonet, the British regiments drove the enemy back beyond +the hedgerows, and were with difficulty restrained from following them +up the face of the opposite hill. + +On the right, however, the Brunswickers were suffering heavily from +the cannonade of the French, and were only prevented from breaking by +the coolness of their chief. The Duke of Brunswick rode backward and +forward in front of them, smoking his pipe and chatting cheerfully +with his officers, seemingly unconscious of the storm of fire: and +even the most nervous of his young troops felt ashamed to show signs +of faltering when their commander and chief set them such an example. +Four guns, which at his request Wellington had sent to him, came up +and opened fire; but so completely were they overmatched that in five +minutes two were disabled and the other two silenced. + +As soon as this was done two French columns of infantry, preceded by a +battalion in line, advanced along the edge of the wood, while a heavy +mass of cavalry advanced along the Ghent road, and threatened the +Brunswickers with destruction. The Brunswick, Dutch, and Belgian +skirmishers fell back before those of the French. The Duke of +Brunswick placed himself before a regiment of lancers and charged the +French infantry; but these stood steady, and received the lancers with +so heavy a fire that they retreated in confusion on Quatre Bras. The +duke now ordered the infantry to fall back in good order, but by this +time they were too shaken to do so. The French artillery smote them +with terrible effect; the infantry swept them with bullets; the +cavalry were preparing to charge. No wonder then that the young troops +lost their self-possession, broke, and fled in utter confusion, some +through Quatre Bras others through the English regiments on the left +of the village. + +At this moment the gallant Duke of Brunswick, while striving to rally +one of his regiments, received a mortar wound. He died a few minutes +later, as his father had died on the field of Jena. The Brunswick +hussars were now ordered to advance and cover the retreat of the +infantry; but as they moved toward the enemy they lost heart, turned, +and fled from the field, the French lancers charging hotly among them. +So closely were the two bodies mixed together that the Forty-second +and Forty-fourth which were posted on the left of the road, could not +distinguish friend from foe. + +Before the former regiment had time to form square the French were +upon them, and for two or three minutes a desperate hand-to-hand +conflict took place between bayonet and lance. The Forty-fourth did +not attempt to form a square. Its colonel faced the rear rank about, +and these poured so tremendous a volley into the French cavalry that +they reeled back in confusion. Two companies of the Forty-second which +had been cut off from the rest were almost annihilated; but the rest +of the square closed in around French cavalry who had pierced them and +destroyed them to a man. The Twenty-eighth also repulsed the enemy. + +"What do you think of it now, Conway?" Captain O'Connor asked as the +French retreated. + +"I feel all right now," Ralph said; "though I thought just now that it +was all over with me. A big Frenchman was just dealing a sweeping cut +at me when a musket shot struck him. Still this is a thousand times +better than standing still and being pounded by their artillery. I +confess I felt horribly uncomfortable while that was going on." + +"I dare say you did, lad." + +The Duke of Wellington had, upon the fall of their commander, in vain +endeavored to rally the flying Brunswickers. As he was so engaged the +cavalry column swept down upon him. He put spurs to his horse and +galloped to the spot where the Ninety-second were lying behind a ditch +bordering the road. The French were close to his heels. He shouted to +the men of the Ninety-second in front of him to throw themselves down, +and setting spurs to his horse leaped the ditch and the men behind it, +and instantly the Highlanders poured so terrible a volley into the +French cavalry that a hundred saddles were emptied. + +The cavalry recoiled for a moment in confusion, but then reformed and +retired in good order. Some of the leading squadrons, however, had +galloped on into the village, and cut down some stragglers there; but +the Highlanders closed round them, and, being pent up in a farmyard +from which there was but one outlet, scarce a man who had entered +escaped. + +The French had now received heavy reinforcement--Kellermann's heavy +horse having come upon the field--and as neither the Dutch nor Belgian +cavalry would face the French troopers they were free to employ their +whole cavalry force against the British infantry. + +Again and again they charged down upon the Twenty-eighth, +Forty-second, Forty-fourth, and First Royals. The Twenty-eighth and +the Royals did not indeed wait to be attacked, but led by Picton and +Kempt in person resolutely advanced to charge the French cavalry. This +feat, seldom exampled in military history, was rendered necessary in +order to cover the flank of the Forty-second and Forty-fourth, now, by +the flight of the Brunswickers, Dutch, and Belgians, open to the +attacks of the French cavalry. The fields here were covered with a +growth of tall rye, that concealed the approach of the French cavalry +till they were within a few yards of the infantry, and it was only by +the tramp of the horses as they rushed through the corn that the +British square knew when their foes would be upon them. + +Picton in the center of the Twenty-eighth encouraged them by his +presence, and they stood firm, although the cavalry again and again +charged down until their horse's chests touched the close line of +bayonets. They were every time repulsed with heavy loss. The +Thirty-second, Seventy-ninth, and Ninety-fifth were also exposed to +similar attacks; but everywhere the British soldiers stood firmly +shoulder to shoulder, and nowhere did the French succeed in breaking +their ranks. + +At five o'clock fresh guns and cavalry reinforced Ney, and his +infantry again advanced in great force through the wood of Bossu. The +British squares were decimated by the fire of the artillery, and +several batteries were advanced to comparatively short range, and +opened with destructive effect. + +Stoutly as the eight thousand British had fought--deserted though they +were by their allies--against Ney's overpowering numbers, they could +not much longer have stood their ground, when at the critical moment +General Alten's division came up by the Nivelles road to their aid. +Halket's British brigade advanced between the wood of Bossu and the +Charleroi road; while the Hanoverian brigade took up ground to the +left, and gave their support to the hardly-pressed British. + +Ney now pushed forward every man at his disposal. His masses of +cavalry charged down, and falling upon the Sixty-ninth, one of the +regiments just arrived, cut it up terribly, and carried off one of its +colors. The Thirty-second, however, belonging to the same brigade, +repulsed a similar attempt with terrible slaughter. The French +infantry, supported by a column of cuirassiers, advanced against the +Hanoverians, and driving them back approached the spot where the +Ninety-second were lying. Major-General Barnes rode up to the +Highlanders taking off his hat, and shouted: "Now, Ninety-second, +follow me!" + +The Highlanders sprang from the ditch in which they were lying, the +bagpipes struck up the slogan of the regiment, and with leveled +bayonets they threw themselves upon the French column. In vain its +leading companies attempted to make a stand. The Highlanders drove +them back in confusion, and they broke and fled to the shelter of the +hedgerows, where they tried to resist the advance, but the Highlanders +burst through without a pause. Their colonel, John Cameron, fell dead; +but his men, more furious than before, flung themselves on the French, +and drove them back in confusion into the wood. + +Ney still thought of renewing the attack; but D'Erlon's corps had not +yet arrived, while at this moment two light battalions of +Brunswickers, with two batteries of artillery, came up, and almost +immediately afterward General Cooke's division, comprising two +brigades of the guards, reached the spot. The latter at once advanced +against the French skirmishers, just as they were issuing afresh from +the wood of Bossu. The guards had undergone a tremendous march; but +all thought of fatigue was lost in their excitement, and they swept +the French before them and pressed forward. As they did so the whole +British line advanced, Halket's brigade on the one flank the guards on +the other. + +In vain the French cavalry charged again and again. In vain the French +infantry strove to stem the tide. One after another the positions they +had so hardly won were wrested from them. Picton's division retook the +village; Piermont was carried by the Ninety-fifth and the German +legion; while the guards drove the enemy entirely out of the wood of +Bossu. Night was now falling, and Ney fell back under cover of +darkness to his original position in Frasnes; while the British +lighted their fires, and bivouacked on the ground they had so bravely +held. + +As soon as the order came for the troops to bivouac where they were +standing, arms were piled and the men set to work. Parties chopped +down hedges and broke up fences, and fires were soon blazing. Owing to +the late hour at which the fight terminated, and the confusion among +the baggage wagons that were now beginning to arrive from the rear, no +regular distribution of rations could be made. Most of the men, +however, had filled their haversacks before leaving their quarters on +the previous evening, and a party sent down the road obtained a +sufficient supply of bread for the rest from a commissariat wagon. +While the fires were being lighted the light company were ordered to +aid in the work of collecting the wounded. The other regiments had +also sent out parties, and for hours the work went on. Owing to the +frequent movements of the troops, and the darkness of the night, it +was difficult to discover the wounded, and there were no materials at +hand from which torches could be made. + +No distinction was made between friend and foe. The bodies found to be +cold and stiff were left where they lay; the rest were lifted and +carried to one or other of the spots where the surgeons of the force +were hard at work giving a first dressing to the wounds, or, where +absolutely necessary, performing amputations. After an hour's work the +light company was relieved by the grenadiers, and these in turn by the +other companies, so that all might have a chance of obtaining as much +sleep as possible. + +The troops were indeed terribly fatigued, for they had had a thirty +miles' march, and nearly six hours continuous fighting; but they were +in high spirits at their success, although suffering severely from +want of water. They had started in the morning with full canteens, but +the dusty march had produced such thirst that most of these were +emptied long before they reached the field of battle; and no water was +to be found near the spot where the Twenty-eighth were bivouacked, and +indeed with the exception of the regiments in the village, who +obtained water from the wells, the whole army lay down without a +drink. Water had, however, been fetched for the wounded, whose first +cry as their comrades reached them had always been for it; and even +when the search had ceased for the night, there were numbers still +lying in agony scattered over the field. Ralph had before starting +filled a canteen with brandy and water at the suggestion of Captain +O'Connor. + +"The less you drink, lad, while on the march the better; but the +chances are you will find by night that every drop is worth its weight +in gold. If you have the bad luck to be wounded yourself, the contents +of the canteen may save your life; and if you don't want it yourself, +you may be sure that there will be scores of poor fellows to whom a +mouthful will be a blessing indeed." + +So Ralph had found it. He had drunk very sparingly on the way, +scarcely permitting himself to do more than to wet his lips; but when +he set about the work of collecting the wounded, he felt more than +amply rewarded for his little self-sacrifice by the grateful thanks of +the poor fellows to whom he was able to give a mouthful of his hoarded +store. It was not until his return to the bivouac, after his hour's +turn of duty, that he learned the extent of the loss of the regiment. +He knew by the smallness of the number who mustered for the search how +much his own company had suffered, and in the brief intervals in the +struggle he had heard something of what was doing elsewhere. +Lieutenant Desmond had fallen early in the fight, shot through the +heart as the light companies went out to oppose the French +skirmishers. Captain O'Connor had received a lance wound through his +arm; but had made a sling of his sash, and had kept his place at the +head of his company. + +The officers were all gathered round a fire when Ralph returned to the +bivouac. + +"I see you have your arm in a sling, O'Connor," he said. "Nothing +serious, I hope?" + +"No, I think not; but it's confoundedly painful. It was a French +lancer did it. Fortunately one of the men bayoneted him at the very +instant he struck me, and it was only the head of the lance that went +through my arm. Still, it made a hole big enough to be uncommonly +painful; the more so because it gave it a frightful wrench as the man +dropped the lance. However, there is nothing to grumble at; and I may +consider myself lucky indeed to have got off with a flesh wound when +so many good fellows have fallen." + +"Yes, considering the number engaged, the losses have been terribly +heavy," the major said. "It looked very bad for a time." + +"That it did," O'Connor agreed. "That's what comes of fighting with +little mongrels by the side of you. It's always been the case when we +get mixed up with other nationalities. Look at Fontenoy, look at +Talavera. If I were a general I would simply fight my battles in my +own way with my own men. If any allies I had liked to come up and +fight on their own account, all the better; but I wouldn't rely upon +them in the very slightest." + +"The Belgians and Dutch fought very fairly at the beginning, +O'Connor." + +"Yes, I will admit that. But what's the good of fighting at the +beginning if you are going to bolt in the middle of a battle? If we +had had two or three regiments of our own cavalry, it would have made +all the difference in the world; but when they went off, horse and +foot and left our division alone to face the whole force of the enemy, +I hardly even hoped we should hold our ground till Alten came up." + +"Yes, he was just in the nick of time; but even with him we should +have had to fall back if Cooke had not arrived with the guards. By the +way, has any one heard what has taken place on our left?" + +"We have heard nothing; but I think there is no doubt the Prussians +must have been thrashed. One could hear the roar of fire over there +occasionally, and I am sure it got farther off at the end of the day; +beside, if Blucher had beaten Napoleon, our friends over there would +be falling back, and you can see by their long lines of fire they have +not done so. I dare say we shall hear all about it to-morrow. Anyhow, +I think we had better lie down and get as much sleep as we can, we may +have another hard day's work before us." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +WATERLOO. + + +The Prussians indeed had been beaten at Ligny. Their three corps, +numbering eighty thousand men, with two hundred and twenty-four guns, +had been attacked by Napoleon with sixty thousand men, with two +hundred and four guns. The battle was contested with extraordinary +obstinacy on both sides. The villages of Ligny and St. Armand were +taken and retaken over and over again, and for hours the desperate +strife in and around them continued without cessation. Both parties +continued to send down reinforcements to these points, but neither +could succeed in obtaining entire possession of them. + +The faults which Wellington had perceived in the Prussian position +told against Blucher. The villages were too far in advance of the +heights on which the army was posted, and his reinforcements were +therefore a long time in reaching the spot where they were required to +act. They were, too, as they descended the hill, under the observation +of Napoleon, who was able to anticipate their arrival by moving up +supports on his side, and who noted the time when Blucher's last +reserves behind Ligny had come into action. At this critical moment +General Lobau arrived from Charleroi with twelve thousand fresh men +and thirty-eight guns, and at seven o'clock in the evening Napoleon +launched this force with his division of guards, twenty thousand +strong, who had hitherto been kept in reserve, against the enemy. + +Ligny was captured and the victory won. The Prussians throughout the +day had fought with great bravery. They had a long score to wipe out +against the French, and were inspired as much by national hatred as by +military ardor; and they owed their defeat rather to the disadvantages +of the position they held than to the superior fighting qualities of +the French. Their cavalry had several times made desperate charges; +sometimes against the French horse, at others upon columns of +infantry. In one of these Blucher himself was with them; and as they +were in turn driven back by a charge of the French cuirassiers his +horse was shot, bringing him to the ground. His aid-de-camp leaped off +and threw his cloak over him as the cuirassiers came thundering past, +intent upon overtaking the Prussian cavalry. They paid no attention to +the solitary dismounted man, and a few minutes later again passed the +spot, this time in retreat, a fresh party of Prussian cavalry having +met them. Again they passed by the fallen general, little dreaming +that one of their most formidable and determined enemies lay there at +their mercy. As soon as the Prussians came up the dead horse was +moved, and Blucher, who was insensible, carried to the rear, when he +soon recovered and resumed the command. + +But though beaten the Prussians were by no means routed. They had lost +the _key_ of their position; but night came on before the combat +terminated, and under cover of the darkness they fell back quietly and +in good order. General Thielmann's corps on the extreme Prussian left +had taken but little part in the fighting; and as the center and right +of the Prussian army retreated he advanced, fell upon the French in +the darkness, and for some time forced them back, thus giving time to +the rest of the army to reform its ranks and recover its discipline. +After having rendered great service by thus occupying the enemy +Thielmann took up a position on the heights, and remained facing the +French, while the other _corps d'arme_ took post in his rear. + +The French were too weary to follow up the advantage they had gained; +the night passed without any attack being made, and at daybreak the +Prussians started on their march to Wavre, the cavalry remaining +behind to cover the movement, check pursuit, and conceal if possible +from the French the line by which the army was falling back. Had the +pursuit been taken up at daybreak by the French, they would soon have +driven in the cavalry and ascertained the route taken by the infantry; +but it was not until many hours had elapsed that the French got into +motion, and by that time the Prussian cavalry had disappeared from +their front, and nothing remained to inform them of the line by which +the enemy had retreated. + +There was a general feeling of disappointment among the gallant +defenders of Quatre Bras when on the following morning orders were +issued for them to abandon the ground they had so stoutly held. They +had been astir at daylight, firearms were cleaned, fresh ammunition +served out from the reserve wagons, and the men fell into the ranks, +expecting that in a short time they would again be engaged; but no +movement could be seen on the part of the enemy, and arms were again +piled. The commissariat wagons had come up in the night, and rations +were served out to the troops and breakfast prepared. As soon as this +was over strong parties were again sent over the battlefield to +collect any wounded who had escaped the search of the night before. As +soon as these were collected the whole of the wounded were placed in +ambulance wagons and country carts, and despatched to Brussels. + +Presently a general movement of the great baggage trains was observed +by the troops to be taking place, and the long column moved along the +road to the north. The duke had sent off a staff-officer at daybreak +to ascertain the state of things at Ligny; he returned with the report +that the Prussians had left the field. He then sent out a small party +of cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Alexander Gordon. This officer +pushed forward until he encountered General Zieten, who was still at +Sombreuf, but a mile distant from the battlefield. The general +informed him of the whole events of the preceding day, and gave him +the important intelligence that Blucher had retreated to Wavre, and +would join hands with Wellington at Mount St. Jean, which the English +general had previously fixed upon as the scene of the battle for the +defense of Brussels. + +The news relieved Wellington of all anxiety. It had been before +arranged that Blucher if defeated, should if possible fall back to +Wavre; but it was by no means certain that he would be able to do +this, and had he been compelled by the events of the conflict to +retire upon his base at Namur he would have been unable to effect a +junction for some days with Wellington, and the latter would have been +obliged single-handed to bear the whole brunt of Napoleon's attack. +The latter's plans had indeed been entirely based on the supposition +that Blucher would retreat upon Namur; and in order to force him to do +so he had abstained from all attack upon the Prussian left, and +employed his whole strength against the right and center, so as to +swing him round, and force him to retire by way of Namur. + +As soon as Wellington learned that Blucher had carried out the +arrangement agreed upon his mind was at ease. Orders were sent off at +once to the troops advancing from various directions that they should +move upon Mount St. Jean. All the baggage was sent back to Brussels, +while provisions for the troops were to be left at Mount St. Jean, +where also the whole of the ammunition wagons were to be concentrated. +Horsemen were sent along the road to keep the baggage train moving, +and they had orders that if the troops at Quatre Bras fell back upon +them they were at once to clear the road of all vehicles. + +Having issued all these orders, and seen that everything was in train, +Wellington allowed the troops at Quatre Bras to rest themselves, and +ordered their dinners, to be cooked. No movement was yet to be seen on +the part of the French; there was, therefore, no occasion to hurry. +Those, therefore, of the men who were not out on patrol stretched +themselves on the ground and rested till noon. Dinner over the +infantry marched off in two columns, the cavalry remaining until four +o'clock in the afternoon, when upon the advance of Ney in front and +Napoleon on the left they fell back, and after some sharp skirmishes +with the enemy's light cavalry joined the infantry before nightfall in +their position near Mount St. Jean and Waterloo. Rain had fallen for a +time during the afternoon of the battle, and now at four o'clock it +again began to come down heavily, soaking the troops to the skin. + +"This is miserable, Stapleton," Ralph said to his friend, after the +regiment had piled arms on the ground pointed out to them by the +officers of the quartermaster's department. + +"I am rather glad to hear you say it is miserable, Ralph. I was +certainly thinking so myself; but you always accuse me of being a +grumbler, so I thought I would hold my tongue." + +Ralph laughed. "I don't think any one could deny that it is miserable, +Stapleton; but some people keep up their spirits under miserable +circumstances and others don't. This is one of the occasions on which +it is really very hard to feel cheerful. There is not a dry thing in +the regiment; the rain is coming down steadily and looks as if it +meant to keep it up all night. The ground is fast turning into soft +mud, and we have got to sleep upon it, or rather in it; for by the +time we are ready to lie down it will be soft enough to let us sink +right in. I think the best plan will be to try to get hold of a small +bundle of rushes or straw, or something of that sort, to keep our +heads above it, otherwise we shall risk suffocation." + +"It is beastly," Stapleton said emphatically. "Look at the men; what a +change in them since we marched along this road yesterday. Then they +were full of fun and spirits, now they look washed out and miserable. +Were the French to attack us now you wouldn't see our men fight as you +did yesterday." + +"But you must remember, Stapleton, the French are just as wet as we +are. This is not a little private rain of our own, you know, got up +for our special annoyance; but it extends right over the country." + +"What nonsense you talk, Conway; as if I didn't know that." + +"Well, you spoke as if you didn't, Stapleton; but you will see the +fellows will fight when they are called upon. Just at present they are +not only wet but they are disgusted. And I own it is disgusting after +fighting as hard as we did yesterday to find it's all been of no use, +and that instead of marching against the enemy we are marching away +from them. Of course it can't be helped; and if we had waited another +half-hour we should have had all the French army on us, and +yesterday's work would have been mere child's play to it. Still I can +quite enter into the soldier's feelings. Of course they do not +understand the position, and regard it as simply a retreat instead of +a mere shifting of ground to take up better position and fight again +to-morrow. + +"Still this is a nice position, isn't it? You see there's room enough +along on the top of this slope for our whole army, and our guns will +sweep the dip between us and the opposite rise, and if they attack +they will have to experience the same sensations we did yesterday, of +being pounded and pounded without the satisfaction of being able to +return their fire. + +"They must cross that dip to get at us--at least if they attack, which +I suppose they will, as they will be the strongest party--and our +artillery will be able to play upon them splendidly from this road. +Then, too, there are two or three farmhouses nearer our side than +theirs, and I suppose they will be held in force. + +"That looks rather a nice old place among the trees there on our +right. It has a wall and inclosure, and they will have hard work to +turn us out of it. Yes, I call this a fine place for a battle; and we +shall have the advantage here of being able to see all over the field +and of knowing what is going on in other places, while yesterday one +couldn't see three yards before one. During the whole time one was +fighting, one felt that it might be of no use after all, for we might +be getting smashed up in some other part of the field." + +"I never thought anything about it," Stapleton said. "My only idea was +that I must look as if I wasn't afraid, and must set a good example to +the men, and that it was all very unpleasant, and that probably my +turn might come next, and that I would give a good deal for something +like a gallon of beer. As far as I can remember those were my leading +ideas yesterday." + +"Well, Denis, what is it?" Ralph asked his servant, who approached +with a long face. + +"Have you any dry tinder about you, your honor? I have been trying to +strike a light for the last half-hour till the tinder box is full of +water, and I have knocked all the skin off my knuckles." + +"That's bad, Denis; but I don't think you will get a fire anyhow. The +wood must be all too soaked to burn." + +"I think it will go, sor, if I can once get it to light. I have pulled +up some pea-sticks from an old woman's garden; and the ould witch came +out and began at me as if I was robbing her of her eldest daughter. It +was lucky I had a shilling about me, or be jabbers she would have +brought down the provost's guard upon me, and then maybe I would have +had my back warmed the least taste in the world more than was +pleasant. I hid the sticks under a wagon to keep them dry, and Mike +Doolan is standing sentry over them. I promised him a stick or two for +his own kindling. The weather is too bad entirely, your honor, and the +boys are well-nigh broken-hearted at turning their backs to the +Frenchmen." + +"Ah, well, they will turn their faces to-morrow, Denis; and as for the +weather, I guess you have got wet before now digging praties in the +old country." + +"I have that, your honor, many and many a time; and it's little I +cared for it. But then there was a place to go into, and dry clothes +to put on, and a warm male to look forward to, with perhaps a drop of +the crater afterward; and that makes all the difference in the world. +What we are going to do to-night, sorra of me knows." + +"You will have to lie down in the mud, Denis." + +"Is it lie down, your honor? And when shall I get the mud off my +uniform? and what will the duke say in the morning if he comes round +and sees me look like a hog that has been rowling in his sty?" + +"You won't be worse than any one else, Denis; you see we shall all be +in the same boat. Well, here's the tinder. I should recommend you to +break up a cartridge, and sprinkle the powder in among the leaves that +you light your fire with." + +"That's the difficulty, your honor; I have got some wood, but divil a +dry leaf can I find." + +"Look here, Denis. Open your knapsack under the wagon, and take out a +shirt and tear it into strips. You will soon get a fire with that, and +we can easily replace the shirt afterward." + +"That's a grand idea, your honor. That will do it, sure enough. Faith, +and when the boys see how I do it, there will be many a shirt burned +this evening." + +"But how about wood, Denis?" + +"There's plenty of wood, your honor. The commissaries have had two or +three score of woodcutters at work on the edge of the forest all day, +and there's timber felled and split enough for all of us and to spare. +The pioneers of all the regiments have gone off with their axes to +help, and I will warrant there will be a blaze all along the line +presently. Now I will be off, your honor; for the cooks are ready to +boil the kettles as soon as we can get a fire." + +Great masses of the enemy could now be seen arriving on the crest of +the opposite rise. Presently, these broke up into regiments, and then +moved along the crest, halted, and fell out. It was evident that +nothing would be done till next morning, for it was already beginning +to get dusk. + +In a few minutes smoke rose in the rear of the regiment, and ere long +half a dozen great fires were blazing. Men came from the regiments +near to borrow brands. The news soon spread along the line of the +means by which the Twenty-eighth had kindled their fires and, as Denis +had foretold, the number of shirts sacrificed for this purpose was +large. Strong parties from each regiment were told off to go to the +woodpiles and bring up logs, and in spite of the continued downfall of +rain the men's spirits rose, and merry laughs were heard among the +groups gathered round the fires. The officers had one to themselves; +and a kettle was soon boiling, and tin cups of strong grog handed +round. Of food, however, there was little beyond what scraps remained +in the haversacks; for the commissariat wagons had retired from Quatre +Bras to leave room for those carrying the ammunition, and were now so +far in the rear that it was impossible to get at their contents, and +distribute them among the troops. For an hour or two they chatted +round the fire, and discussed the probabilities of the struggle that +would begin in the morning. + +Just as night fell there was a sharp artillery fight between two +batteries of Picton's division and the same number of the French. The +latter commenced the fight by opening fire upon the infantry position, +but were too far away to do much harm. Picton's guns got the range of +a column of infantry, and created great havoc among them. Darkness put +a stop to the fight, but until late at night skirmishes took place +between the outposts. A troop of the Seventh Hussars charged and drove +back a body of light cavalry, who kept on disturbing the videttes; and +the Second Light Dragoons of the king's German legion, posted in front +of Hougoumont, charged and drove back a column of the enemy's cavalry +that approached too close. + +Gradually the fires burned low--the incessant downpour of rain so +drenching the logs that it was impossible to keep them alight--and the +troops lay down, with their knapsacks under their heads, turned the +capes of the greatcoats over their faces, and in spite of the deep +soft mud below them, and the pouring rain above, soon sank to sleep. +All night long a deep sound filled the air, telling of the heavy +trains of artillery and ammunition wagons arriving from the rear to +both armies. But nothing short of a heavy cannonade would have aroused +the weary soldiers from their deep sleep. + +At twelve o'clock Ralph was called up, as his company had to relieve +that which furnished the posts in front of the position of the +regiment. The orders were not to fire unless fired upon. A third of +the men were thrown out as sentries; the others lay upon the ground, +fifty yards in rear, ready to move forward to their support if +necessary. Captain O'Connor left Ralph with the reserve, and himself +paced up and down along the line of sentries, who were relieved every +hour until morning broke, when the company rejoined the regiment. + +The troops could now obtain a view of the ground upon which they were +to fight. Their line extended some two miles in length, along the brow +of a gradually sloping rise, the two extremities of which projected +somewhat beyond the center. The ground was open, without woods or +hedgerows. About halfway down the slope lay four farms. On the right +was Hougoumont; a chateau with farm buildings attached to it and a +chapel. In front of this lay a thick wood with a close hedge, and the +house and farm buildings were surrounded by a strong wall. In front of +the center of the line lay the farm and inclosures of La Haye Sainte, +abutting on the main Charleroi road, which, as it passed the farm, ran +between two deep banks. In front of the left of the line were the +hamlets of Papelotte and La Haye. At the top of the ridge the ground +sloped backward, and the infantry were posted a little in rear of the +crest, which hid them from the sight of the enemy, and protected them +from artillery fire. The whole of the slope, and the valley beyond it +was covered with waving corn or high grass, now ready for cutting. + +Upon the opposite side of the valley there was a similar rise, and on +this was the French position. Nearly in the center of this stood the +farm called La Belle Alliance, close to which Napoleon took up his +stand during the battle. Behind the British position the ground fell +away and then rose again gently to a crest, on which stood the +villages of Waterloo and Mount St. Jean. The great forest of Soignies +extended to this point, so that if obliged to fall back Wellington had +in his rear a position as defensible as that which he now occupied. + +The allies were arranged in the following order: On the extreme left +were Vandeleur's and Vivian's light cavalry brigades. Then came +Picton's division, the first line being composed of Hanoverians, +Dutch, and Belgians, with Pack's British brigade, which had suffered +so severely in Quatre Bras, in its rear, and Kempt's brigade extending +to the Charleroi road. Alten's division was on the right of Picton's. +Its second brigade, close to the road, consisted of the First and +Second light battalions of the German legion, and the Sixth and Eighth +battalions of the line. The Second German battalion was stationed in +the farm of La Haye Sainte. Next to these came a Hanoverian brigade, +on the right of whom were Halket's British brigade. On the extreme +right was Cooke's division, consisting of two brigades of the guards, +having with them a Nassau regiment, and two companies of Hanoverian +riflemen. + +Behind the infantry line lay the cavalry. In reserve were a brigade of +the fourth division, the whole of the second division, and the +Brunswickers, Dutch, and Belgians. The artillery were placed at +intervals between the infantry, and on various commanding points along +the ridge. + +The duke had expected to be attacked early, as it was of the utmost +importance to Napoleon to crush the British before the Prussians could +come up; but the rain, which began to hold up as daylight appeared, +had so soddened the deep soil that Napoleon thought that his cavalry, +upon whom he greatly depended, would not be able to act, and he +therefore lost many precious hours before he set his troops in motion. + +From the British position the heavy masses of French troops could be +seen moving on the opposite heights to get into the position assigned +to them; for it was scarcely a mile from the crest of one slope to +that of the other. + +In point of numbers the armies were not ill-matched. Wellington had +forty-nine thousand six hundred and eight infantry twelve thousand +four hundred and two cavalry, five thousand six hundred and forty-five +artillerymen, and one hundred and fifty-six guns. Napoleon, who had +detached Grouchy with his division in pursuit of the Prussians, had +with him forty-eight thousand nine hundred and fifty infantry, fifteen +thousand seven hundred and sixty-five cavalry, seven thousand two +hundred and thirty-two artillerymen, and two hundred and forty-six +guns. He had, therefore, four thousand three hundred men and ninety +guns more than Wellington. But this does not represent the full +disparity of strength, for Wellington had but eighteen thousand five +hundred British infantry including the German legion--who having +fought through the Peninsular were excellent troops--seven thousand +eight hundred cavalry and three thousand five hundred artillery. The +remainder of his force consisted of troops of Hanover, Brunswick, +Nassau, Holland, and Belgium, upon whom comparatively little reliance +could be placed. The British infantry consisted almost entirely of +young soldiers; while the whole of Napoleon's force were veterans. + +As early as six o'clock in the morning both armies had taken up the +positions in which they were intended to fight. The British infantry +were lying down, the cavalry dismounted in their rear, and so +completely were they hidden from the sight of the French that Napoleon +believed they had retreated, and was greatly enraged at their having, +as he supposed, escaped him. While he was expressing his annoyance, +General Foy, who had served against the duke in the Peninsula, rode up +and said: + +"Your majesty is distressing yourself without just reason, Wellington +never shows his troops until they are needed. A patrol of horse will +soon find out whether he is before us or not, and if he be I warn your +majesty that the British infantry are the very devil to fight." + +The emperor soon discovered that the British were still in front of +him; for the English regiments were directed to clean their arms by +firing them off, and the heavy fusillade reached Napoleon's ears. At +eight o'clock Wellington, who was anxiously looking over in the +direction from which he expected the Prussians to appear, saw a body +of mounted men in the distance, and soon afterward a Prussian orderly +rode in and informed him that they were on the march to his +assistance, and would soon be on the field. + +Grouchy had, in fact, altogether failed to intercept them. Napoleon +had made up his mind that after Ligny the Prussians would retreat +toward Namur, and sent Grouchy in pursuit of them along that road. +That officer had gone many miles before he discovered the route they +had really taken, and only came up with the rear of their column at +Wavre on the morning of Waterloo. Blucher left one division to oppose +him, and marched with the other three to join Wellington. + +It was not until nearly ten o'clock that the French attack began; then +a column moved down from the heights of La Belle Alliance against the +wood of Hougoumont, and as it approached the leading companies broke +up into skirmishing order. As these arrived within musketry range a +scattering fire broke out from the hedges in front of the wood, and +the battle of Waterloo had begun. + +Soon from the high ground behind Hougoumont the batteries of artillery +opened fire on the French column. Its skirmishers advanced bravely, +and constantly reinforced, drove back the Hanoverian and Nassau +riflemen in front of the wood. Then Bull's battery of howitzers opened +with shell upon them; and so well were these served that the French +skirmishers fell back, hotly pressed by the First and Second brigade +of guards issuing from the chateau. The roar of cannon speedily +extended along both crests; the British aiming at the French columns, +the French, who could see no foes with the exception of the lines of +skirmishers, firing upon the British batteries. The French therefore +suffered severely, while the allies, sheltered behind the crest, were +only exposed to the fire of the shot which grazed the ground in front, +and then came plunging in among them. + +Prince Jerome, who commanded on Napoleon's left, sent strong columns +of support to his skirmishers acting against the right of the wood of +Hougoumont, while Foy's division moved to attack it in front. In spite +of a terrific fire of artillery poured upon them these brave troops +moved on, supported by the concentrated fire of their powerful +artillery against the British position. The light companies of the +guards, after an obstinate resistance, were forced back through the +wood. The French pushed on through the trees until they reached the +hedge, which seemed to them to be the only defense of the buildings. +But thirty yards in the rear was the orchard wall, flanked on the +right by the low brick terraces of the garden. The whole of these had +been carefully loopholed, and so terrible a storm of fire opened upon +the French that they recoiled and sought shelter among the trees and +ditches in the rear. + +Jerome, seeing that his skirmishers had won the wood, and knowing +nothing of the formidable defenses that arrested their advance, poured +fresh masses of men down to their assistance. Although they suffered +terribly from the British artillery fire, they gathered in the wood in +such numbers that they gradually drove back the defenders into the +buildings and yard, and completely surrounded the chateau. The +defenders had not even time properly to barricade the gate. This was +burst open and dense masses rushed in. The guards met them with the +bayonet, and after fierce fighting drove thorn out and closed the gate +again, and with their musketry fire compelled them to fall back from +the buildings. Some of the French, however, advanced higher up the +slope, and opened fire upon one of the batteries with such effect that +it had to withdraw. Four fresh companies of the guards advanced +against them, cleared them away, and reinforced the defenders of the +chateau. + +A desperate fight raged round the buildings, and one of the enemy's +shells falling upon the chateau set it on fire. But the defense still +continued, until Lord Saltoun, repulsing a desperate attack, and +reinforced by two companies which came down the hill to his +assistance, drove the enemy back and recaptured the orchard. This +desperate conflict had lasted for three hours. + +While it was going on Ney led twenty thousand men against the center +and left of the British position, advancing as usual in heavy column. +Just as they were setting out at one o'clock Napoleon discovered the +Prussians advancing. + +He sent off a despatch to Grouchy ordering him to move straight upon +the field of battle; but that general did not receive it until seven +in the evening, when the fight was nearly over. It was just two when +the columns poured down the hill, their attack heralded by a terrific +fire upon the British line opposed to them. The slaughter among +Picton's division was great; but although the Dutch and Hanoverians +were shaken by the iron hail, they stood their ground. When the +columns reached the dip of the valley and began to ascend the slopes +toward the British division they threw out clouds of skirmishers and +between these and the light troops of the allies firing at once began, +and increased in volume as the French neared the advanced posts of La +Haye Sainte, Papelotte, and La Haye. + +The division of Durette drove out the Nassau troops from Papelotte; +but reinforcements arrived from the British line, and the French in +turn were expelled. The other three French columns advanced steadily, +with thirty light guns in the intervals between them. Donzelat's +brigade attacked La Haye Sainte, and, in spite of a gallant resistance +by the Germans, made its way into the orchard and surrounded the +inclosures. Another brigade, pushing along on the other side of the +Charleroi road, were met by the fire of two companies of the rifle +brigade who occupied a sandpit there, and by their heavy and accurate +fire checked the French advance. The other two divisions moved +straight against that part of the crest held by Picton's division. + +The men of the Dutch-Belgian brigade, as soon as fire was opened upon +them, lost all order and took to their heels, amid the yells and +execrations of the brigades of Kempt and Pack behind them, and it was +with difficulty that the British soldiers were kept from firing into +the fugitives. The Dutch artillery behind them tried to arrest the +mob; but nothing could stop them--they fairly ran over guns, men, and +horses, rushed down the valley and through the village of Mount St. +Jean, and were not seen again in the field during the rest of the day. +Picton's division was now left alone to bear the brunt of the French +attack. The battle at Quatre Bras had terribly thinned its ranks, and +the two brigades together did not muster more than three thousand men. +Picton formed the whole in line, and prepared to resist the charge of +thirteen thousand infantry, beside heavy masses of cavalry, who were +pressing forward, having in spite of a stout resistance driven in the +riflemen from the sandpit and the road above it. As the columns neared +the British line the fire from the French batteries suddenly ceased, +their own troops now serving as a screen to the British. The heads of +the columns halted and began to deploy into line; Picton seized the +moment, and shouted "A volley, and then charge!" + +The French were but thirty yards away. A tremendous volley was poured +into them, and then the British with a shout rushed forward, scrambled +through a double hedgerow that separated them from the French, and +fell upon them with the bayonet. The charge was irresistible. Taken in +the act of deploying, the very numbers of the French told against +them, and they were borne down the slope in confusion. Picton, struck +by a musket ball in the head, fell dead, and Kempt assumed the +command, and his brigade followed up the attack and continued to drive +the enemy down the hill. In the meantime the French cavalry were +approaching. The cuirassiers had passed La Haye Sainte, and almost cut +to pieces a Hanoverian battalion which was advancing to reinforce the +defenders. + +At this moment Lord Edward Somerset led the house-hold brigade of +cavalry against the cuirassiers, and the _elite_ of the cavalry of the +two nations met with a tremendous shock; but the weight and impetus of +the heavy British horsemen, aided by the fact that they were +descending the hill, while their opponents had hardly recovered their +formation after cutting up the Hanoverians, proved irresistible, and +the cuirassiers were driven down the hill. A desperate hand-to-hand +conflict took place; and it was here that Shaw, who had been a +prize-fighter before he enlisted in the Second Life Guards, killed no +less than seven Frenchmen with his own hand, receiving, however, so +many wounds, that on the return of the regiment from its charge he +could no longer sit his horse, and crawling behind a house died there +from loss of blood. + +While the Second Life Guards and First Dragoon Guards pursued the +cuirassiers down the slope, the Royals, Scots Greys, and Inniskillens +rode to the assistance of Pack's brigade, which had been assailed by +four strong brigades of the enemy. Pack rode along at the front of his +line calling upon his men to stand steady. The enemy crossed a hedge +within forty yards of the Ninety-second, and delivered their fire. The +Highlanders waited till they approached within half the distance, and +then pouring in a volley, charged with leveled bayonets. The French +stood firm, and the Ninety-second, numbering less than two hundred and +fifty men, burst in among them; a mere handful among their foes. But +just at this moment Ponsonby's heavy cavalry came up, and passing +through the intervals of the companies and battalions, fell upon the +French infantry. In vain the enemy endeavored to keep their formation; +their front was burst in, their center penetrated, and their rear +dispersed, and in five minutes the great column was a mass of +fugitives. Great numbers were killed, and two thousand prisoners +taken. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE ROUT. + + +While Pack's brigade secured the prisoners taken by the cavalry and +sent them to the rear, the cavalry themselves continued their charge. +In vain Ponsonby ordered the trumpeters to sound the halt. Carried +away by the excitement of their success--an excitement in which the +horses shared--the three regiments galloped on. The Royals on the +right fell upon two French regiments advancing in column, broke them, +and cut them up terribly. The Inniskillens also fell on two French +line regiments, shattered them with their charge, and took great +numbers of prisoners, whole companies running up the hill and +surrendering to the infantry in order to escape from the terrible +horsemen. + +The cavalry were now terribly scattered; the three regiments of +Ponsonby's brigade were far down in the valley, as were the Second +Life Guards and First Dragoon Guards. The First Life Guards and the +Blues were still engaged with the cuirassiers opposed to them; for +these, although driven back, were fighting doggedly. The Greys, who +should have been in reserve, galloped ahead and joined Ponsonby's +squadrons, and the two brigades of heavy cavalry were far away from +all support. When they reached the bottom of the hill a tremendous +fire was poured from a compact corps of infantry and some pieces of +cannon on the right into the Royals, Inniskillens, and Second Life +Guards, and a fresh column of cuirassiers advanced against them. They +wheeled about and fell back in great confusion and with heavy loss, +their horses being completely blown with their long gallop across the +heavy ground. + +These regiments had fared, however, better than the Greys, Royals, and +Inniskillens on the left, for they, having encountered no infantry +fire, had charged up the hill until level with the French guns, when, +turning sharp to the left, they swept along the line cutting up the +artillerymen, until suddenly they were charged by a brigade of +lancers, while a large body of infantry threatened their line of +retreat. Fortunately at this moment the light cavalry came up to their +assistance. + +Riding right through the infantry column the light cavalry fell upon +the French lancers and rolled them over with the fury of their charge, +and then charged another regiment of lancers and checked their +advance. Light and heavy horse were now mixed up together, and a fresh +body of French cavalry coming up, drove them down the hill with great +loss--they being saved, indeed, from total destruction by the Eleventh +Hussars, who, coming up last, had kept their formation. Covered by +these the remnants of the cavalry regained their own crest on the +hill, and reformed under cover of the infantry. General Ponsonby was +killed, and his brother, the colonel of the Twelfth, severely wounded +and left on the field. + +While this desperate fight had been raging on the center and left, +fresh columns had advanced from Jerome's and Foy's divisions against +Hougoumont, and had again, after obstinate fighting, captured the +orchard and surrounded the chateau, but were once more repulsed by a +fresh battalion of guards who moved down the slope to the assistance +of their hardly-pressed comrades. Then for a while the fighting +slackened, but the artillery duel raged as fiercely as ever. The +gunners on both sides had now got the exact range, and the carnage was +terrible. The French shells again set Hougoumont on fire, and all the +badly wounded who had been carried inside perished in the flames. + +At the end of an hour fresh columns of attack moved against the +chateau, while at the same moment forty squadrons of cavalry advanced +across the valley toward the English position. + +The English batteries played upon them with round shot, and, as they +came near, with grape and canister; but the horsemen rode on, and at a +steady trot arrived within forty yards of the English squares, when +with a shout they galloped forward, and in a moment the whole of the +advanced batteries of the allies were in their possession; for +Wellington's orders had been that the artillerymen should stand to +their guns till the last moment, and then run for shelter behind the +squares. The French cavalry paused for a moment in astonishment at the +sight that met their eyes. They had believed that the British were +broken and disorganized, but no sooner had they passed over the slope +than they saw the British and German squares bristling with bayonets +and standing calm and immovable. + +The artillery on both sides had ceased their fire, and a dead silence +had succeeded the terrible din that had raged but a moment before. +Then with a shout the cavalry again charged, but in no case did they +dash against the hedges of bayonets, from which a storm of fire was +now pouring. Breaking into squadrons they rode through the intervals +between the squares and completely enveloped them; but Lord Uxbridge +gathered the remains of the British cavalry together, charged them, +and drove them back through the squares and down the hill. Receiving +reinforcements the French again advanced, again enveloped the squares, +and were again hurled back. + +While this was going on the battle was still raging round Hougoumont +and La Haye Sainte, against which a portion of Reille's division had +advanced; but the Germans resisted as obstinately as did the guards, +and as the French cavalry retired for the second time the infantry +fell back, and for a time the slope of the English position was again +clear of the enemy. + +For a time the battle languished, and then Napoleon brought up +thirty-seven fresh squadrons of cavalry, and these, with the remains +of those who had before charged, rode up the slope. But although they +swept on and passed the British squares, they could not succeed in +shaking them. A body of horse, however, sweeping down toward the Dutch +and Belgians at the end of the line, these at once marched off the +field without firing a musket, and the brigade of cavalry with them +galloped away at full speed. + +The position was a singular one; and had Napoleon ordered his infantry +to advance in the rear of the cavalry, the issue of the day might have +been changed. In appearance the French were masters of the position. +Their masses of cavalry hid the British squares from sight. The +British cavalry were too weak to charge, and most of the guns were in +the possession of the French; but the latter's infantry were far away, +and after sustaining the fire of the squares for a long time, the +cavalry began to draw off. Lord Uxbridge now endeavored to persuade +the Cumberland Hanoverian Hussars, who had not so far been engaged, to +charge; but instead of obeying orders they turned and rode off, and +never drew bridle until they reached Brussels, where they reported +that the British army had been destroyed. + +Adams' brigade were now brought up from the reserve, and drove back +the French infantry and cavalry who had come up to the top of the +crest beyond Hougoumont. On the other side Ney sent a column against +La Haye Sainte. The Germans made a gallant stand; but they were cut +off from all assistance, outnumbered, and were altogether without +ammunition; and although they defended themselves with their bayonets +to the end, they were slain almost to a man, and La Haye Sainte was +captured at last. But beyond this the French could not advance; and +though column after column moved forward to the attack on the crest, +they were each and all beaten back. + +It was now nearly seven o'clock in the evening, and the Prussians were +engaged at St. Lambert, Napoleon having detached Lobau's corps to +arrest their progress. Their march had been a terrible one. They had +to traverse country roads softened by the rain; the men were up to +their ankles in mud, guns and carriages stuck fast, and it was not +until after tremendous efforts that the leading squadron of their +cavalry passed through the wood of Wavre and came in view of the +battle that was raging. It was then past four o'clock, and another +hour passed before any considerable number of infantry arrived. It was +at this time Napoleon sent Lobau against them. He was able for a time +to resist their advance; but as fresh troops came up from the rear the +Prussians began to win their way forward, and Napoleon was obliged to +send two more divisions of the Young Guard to check them. + +He now saw that all was lost unless he could, before the whole of the +Prussian army arrived, break down the resistance of the British. He +therefore prepared for a final effort. Ney was to collect all his +infantry, and, advancing past La Haye Sainte, to fall upon the center +of the British line. The guard, who had hitherto been held in reserve, +was to pass Hougoumont and attack the left center. The cavalry were to +follow in support. + +A cannonade even more heavy and terrible than before, for the guns of +the reserve had been brought up, opened upon the British, and the +squares were now melting away fast. But no reinforcements could be +sent to them, for the whole of the British troops were now in action, +and their allies had for the most part long before left the field. + +Every gun was brought to the front, the remains of the cavalry +gathered together as a reserve; and some of the Prussians now +approaching the left, the cavalry there were brought to the center to +aid in the defense of the threatened point. Just as these arrangements +were completed the enemy advanced in tremendous force from the +inclosure of La Haye Sainte, and with their fire so completely +mastered that of the remnants of the infantry, that their light guns +were brought up to within a hundred yards of the British line and +opened with grape upon the squares. Two Hanoverian battalions were +almost annihilated, the brigade of the German legion almost ceased to +exist. + +A Brunswick cavalry regiment that had hitherto fought gallantly lost +heart and would have fled had not the British cavalry behind them +prevented them from doing so. + +In the meantime the Imperial Guard in two heavy columns, led by Ney +himself, were advancing, the guards being followed by every available +man of the infantry and cavalry. One of these columns skirted the +inclosure of the Hougoumont, the other moved against the center. They +pressed forward until they reached the top of the slope, and a hundred +cannon were brought up and unlimbered, while the artillery on the +opposite slope rained round shot and shell upon the British squares +and artillery. The English guns tried in vain to answer them: they +were wholly overmatched. Gun after gun was dismounted, horses and men +destroyed; but as soon as the leading column of the guards reached the +point when their own guns had to cease fire, the English artillery +opened again, and terrible was the havoc they made in the dense +columns. Still the guard pressed on until they reached the top of the +crest; and then the British guards leaped to their feet and poured in +a tremendous volley at close quarters, fell on the flank of the +column, broke it, and hurled it down the hill. + +The guards were recalled and prepared to oppose the second column, but +their aid was not needed; the Fifty-second threw themselves upon its +flank, the Seventy-first and Ninety-fifth swept its head with their +volleys, and as the column broke and retired the Duke of Wellington +gave the orders the men had been longing for since the fight began. +The squares broke into lines, and the British, cheering wildly, +descended the crest. The French retreat became a rout, cavalry and +infantry fell upon them, the artillery plied them with their fire, the +Prussians poured down upon their flank. By eight o'clock the splendid +army of Napoleon was a mass of disorganized fugitives. + +For ten hours the battle had raged. To the men in the squares it +seemed a lifetime. "When shall we get at them? when shall we get at +them?" was their constant cry as the round shot swept their ranks, +although from their position behind the crest they could see nothing +of their enemies. Nothing is harder than to suffer in inactivity, and +the efforts of the officers were principally directed to appeasing the +impatience of their men, "Our turn will come presently, lads." "Yes, +but who will be alive when it does come?" a query which was very hard +to answer, as hour by hour the ranks melted away. Although they kept a +cheerful countenance and spoke hopefully to the men, it seemed to the +officers themselves that the prospect was well-nigh hopeless. Picton's +brigade mustered scarce half their strength when the battle began. +They were to have fought in the second line this day; but the +defection of their allies in front of them had placed them in the +front, and upon them and upon the defenders of Hougoumont the brunt of +the battle had fallen, and as the squares grew smaller and smaller it +seemed even to the officers that the end must come before long. + +"This cannot last," Captain O'Connor said to Ralph when the day was +but half over. "They will never beat us, but by the time they get here +there will be nobody left to beat. I don't think we are more than two +hundred strong now, and every minute the force is diminishing. I don't +wonder the men are impatient. We bargained for fighting, but I never +reckoned on standing for hours to be shot at without even a chance to +reply." + +It was just after this that the French cavalry burst upon the squares; +but this cheered rather than depressed the spirits of the men. For a +time they were free from the artillery fire, and now had a chance of +active work. Thus as the fire flashed from the faces of the square the +men laughed and joked, and it was with regret that they saw the +cuirassiers fall back before the charge of Lord Uxbridge's cavalry, +for they knew that the moment this screen was removed the French +artillery would open again. + +Ralph's chief sensation was that of wonder that he was alive; so +overwhelming was the din, so incessant the rain of shot, it seemed to +him a marvel how any one could remain alive within its range. + +Almost mechanically he repeated the orders, "Close up, close up!" as +the square dwindled and dwindled. He longed as impatiently as the men +for the advance, and would have gladly charged against impossible odds +rather than remain immovable under fire. When the order at length came +he did not hear it. Just after the storm of fire that heralded the +advance of the guards broke out, a round shot struck him high up on +the left arm. He was conscious only of a dull, numbing sensation, and +after that knew no more of what was taking place. + +It was pitch dark before he became conscious. Fires were burning at +various points along the ridge; for when the victory was complete the +British retired to the position they had held so long, and the +Prussian cavalry took up the pursuit. Fires had been lighted with +broken gun carriages and shattered artillery wagons, and parties with +torches were collecting the wounded. Ralph found that his head was +being supported, and that a hand was pouring spirits and water down +his throat. The hand was a shaky one, and its owner was crying loudly. +As he opened his eyes the man broke into a torrent of thankful +exclamations. + +"The Lord be praised, Mr. Conway. Sure, I thought you were dead and +kilt entirely." + +"Is that you, Denis?" + +"Sure and it's no one else, your honor." + +"Is the battle over?" + +"It is that. The French are miles away, and the Proosians at their +heels." + +"What has happened to me, Denis?" + +"Well, your honor's hurt a bit in the arm, but it will all come right +presently." + +It was well for Ralph that he had been struck before the order came +for the advance, for as he fell the one surviving surgeon of the +regiment had at once attended to him, had fixed a tourniquet on the +stump of his arm, tied the arteries, and roughly bandaged it. Had he +not been instantly seen to he would have bled to death in a few +minutes. + +Denis now called to one of the parties who were moving about with +stretchers. Ralph was lifted on to it and carried to the village of +Waterloo where he was placed in an ambulance wagon which, as soon as +it was full, started for Brussels. + +The fighting was now over, and Denis asked leave to accompany his +master. The rout of the enemy had been so thorough and complete that +it was not thought probable any serious resistance could be offered to +the advance of the allied armies to Paris, and he therefore obtained +leave without difficulty to remain with his master. Ralph suffered +from exhaustion rather than pain on the journey to Brussels, and +several times became almost unconscious. At four o'clock in the +morning the ambulance stopped at a handsome house that its owner had +placed at the disposal of the authorities for the use of wounded +officers. He was carried upstairs and placed in bed in a room on the +second story. Denis at once proceeded to install himself there. He +brought down a mattress from a room above, laid it in the corner, +throwing his greatcoat over it, then as soon as he thought the shops +were open he hurried out and bought a kettle and saucepan, two cups +and tumblers, a small basin, and several other articles. + +"There, your honor," he said as he returned. "Now we have got +iverything we need, and I can make soups and drinks for your honor, +and boil myself a tater widout having to go hunting all over the house +for the things to do it with." + +A few minutes later two surgeons entered the room and examined Ralph's +arm. They agreed at once that it was necessary to amputate it three +inches higher up, Ralph winced when he heard the news. + +"It won't hurt you very much," one of the surgeons said. "The nerves +are all numbed with the shock they have had, but it is absolutely +necessary in order that a neat stump may be made of it. The bone is +all projecting now; and even if the wound healed over, which I don't +think it would, you would have trouble with it all your life." + +"Of course if it must be done, it must," Ralph said. "There isn't much +left of it now." + +"There is not enough to be of much use," the surgeon agreed; "but even +a shorter stump that you can fit appliances on to will be a great deal +more handy than one with which nothing can be done." + +The operation was performed at once, and although Ralph had to press +his lips hard together to prevent himself from crying out, he did find +it less painful than he had expected. + +"There, you will do now," the surgeon said. "Here, my man, take that +basin and a tumbler and run downstairs to the kitchen. They will give +you some broth there and some weak spirits and water. Bring them up at +once." + +Ralph took a spoonful or two of the broth, and a sip of the spirits, +and then lay back and presently dozed off to sleep. Denis had followed +the surgeons out of the room. + +"What instructions is there, your honor?" + +"Your master is just to be kept quiet. If he is thirsty give him some +lemonade. You can obtain that or anything else you require below." + +"And about myself, sir. I wouldn't speak about it but I have had +nothing to eat since yesterday morning, and I don't like leaving Mr. +Conway alone even to buy myself a mouthful." + +"You will not have regular rations, but all officers' servants and +orderlies will obtain food below. Meals will be served out at eight in +the morning, one, and six. You take down your pannikin, and can either +eat your food there or bring it up here as you choose. Breakfast will +not be ready for two hours yet; but there are several others in the +same plight as yourself, and you will find plenty to eat below." + +Denis took his place by his master's bedside until he saw that he was +sound asleep, then taking the pannikin from the top of the knapsack he +stole noiselessly out, and in two or three minutes later he returned +with the pannikin full of soup, a small loaf, and a ration of wine. + +"By jabers," he said to himself as he sat down to eat them, "these are +good quarters entirely. I should wish for nothing better if it wasn't +for the master lying there. Lashings to eat and drink, and a room fit +for a king. Nothing to do but to wait upon his honor. I suppose after +to-day I shall be able to stale out for a few minutes sometimes for a +draw of me pipe. It would never do to be smoking here. The master +wouldn't mind it; but I expect them doctors would be for sending me +back to my regiment if they were to come in and smell it." + +After he had finished his meal, Denis took his seat by Ralph's +bedside; but he was thoroughly exhausted. He had not slept a wink +since the night before the battle, and after the fatigue of the day +had been tramping all night by the side of the ambulance, which was +constantly stopped by the numerous vehicles that had broken down or +been overturned by the way. After waking up suddenly with a jerk once +or twice, he muttered to himself, "I will just take five minutes on +the bed, then I shall be all right again," and threw himself down on +his mattress with his greatcoat for a pillow, and slept for several +hours. So heavy was his slumber that he was not even roused when the +surgeons came round at ten o'clock to see how Ralph was. He had just +woke. + +"How do you feel, Mr. Conway?" + +"I feel quite comfortable," Ralph said, "but shall be glad of a drink. +Where is my man?" + +"He is asleep there in the corner," the surgeon said. "I will give you +a drink of lemonade. The poor fellow is worn out, no doubt." + +"Oh, yes; please don't wake him," Ralph said. "I am glad he is asleep; +for he had all that terrible day yesterday, and was on his feet all +night. I shan't want anything but this lemonade; and I have no doubt I +shall go straight off to sleep again as soon as you have gone." + +It was not until just one o'clock that Denis woke. He at once got up +and went to Ralph's side. The latter opened his eyes. + +"How do you feel now, your honor?" + +"Oh, I am getting on very well, Denis. My arm hardly hurts me at all +at present. I expect it will ache worse presently." + +"I have been having a few minutes' sleep your honor. And now, if you +don't want me for a minute, I will run down and see about breakfast. I +should think it must be nearly ready." + +"See about dinner, you mean, Denis. Why, it's just one o'clock." + +"One o'clock! Your honor must be dreaming." + +"I don't think so, Denis. There is my watch on the table." + +"Why, your honor does not mean to say," Denis said in great +astonishment, "that I have been sleeping for five hours? The watch +must have gone wrong." + +"The watch is right enough, Denis. I heard it strike twelve by the +church clocks before I dozed off last time. Why, the surgeons came in +at ten o'clock and gave me some lemonade." + +"And me to know nothing about it! Denis Mulligan, you ought to be +ashamed of yourself--slaping like a pig in a stye, with your master +laying wounded there beside you, and no one to look after him. I just +laid down for five minutes' nap, your honor, seeing that you had gone +off into a beautiful sleep, and never dreamed of more than that." + +"It was the best thing you could do, Denis. You had been twenty-four +hours on your feet, and you would have been fit for nothing if you +hadn't had a good rest. Now go downstairs and get your dinner, and +when you come back again you can bring me up a basin of broth and a +piece of bread. I begin to feel hungry; and that's a capital sign, I +believe." + +When Ralph had finished his broth he said to Denis, "I shan't want +anything now for some time, Denis. You can put a glass of lemonade +within reach of my hand, and then I shall do very well for an hour or +two. I am quite sure you must be dying for a pipe; so go out and take +a turn. It will freshen you up; and you can bring me back what news +you can gather as to the losses yesterday, and whether the army +started in pursuit of the French." + +It was some time before Denis would consent to leave the room; but at +last, seeing that Ralph really wished it, he went out for an hour, and +returned full of the rumors he had picked up of the terrible losses of +the British, and the utter rout of the French army. The next morning +Ralph had a great surprise; for just as he had finished his breakfast +there was a tap at the door, and a lady entered. Ralph could hardly +believe his eyes as his mother ran forward to the bed. But the +pressure of her arms and her kisses soon showed him that it was a +reality. + +"Why, mother darling!" he exclaimed, "how on earth did you get here?" + +"I came across in a smack to Ostend, Ralph, and then came on by carriage. +I got here last night, and learned at the quartermaster-general's +office that you were wounded and were somewhere in Brussels, at least +they believed you were here somewhere, but they could not say where. +They let me have a copy of the list of the houses that had been +allotted for the use of wounded officers. It was too late to begin the +search last night, but I have been three hours going round this +morning. I saw the surgeon downstairs and he told me--" and her lips +quivered and her eyes filled with tears. + +"That I had lost my left arm, mother. Well, that is nothing to fret +about when thousands have been killed. One can do very well without a +left arm; and I think, on the whole, that I have been wonderfully +lucky. Denis!" But Denis was not in the room, having, as soon as he +had discovered who Ralph's visitor was, gone out to leave them alone. +"And have you made this journey all by yourself, mother?" + +"No, my dear. Mr. Tallboys was good enough to come over to take care +of me by the way." + +"Mr. Tallboys, mother! How did he know that you were coming?" + +"Well, I told him, Ralph. But that is a long story, and you shall hear +it another day. The doctor said you had better not do much talking +now. Mr. Tallboys will stay here a day or two and then go home. I +intend to take a room somewhere close by and install myself here as +your head nurse." + +"I shan't want much nursing, mother; but I shall be delighted to have +you with me. I have a capital servant. The man I told you about in my +letters. He is a most amusing fellow and very much attached to me. Do +you know, he got leave directly the battle was over, and was all night +walking by the side of the ambulance wagon. He is a capital fellow. By +the way, mother, I suppose the will has not turned up yet? You said in +your last letter you had great hopes of its being found." + +"It has been found, Ralph; and it is all just as we supposed. But how +it was found, or anything about it, you mustn't ask at present. It is +a long story, and I must insist now that you lie quiet and go to +sleep." + +"Well, I will try, mother. Will you just look outside the door and see +if Denis is there? Denis, this is my mother," he said as the soldier +came in. "She has come over to help nurse me; and as she will be +principally with me in the daytime, you will be at liberty to be out +whenever you like." + +"Sure, and I am glad the lady has come, Mr. Conway; though I would +have done the best I could for you. Still, a man is but a poor crater +in a sick-room. Can I get you anything ma'am?" + +"Well, I have had nothing this morning, Denis; and if you could get me +a cup of tea and some bread and butter, if it is not against the +rules, I should be very glad." + +"Sure, I will do that, ma'am, with the greatest pleasure in life," +Denis said; and presently returned bringing up a tray with tea, bread +and butter, and a plate of cold meat. + +"Is there anything else, ma'am?" + +"Well, Denis, I should be very much obliged if you will take a note +from me to a gentleman named Tallboys, whom you will find at the Hotel +de L'Europe. Give it to him yourself if you can. He will be glad to +hear from you about my son, how he is going on and so on." + +For the next few days Ralph's arm was exceedingly painful, attended by +a certain amount of fever. At the end of that time he began to +improve, and his wound made steady progress toward recovery. After +staying for four days at Brussels, Mr. Tallboys had returned home. +Mrs. Conway and Denis divided the nursing between them, sitting up on +alternate nights. + +A fortnight after Mrs. Conway's arrival Ralph said, "Now, mother, I +shall be up to-morrow and can therefore be considered as fairly +convalescent, so there can be no reason now why you should not tell +the story about the finding of the will. You told me in one of your +letters before Christmas that Mr. Tallboys had failed altogether. So +how did it come to be found?" + +Mrs. Conway thereupon told the story. When she came to the point where +she had gone as a servant to the Hall, Ralph interrupted her with a +loud protest. "I don't like that, mother; I don't like the idea of +your having gone as a servant, whatever the stake was. If I had been +at home and had known it, I certainly would not have let you go, not +if there had been ten fortunes to be gained by it. The idea of your +having to go and live as a servant, and work for people like that is +horrid!" + +"There was nothing very unpleasant about it, Ralph. I had plenty to do +and to think about, and the time passed a great deal more rapidly than +it would have done if I had been staying at home all by myself. It +would have been very lonely and dull then; and I can assure you that I +considered it no hardship at all being at the Hall. But you must not +interrupt me in my story. If you do I shall tell you nothing more +about it until you get home to England." + +This threat effectually sealed Ralph's lips, and beyond occasional +exclamations he said nothing until the story was ended. + +"Well, it's all very wonderful, mother," he said; "and I should never +have thought for a moment that you were so brave, and could have put +things together like that, and could have carried out such a scheme. +But I am awfully glad you have succeeded; because you had set your +mind on it, and the money will I hope make you quite comfortable. How +much was it after all mother? You never told me that." + +"It is half of Mr. Penfold's estates, and of the money he had +invested, which is a very large sum, Ralph; although I do not know how +much." + +"Half the estate! Why, it will make me quite a rich man. I never +dreamed it was anything like that. I thought most likely it was enough +to continue the allowance that he said he should make me. Why, mother, +it is tremendous! And what becomes of the other half?" + +"That is left to Mabel Withers, Ralph. You two divide everything that +he left." + +"Well, that certainly is rather hard upon his sisters," Ralph said; +"and I don't blame them for being against it. Though, of course, it +was not right to keep the will hidden." + +"Mr. Penfold did not leave anything to them, because they are both +very well provided for. Their father left them a handsome sum at his +death; and as they have been living at the Hall ever since, and can +have spent nothing, they must be very amply provided for. Their +brother, therefore, naturally considered he was perfectly at liberty +to leave his property as he chose. I do not think the Miss Penfolds +have the slightest reason to grumble, after living as they have done +for the last twenty years at their brother's expense." + +"Of course that makes a difference," Ralph agreed; "it certainly +didn't seem nice that Mabel and I, who are no relation by blood to Mr. +Penfold, should come into the property that his sisters expected would +be theirs. But, of course, now you explain it, it is different." + +"I do not think in any case, Ralph, Mr. Penfold would have left his +fortune to his sisters. He was a man very averse to exerting his own +will, and I am sure that he submitted to, rather than liked, his +sisters' residence at the Hall. I know that he considered, and justly, +that they had once committed a cruel wrong upon him, and had in a way +spoiled his life. I question whether he really ever forgave them." + +"I see, mother," Ralph said. "Well, now, about myself; I should think +there can be no occasion for me to continue in the army unless I +like?" + +"I hope you won't like, Ralph. In the first place I want to have you +with me; and in the second, you will be a large landowner, and +property has its duties." + +"Well, there is no necessity to decide about that at present. The +doctor said yesterday I should certainly get three months' sick leave +before I rejoined. By all we hear the fighting is at an end, and there +is no fear whatever that Napoleon will have it in his power to cause +trouble in the future. They will take care of that, whatever they do +with him. If there is going to be peace everywhere, I do not know that +I should care very much about staying in the army; but, as I said, we +need not decide at present." + +Ten days later, Ralph was so far recovered that he was able to return +home with his mother. As soon as she informed him of her arrival at +Dover, Mr. Tallboys wrote to tell her that he had had an interview in +London with the Miss Penfolds' lawyer, who informed him that he had +instructions from his clients to examine the will, and if satisfied of +its genuineness, to offer no opposition whatever to its being proved. +Mr. Tallboys had thereupon shown him the will, and had no difficulty +in convincing him that it was the document he himself had drawn up, +and Mr. Penfold had signed in his presence. + +"The lawyer has placed all the deeds and documents relating to Mr. +Penfold's property in my hands, and, as I was of course before well +aware, my late client died worth a very considerable property in +addition to his large estates in this country. For the last twenty +years his income has exceeded his expenditure by an average of three +thousand a year, and as the surpluses have been judiciously invested, +and as the prices of all funds and stocks now stand vastly higher than +they did during the course of the long war, their total value now +amounts to something over a hundred and thirty thousand pounds. + +"The property in this country was valued, at the time Mr. Penfold drew +up his will, at eighty thousand pounds; these estates he left to your +son, and the sum of eighty-thousand pounds, in various investments, to +Miss Withers, and directed that the residue, whatever it might be at +his death, should be equally divided between them. Your son's share, +therefore, will amount to about twenty-five thousand pounds. I may say +that the outlying farms, which were settled by deed as a security for +the four hundred pounds annually paid to you, are not included in the +above valuation, but are ordered to revert to the main estate upon +your decease. + +"The formalities will all be completed in the course of a short time. +I may say that from the totals to be divided must be deducted the +legacy duties, which, as your son and Miss Withers are strangers by +blood to the testator, will be heavy." Mr. Tallboys added that he +heard the younger Miss Penfold was now recovering from her serious +illness, but it was not probable she would ever be again herself. He +had received, he said, a letter that morning from their solicitor, +saying that as soon as Miss Eleanor Penfold could be moved, which it +was hoped would be in the course of another week, the ladies would +vacate possession of the Hall. + +A fortnight later Mrs. Conway and Ralph left Dover for London, leaving +orders with an agent to sell the furniture of their house. All Ralph's +old friends on the shore had been made happy with handsome presents. +After a short stay in London they went down, and Ralph took possession +of the Hall. He soon found there was abundance of occupation for his +time on the estate, and that this would be increased when, as would +doubtless be the case, he was placed on the Commission of Peace for +the county, as Herbert Penfold had been before him. + +As soon as Ralph had completely recovered his health and strength he +told his mother that she must spare him for a week, as he had promised +that he would on the first opportunity go over to Dunkirk to see his +friend Jacques. + +He crossed by the packet from Dover to Calais, and thence by coach to +Dunkirk. Here he inquired among the fishermen for Jacques, and found +that he had returned before Napoleon broke out from Elba, and that he +was owner of a fishing smack which was now at sea. The next day +Jacques returned, and his delight at meeting Ralph was unbounded. He +took him home to his neat cottage where his pretty young wife was +already installed. Ralph remained two days with him, and obtained a +promise from him that he would once a year sail over to Weymouth and +pay him a visit. + +"I am a rich man, Jacques, now. At present I see you want nothing, but +should any accident befall your fishing boat, or you have need for +money for any other cause, write to me, and the money for a new boat +or for any other purpose shall be yours at once. I could afford to +give you a hundred boats without hurting myself, so do not hesitate +for a moment in letting me know if I can help you. It will be a real +pleasure to me to do so." + +Jacques kept his promise, and never missed coming over once year to +pay Ralph a visit, and as his five sons one after another grew up to +be able to manage boats for themselves, they were each presented one +by Ralph. Jacques himself prospered as a fisherman, and never required +the assistance Ralph would have been glad to give him. + +Neither Ralph nor Mabel Withers was informed of the expression of Mr. +Penfold's hopes in his will that they would some day be married, the +two mothers agreeing cordially that nothing was so likely to defeat +the carrying out of Mr. Penfold's wishes as for the young people to +have any suspicions of them. They were still but boy and girl, and +were now perfectly happy in their unrestrained intercourse, for not a +day passed that the two families did not see something of each other; +but had they had a suspicion of the truth it would have rendered them +shy and awkward with each other, and have thrown them much more widely +apart. + +"We both hope that it will come about, Mrs. Conway," Mrs. Withers said +one day; "and I certainly think there is every prospect of it. Let us +leave well alone, and allow it to come about naturally and without +interference." + +As soon as Ralph left the army he purchased Denis Mulligan's +discharge, and the Irishman was installed as butler and Ralph's +special servant at the Hall, and remained in his service to the end of +his life. In due time the natural change in the relations between the +two young people came about, and their youthful friendship ripened +into love. When Ralph was twenty-three, and Mabel had just come of +age, she changed her name and took up her place at the Hall, Mrs. +Conway gladly handing over the reins of government to her. She herself +lived with her children, for she was almost as fond of Mabel as of +Ralph, to the end of a long life; and deep was the regret among her +children and grandchildren when she was at last laid in Bilston +Church, close to the resting-place of Herbert Penfold. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONE OF THE 28TH*** + + +******* This file should be named 14313.txt or 14313.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/3/1/14313 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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